NSTeens Activity Cards are 20-30 minute Internet safety lessons that engage students in discussion, collaborative learning, hands on activities, and reflection. The new NSTeens video, “Attitude Overdrive,” has corresponding Intermediate and Middle School Activity Cards that can be used by educators, counselors, and parents.

Help to make your child’s experience on the internet a positive one by educating yourself first! Download these useful tools from the Family Online Safety Institute. The parents’ child protection guide for the internet, a children’s bill of rights for the internet and the family online safety contract.

Have your kids traded family time for online game time? Did you know 27% of children ages 12-17 are choosing to game with people they first met online. Get a downloadable Online Gaming Tip Sheet to help you be smart and savvy about online gaming.

Some teens say and do terrible things to each other online because they don’t see the direct effects of their actions. So what should you do if you’re cyberbullied?
Click here for a classroom activity on cyberbullying,

It’s said that all journeys begin with a single step. For Edward and Marie and their 8-year-old daughter, the technology odyssey they’ve embarked on began with a red squiggle—the kind Microsoft Word uses to indicate a spelling error.

When the Internet exploded into public use in the late 1990s, the initial concerns of youth Internet use were generally focused on three issues: privacy, pornography, and predators. Today’s virtual world is increasingly interactive and we know more about youth risk online. Read on for suggestions for adults to update our approach to Internet safety at home and at school.

The learning curve for this stuff is challenging to keep up with. I believe it is important for kids to be familiar with technology and how to use it in a positive way. However, I also feel very strongly about minimizing the potential for clicking around on inappropriate Websites.

Nancy Willard, this issue’s From the Experts columnist, has some ideas for schools as they develop and adapt safety strategies to address “Web 2.0.”

Alex T., 14, is a ninth grader in Los Angeles. He began playing World of Warcraft online when he was in eighth grade. Concerned that it was becoming his main interest-outpacing physical activity, homework and time with friends-his parents first tried to limit his gaming to weekends, and then decided to take it away altogether. [...]

In the second part of our series, Julie Guido discusses a severe case of cyberbulling and how the victim found healing—and how schools and parents/guardians can intervene with bullies and victims and bystanders.