Child online safety: what educators need to know

Start: February 2025

Finish: March 2025

Estimated effort: 3-4h per week (13h total)

Access the course and enroll

In today’s society, digital technologies are woven into the fabric of daily life, becoming an integral part of various aspects from entertainment to education, finances to businesses, shopping to social life, and virtually everything else in between. As such, the use of digital technologies and the internet comes with a plethora of opportunities, but it also poses many risks and challenges. While it is important to start education at home, teachers and school administrations, as well as those working in non-formal education settings, also play an important role in empowering students how to use such technologies safely, ethically and responsibly.

Moreover, the issues revolving around the use of digital technologies by young people are also high on the European Commission's (EC) agenda with topics such as mental health, cyberbullying, persuasive and addictive design, and protection of young consumers receiving particular attention. The course will provide background information and understanding of specific risks and challenges that the children and young people face online. It will also explore the ways in which teachers and schools can help to protect and raise awareness among their pupils tackle these challenges.

You can follow the course at your own pace, there are only a few deadlines you need to pay attention to (those for the quizzes and/or the peer-review activity).

Learning objectives

To understand the importance of providing the youth with a safer and better internet in the context of the European strategy for a better Internet for kids (BIK+).
To learn about the opportunities as well as the risks and challenges that young people may face in their online experiences.
To learn about strategies to tackle the most prominent risks and challenges online such as cyberbullying, adverse effects on well-being and mental health, persuasive and addictive deign in online platforms and services, as well as protection of young consumers online particularly in gaming environments.
To raise awareness of, and signpost to resources for teaching online safety in schools.
To raise awareness of the BIK+ strategy and Insafe network, as part of the network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) in Europe, and associated resources..

Modules

Module 1: Mental health and well-being
Module 2: Cyberbullying
Module 3: Persuasive and addictive design
Module 4: Consumer protection

Prerequisites

The course will target primary and secondary school teachers of any subject, particularly those who are new to the profession or have limited knowledge of the topics covered in the course. It will also benefit other educational professionals and stakeholders, such as heads of schools, school support staff, professionals working in non-formal education settings, and policymakers interested in this topic.

Certification

In order to receive the certificate, the participation in the quizzes will count for 5%, and the learning scenario together with the peer reviews will count for 95%. The overall passing grade is 95%.

The final deadline to complete all activities is 12 March, 23:59 CET.

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Find more resources for teachers and educators in the BIK Teacher corner.