A new programme of 10 to 14-year-olds earning a licence to get online has cyber safety advocates Netsafe hoping young Kiwis will be prepared before they're “let loose” on the internet.
New Zealand public schools are set to roll out a new gamified programme that will see students between 10 and 14 years of age vie for the licence to get online.
Online safety watchdog Netsafe has partnered with Australian not-for-profit Alannah & Madeline Foundation to bring the eSmart Digital Licence programme across the Tasman.
The programme provides an interactive game-like experience for students around intermediate age, teaching them how to stay safe online in the crucial moments just before they are “let loose” on the wider internet.
Netsafe chief executive Brent Carey said the program digitises well-worn educational practices to motivate young people to get thinking about not only how to be safe online, but also how to avoid causing harm to others.
“The main focus is to give them some self-belief to be kinder and a bit more vigilant online so if they identify safety concerns they can call it out,” he said.
More than 200,000 students have gone through the programme in Australia, and now with government support and Netsafe’s relationship with their Australian counterpart opening the doors to New Zealand schools, Carey expects many young people will soon be earning their own digital licences.
The eSmart Digital Licence uses quizzes, videos and games to lead students through a series of milestones and achievements.
“It’s a bit of gameification,” he said. “They can earn badges and it plays on the idea of L plates.”
So somewhere between the pen licence and the driver’s licence could lie the online licence - an acknowledgement of the fact that living our lives online is not always safe.
Carey said it targets young people who are just on the cusp of getting online in a much bigger way, as parental locks turn off and they reach the minimum age limits of 13 for popular social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
“We need to get them ready for that age,” Carey said. “Also, it’s a good time for parents to be alongside them - and give teachers a curriculum with a lesson plan that will equip students for when they are let loose on the internet.”
And with the internet playing a bigger role in the lives of New Zealanders - and even more so in the lives of young New Zealanders - Carey said it’s a vital area for new school curricula to address.
“Technology is only going to continue become a more prominent part of schooling life,” he said. “It’s important to get out in front and give kids the tools they need before something happens.”
The current New Zealand curriculum is set to be refreshed over the next four years by the Ministry of Education, with the online world likely to take a larger role.
The MOE guide to online safety for schools says education is changing and that digital technologies are impacting what, where, how and why students learn.
“The many benefits of learning with digital technologies are accompanied by some challenges and potential risks for students and schools,” the guide reads. “These ‘digital challenges’ are real and present a dilemma to schools seeking to use digital technology to enhance student learning.”
Carey said while schools have learned a lot since the early scramble of the pandemic, when they had to suddenly swivel onto digital platforms, cyberbullying remains a pressing issue.
“I still think we've got to keep focusing on cyberbullying,” he said. “Especially at that 10 to 14 age - that's probably one of the key concerns for children.”
It’s a difficult age for parents, where many young people first start reaching out for their own sense of independence from the family unit. In 2022, that often means reaching out for a phone.
Netsafe has seen a growing proportion of their reports of digital harm coming to them from the under-18 age group, suggesting young people could be readier to be proactive about online safety.
In the 12 months to June 2022, 17 percent of all reports to Netsafe’s incident contact centre came from people under 21, and reports from this age group have grown on average by 13 percent in the last three years.
The eSmart program came to Netsafe from its partner across the ditch, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation.
The foundation was set up by Walter Mikac and named for his young daughters who were killed in the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996.
The charity’s stated mission is keeping children safe from violence, which over the last decade or so has meant thinking about what can happen once young people log on to the wide and wild world of the internet.
Alannah & Madeline CEO Sarah Davis said ensuring the online safety of all young New Zealanders was essential to their development.
“It is critical that we build digital intelligence in children and young people in schools and families,” she said. “Digital technologies bring many positive opportunities but those who can’t access their resources or information safely may be excluded from basic educational and career opportunities.”
