About Us
FAQ
- What
does CyberSmart do?
CyberSmart fosters 21st century skills to increase student engagement and prepare students to achieve in today's digital society.
CyberSmart! Online Workshops, facilitated professional development, give educators a hands-on experience in 21st century skills—the new basic skills—to meet the learning needs of today's students. Educators engage in the same kinds of learning they are expected to facilitate in the classroom.
Two free resources support daily teaching. The free CyberSmart! Student Curriculum empowers students to use the Internet safely, responsibly, and effectively. Vetted and evaluated by state educational technology groups nationwide, it is used in all 50 states and around the world. The free CyberSmart! Educator Toolbar puts 21st century skills into practice every day, with just-in-time 24/7 access to annotated essential resources to support student learning.
- How
did the idea for CyberSmart! originate?
From the beginning, CyberSmart! has addressed Internet safety from a very practical standpoint. In fact, the spark for creating the free CyberSmart! Student Curriculum came from the need for a practical solution to a personal problem. As working parents, the admonishments to "sit with your child when he/she is online" didn't work for us. We felt strongly that kids and teens themselves should develop the knowledge and skills needed to stay safe and secure online. Plus, we knew how critical a tool the Internet would eventually become, that navigating and using all that the Internet offers would define their future success in the work world.
So CyberSmart!'s motivation to address Internet safety comes from wanting to engage our own children in the digital world, not block it out of fear. This is the fundamental approach that carries through in our curriculum and our professional development: developing the critical thinking skills students need to use the Internet safely, ethically, and effectively.
- How
does the CyberSmart! approach to Internet safety differ from that offered
by law enforcement agencies?
Law enforcement agencies have been proactive in trying to prevent Internet-related crimes. We applaud them for their efforts. However, the law enforcement approach often involves scare tactics—mostly frightening the parents! CyberSmart! empowers students by giving them clear, direct information, strategies for handling uncomfortable online situations, and practice in the decision-making skills needed to stay safe—without scare tactics. We base our instruction on the most current research in the fields of online victimization and youth risk-taking and decision-making.
- How
was the free CyberSmart Curriculum developed? Has it been evaluated?
Developed with the close collaboration of professional educators, curriculum experts, and Internet industry innovators, the CyberSmart! Student Curriculum was originally co-published with Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global education provider, and then further adapted for use by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. It was first launched in the Houston, Texas, Independent School District in January 2002.
In Fall 2005 an evaluation study of the CyberSmart! Student Curriculum was completed by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium (MAR*TEC) at the Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education.
Since then state educational technology groups nationwide have evaluated, vetted, and sited our curriculum and actively encourage its use in all 50 states. Our curriculum is also used in Australia, South America, Europe, India and Canada. National school associations, government agencies, and widespread media coverage promote the use of our curriculum.
In October 2008 CyberSmart! launched the nation's first research-based cyberbullying prevention curriculum in partnership with the National School Boards Association's(NSBA) Technology Leadership Network and The Character Education Partnership (CEP). CyberSmart! also announced new lessons designed for the high school level and the updating of many safety and security lessons to reflect the latest research findings.
- How
many schools use the free CyberSmart! Student Curriculum?
In the United States, our curriculum is used in all 50 states. It is also used in Australia, South America, Europe, India, Canada, Qatar, and soon Africa. National education associations, government agencies, and widespread media coverage promote the use of our curriculum.
Our Web site attracts over 4 million page views on a monthly basis and more than 62,000 lesson PDFs are downloaded. It is impossible to quantify the exact number of schools using our materials because the curriculum is distributed free from our Web site and, to date, we have not required the collection of personal or school identity information in order to utilize the curriculum.
The CyberSmart! Student Curriculum has also been adapted and distributed to schools by Microsoft, the State of New York, the Arkansas Press Association, and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). It is currently used in McGraw-Hill Education elementary and middle school social studies and health textbooks and a selection of our lessons is distributed by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, as part of their TechCONNECT® program.
Many school districts publicly document on the Web how they integrate CyberSmart! materials into their curricula. To read about a sampling of these districts, see A Snapshot of CyberSmart! Adoptions in the K-12 Market — Winter 2010.
- Will
the curriculum remain free of charge?
Yes. There are absolutely no plans to ever charge for the CyberSmart! Student Curriculum.
- Can
my school or organization link to the CyberSmart! Student Curriculum Web site
or create our own CyberSmart!-themed events?
Yes! Schools, districts, states, and other organizations are welcome to link to us. And yes, many schools have created CyberSmart! themed events with CyberSmart! T-shirts. We love it. We'd love to see your photos! Check out our Safety and Security Awareness Activities for School, Families, and Community and our Cyberbullying Prevention Activities for ideas.