Introduction

Using our phones and social media can be a fun way to connect and stay in touch with our friends. However, it’s essential to make sure we use our Cyber Skills to avoid putting ourselves in dangerous situations. Cyber Skills are smart ways to use technology to communicate with others and stay safe. This blog post will discuss the importance of Cyber Skills, provide a no-prep activity for educators, offer discussion questions, mention related skills, and encourage users to sign up for free samples of the discussed skills and others at Everyday Speech.

No-Prep Activity

To help students understand the importance of Cyber Skills and practice safe online behavior, try this no-prep activity called “Safe Online Connections.” In this activity, students will pair up and discuss various online scenarios and decide whether they are safe or unsafe.

1. Have students pair up and find a comfortable space in the classroom.
2. Provide the following scenarios one at a time, giving students a few minutes to discuss each situation and decide whether it’s safe or unsafe:
• Accepting a friend request from someone they don’t know.
• Tagging their location in a social media post.
• Sharing a photo of themselves with their school’s name visible in the background.
• Setting their social media accounts to private.
• Telling a parent or guardian about a suspicious message they received online.
3. After discussing each scenario, have a brief class discussion where students share their thoughts and decisions, and explain the reasons behind their choices.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is it important to only communicate with people we know online?
2. How can setting social media pages to private help protect us?
3. What are some potential dangers of tagging your location in posts?
4. Why is it essential to be honest with our parents about our online activities?
5. What other strategies can you think of to stay safe while using technology and social media?

Related Skills

While teaching Cyber Skills, it’s also essential to consider other related skills that can help students stay safe and make responsible choices online. Some of these skills include:

• Digital Citizenship: Understanding the rights and responsibilities of using technology and participating in online communities.
• Online Privacy: Learning how to protect personal information and maintain privacy while using the internet.
• Responsible Sharing: Knowing what information is appropriate to share online and understanding the potential consequences of oversharing.
• Media Literacy: Developing the ability to critically analyze and evaluate media content, including understanding the motives behind the content and recognizing potential biases.

Next Steps

Now that you have a better understanding of Cyber Skills and their importance in staying safe online, we encourage you to sign up for free samples of this skill and others at Everyday Speech. By incorporating Cyber Skills and related skills into your classroom, you’ll be helping students develop the necessary tools to navigate the digital world confidently and safely.