Program/Project
Description
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The CyberSmart! School Program is the first comprehensive set of lesson plans designed for teachers to introduce the use of the Internet to K-8 students and their families -- and helps lay the necessary foundation in order for school technology plans to work. The primary objective is for children in grades K-8 to learn to use the Internet safely, responsibly, and effectively -- whether in the company of adults or on their own.
The program is packaged to instill a sense of excitement, awe, power, and responsibility as children are handed the keys to the new electronic kingdom of cyberspace. There are five learning modules that focus on the following: online safety; cyber-ethics and online manners; advertising and privacy protection; using the Internet as a research tool; and an introduction to the technology that makes the Internet work.
The Web site at www.cybersmart.org introduces the CyberSmart! School Program and provides a modular template that educators can use to create their own lesson plans.
The CyberSmart! School Program is currently working to create lessons and accompanying teacher guides for all elementary grade levels. These instructional materials are being created by leading curriculum development professionals and will be provided to schools at no charge beginning in the 1999-2000 school year.
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Key Highlights/
Milestones
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- Launch of the www.cybersmart.org Web site in February 1999.
- Publication of "An Action Plan for Smart Internet Use" in Educational Leadership magazine, February 1999. This publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is distributed to more than 200,000 educators, and provides an overview of The CyberSmart! School Program.
- Development of grade-specific lesson plans designed for teachers to introduce the Internet to K-8 students -- with take-home materials to share with parents. This initiative is the first of its kind and will be complete during the 1999-2000 school year.
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