The Internet is a great source for education, information, and convenience. With online access to the Internet, you can pay bills, do research, and communicate with friends and family members through the privacy and comfort of your own home.
As convenient as the Internet makes life and communication, you probably know there are hazards of the Internet as well. Internet safety can be compromised by predators who prey on kids and people in social networking sites and through chat; the anonymity of the Internet makes it difficult to catch predators. In addition, your personal information, such as bank accounts and others, can be compromised by the Internet as well when sophisticated hackers can access your information.
iSAFE Inc. is a nonprofit organization that is committed to teach people, including students, parents, law enforcement, kids, employers, and anyone else who may access the Internet, how to be safe online. iSAFE was founded in 1998 and is available in all fifty states as well as Department of Defense schools located throughout the world. iSAFE’s main goal is to help students recognize and avoid anything dangerous, potentially dangerous, or illegal online and what to do should such a situation come up.
iSAFE accomplishes their goal of educating people about how to stay safe online through a variety of different means. iSAFE provides curriculum for teachers who teach grades K-12, and they also provide a number of different community outreach programs to parents, law enforcement professionals, and members of the community, all of who should be aware of the different types of Internet dangers as well as how to protect their kids from them.
Much of the education provided by iSAFE is done online. iLEARN is one program that provides users with the ability to learn about Internet dangers and safety on the Internet at their own pace, in the event they are unable to go to an outreach program. The i-MENTOR Training Network is another program that provides users with six online videos that are about ten minutes long. These videos cover not only Internet safety topics, but events from iSAFE that would be beneficial. Many teachers and educators watch the learning modules so they can learn the basics of cyber safety, and then pass that information on to their students.
iSAFE’s community outreach programs are a leader in providing Internet safety education. Many people should be aware of the dangers of the Internet and how to protect themselves and their kids from them. Because so many children today are computer savvy and are adept at navigating through the Internet by themselves, many parents tend to leave them to their own devices. Or, they don’t think their children will ever fall prey to anything dangerous. iSAFE’s community outreach programs show parents the dangers of the Internet and how to protect their children from them. Community outreach also extends to law enforcement as well; those in the law enforcement field must know the potential dangers of the Internet as well as how to encourage cyber safety.
The Internet is a great tool for people and provides a wealth of knowledge and benefits that make life and communication more convenient. However, the Internet can also be a playground for criminals and predators. iSAFE is an important and very beneficial organization that provides parents, teachers, and students with the tools they need to navigate through the Internet safely.