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Online safety workshop with Jonathan Taylor from Besafe online
In our recent article for Children and Young People magazine Now, we offered a prize draw for a free workshop with Jonathan, a former Covert Internet Investigator from the Metropolitan Police. Jonathan is the expert partner for our online safety training course and runs internet safety workshops across the world.
Our winner was a Service Manager from one of Derby City Council’s Multi-Agency Teams, Lindsay Difusco. Lindsay brought together over 50 practitioners who work with children across Derby, including head teachers, teaching assistants, social workers and Police Community Support Officers.
Jonathan delivered an in-depth workshop which lasted over 4 hours providing the audience with a wealth of knowledge and advice.
One of the key themes of the presentation was ‘We cannot police our way out of this’; the nature of online abuse means the problem cannot be left to one party alone as there are no boundaries, borders or controls in the online world. Online safety has to be tackled by parents, professionals, industry and the online users themselves.
The key themes of the workshop were:
Online safety is about behaviour
Learning to behave safely online will de-escalate the risk of encountering danger. Simply put, if you behave inappropriately online, you put yourself at risk
For example, Chinese messaging app WeChat has been one of the fastest growing apps in recent years. Used safely, the app is a great alternative to WhatsApp. However, the app includes a ‘discover’ feature which allows random chats. In the hands of a vulnerable
Technology can assist
Whilst dialogue and behaviour are key to remaining safe online, practical technological ‘fixes’ can be employed. For example, using ‘family sharing’ functions on devices enables parents to keep a close eye on what content is being accessed. Turning off GPS is also recommended as well as limiting access times via your modem settings and turning off the sync functions of your phone or tablet so images are not automatically shared to online servers where you can no longer control access.
These practical suggestions cannot, and should not, replace the basic understanding of internet safety and behaving appropriately online.
Three C’s
Jonathan covered off the 3 basic principles of remaining safe online: Conduct – Contact - Content
- Conduct yourself appropriately
- Limit your contacts to people you KNOW
- Post content that is appropriate and cannot be misconstrued or misinterpreted.
Cyber vetting
Jonathan advised that 69% of employers have rejected a candidate based on an image or comment that has been shared on social media. This process will only increase as photo DNA profiling expertise becomes more accessible. Everyone should be aware of how images are accessed in these searches and that privacy settings alone cannot restrict potential damage to your online reputation in the future.
Digital Footprint
The case of Paris Brown was discussed as a reminder that your Digital Footprint remains with you throughout your life; that comments or images that you post can still be viewed in years to come.
Jonathan gave advice about how a positive digital footprint could be created by sharing blogs or posts on linkedIn.
Sexy selfies
The issue of sexy selfies or sexting continues to hit the headlines and the legislation around the sending of inappropriate content can criminalise young people and cause lasting damage to their future potential. Again, the advice was to behave appropriately online and understand how images can quickly go outside your control.
Conclusion
Jonathan completed the session with a summary of the key findings reiterating the basics of webcam safety, monitoring who children interact with and how they behave and ensuring lines of communication remain open.
Video: 'How to keep children safe online' - Jonathan Taylor MSc
Online Safety training course
Jonathan is EduCare’s partner for our online training course. The course covers much of the content from the workshop such as the potential risks of being online and how encouraging responsible and safe use of the internet is vital to help safeguard children online.
The course costs £17.50 and is available to buy online or is included in our complete e-learning service for the education sector – EduCare for Education®.
Get in touch to find out more
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