Information Technology Update – September 20, 2018

Office of the eSafety Comissioner

Parents and staff often ask me about advice, information and resources to help them better understand the online world and to learn how they can help our young people be safe when they go online. We are all aware that going online can provide our young people with valuable information and access to highly useful resources. However, being a highly unregulated environment, going online can also be fraught with danger and a user’s safety can often be compromised. There are a number of excellent resources about using the internet safely but perhaps one of the best I have come across is the site of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. Funded by the Australian Federal Government, the Office’ stated mission is to help all Australians have safe, positive experiences online and it regards itself as Australia’s leader in online safety. The eSafety Commissioner is responsible for promoting online safety for all Australians and has a number of key roles including:

-¢- a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying

-¢- identifying and removing illegal online content

-¢- tackling image-based abuse

These key roles are emphasised on the eSafety Comissioner’s home page (https://www.esafety.gov.au/ )where our users can easily report with one click any concerns they may have with their online experiences with -‘report’ buttons clearly displayed.

The Office also provides audience-specific content to help educate all Australians about online safety including parents:- – https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

Particularly useful to parents are the iParent resources.

This page has a number of useful resources including a 10 minute video that has lots of tips and practical steps so you can help your child explore safely and manage online issues should they arise.-

A number of very important topics with valuable information are covered on the iParent page including the following: cyber bullying, nudes and sexting, social networking, online pornography, online gaming, balancing time online, unwanted contact, eating disorders, privacy.

The Office of the eSafety Comissioner is certainly one of the best sites offering advice, resources and information on how to keep our children safe online and is a site I highly recommend you visit.

There are a also number of other useful online parent resources and I have curated the best of these on the Devices @ St Pats parent support website here: http://ipads.stpats.vic.edu.au/cyber-safety-resources.html

Mark Holland

Director of ICT

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