South West Grid for Learning wins again!

This time, 360° Safe has won the ‘Making the Internet Safer’ Award from Nominet. 360° Safe has been incredibly successful already, having won several of the biggest IT awards in the UK, the prestigious BETT Award for “Leadership and Management Solutions”, and the ISPA (Internet Services Providers' Association) Award for “Internet Safety”.
360° Safe is a groundbreaking, well-designed, user friendly, online tool for schools to review their e-safety provision. It identifies strengths and weaknesses and enables schools to develop an improvement plan. It is entirely free of charge for schools in the UK, and is currently being used by over 1750 establishments. It has now been adapted by The Internet Keep Safe Coalition (I-Keepsafe) in the USA as a new product - Generation Safe. This new version is being successfully piloted in the United States of America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and China.

Most exciting of all, our Development Team are busy working on a new “top secret” product, taking 360° Safe to the next level. Watch this space...

What we love about the internet...

There are so many bad news stories in the media about the internet and the evils which lurk there. For a change, I wanted to highlight some of the fantastic things we know about it;-

·         A woman who lives in Scotland who reads her grandchildren a bedtime story via Skype each night. Simple and lovely.

·         Who could imagine keeping in touch with friends and family around the world without the wonder of Facebook? I have friends in (deep breath);-

Spain, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France, Malaysia, Brazil, Egypt, USA, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Philippines, Australia, Syria, Dubai, Israel.

And of course England. How on earth would we ever chat or share photos?

·         Learning. Everyday. Did you know that the strawberry is part of the rose family? Or that “Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel? How many times have you said “Google it”?

·         Internet Dating. Well, it works for some people.

·         Shopping in your pyjamas.

For young people it is their world, and a place to grow, learn, socialise, shop, play, date and all the normal things they should be doing.  Equip them with the tools and wisdom to make sensible (ish) decisions, and let them experience it in all its glory.

What does a cyber-bully look like?

Approximately 50% of the cases we deal with at the Professionals Online Safety Helpline are related to cyber-bullying. Perhaps this is not a surprise to many, with these types of stories becoming commonplace in the media. You only need to see the many pages of coverage which have been attributed to the suicide of 15-year-old Natasha MacBryde, who is the most recent high profile victim of severe cyber-bullying.

At the Helpline we have supported many victims of cyber-bullying, who range in age from children to professionals in their 50’s. But who is responsible for these cases? The short answer is it could be anyone. The perpetrators have been other pupils at school who either publicly or anonymously post hateful comments. They have been parents of “wronged” children who start a campaign against both the school and specific staff who work there, and there have been cases where colleagues bully each other via social networking sites. There is no typical bully. Yes, girls can be mean. But boys are now more likely statistically to use online forums to bully or harass others. Young people often act without thinking, which as we know, in the online world means a very wide audience can read about what should be no more than a falling out between friends. And of course, once posted, it is there forever. The biggest group of bullies are those who do so unintentionally. It is easy to get swept along with a thread online, and to vent your own frustrations, without thinking about the effect this will have on the victim. Cyber-bullying is less personal than physical bullying and we often hear from perpetrators that they have mentally “de-humanised” the victim. It is a wakeup call when they realise the true extent their behaviour is having. 

Poor Natasha was a bright, pretty and popular student, and was part of the clique which ended up bullying her. I am sure they truly regret their actions and wish they could retract them. Sadly for all concerned it is too late.

With more education, and a commitment from all involved in the digital world, we can help to fight cyber-bullying before it claims another Natasha...

Sssh. Little Gossip is back...

Little Gossip is, as the providers put it “an open platform for users to share gossips.” It was initially launched in November 2010, by a 19 year old from Somerset. After four days he sold the site for less than his start up costs. He said at the time this was due to the abuse on the site. He did not envisage it becoming as popular or as nasty as it was. The new owners were a company based in Belize, and therefore not governed by our UK Libel laws.

The site was intended for over 18’s and was launched in colleges and universities across the UK. It came under fire quickly for not excluding schools from its site, and as a result of sustained adverse media coverage the site was closed on 14^th February 2011.

Sadly in June 2011, the site returned and is as cruel and vindictive as ever. Users can post malicious gossip about anyone in their college or university, other users then vote on whether they think it is true or false. The only way users can ask for a comment to be removed is by replacing it with their own piece of gossip, thereby perpetuating the cycle of bullying online.

The site clearly states it will not filter content, and is un-moderated. It has the usual statement about not bullying or harassing users with hate speech or threats, but does not actually take action on anyone for doing so.  In fact the only responsible advice to be found on the site says “notify the Police in case something has gone beyond the scope of an interpersonal conflict into threats that represent actual danger”, worrying that they feel the need to add this to their site!

The site is littered with thousands of sexually abusive, threatening, racist, and homophobic comments.  Here are some real examples of comments:-

black sket (Sket definition – “young girls who frequently sleep around with random guys without a care for morals or dignity.”) needs to be kicked in the c**t and murdered in front of her familys eyes

HARIBO KID - your out of the bolney boys, take more steroids you diego

biggest man wh*re out there, will literally do anything with a pulse. and appaz he f**ked a guy on his rugby team and caught an sti.

john johnstone likes beating little boys

Interestingly, one college I randomly looked up is obviously moderating comments internally as many abusive comments have been reported, and there are also comments about external action which can be taken against perpetrators by tracing IP addresses.

And of the age limit? There are still lots of schools on the site. Trust me, I know. My old school is on it...

Article by Laura Higgins - Helpline Manager

June 2011