Hello, I’m Dr. Jon Chippindall. Also known as Dr. Chips!
I’m a primary school teacher and one of the Barefoot authors and I’m here to introduce some new Barefoot resources in collaboration with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, designed to help you teach your pupils to Be Cyber Smart.
We spend our lives connected to the internet, through our phones or computers, or even our TV. We use the internet to buy things from clothes to holidays. To relax by watching a film and to learn. We even use the internet to share important and sensitive information such as bank details or medical records. So, we all know how invaluable the internet is, but it does have a dark side too.
Did you know that every 39 seconds a cybercriminal makes an attack online and they don’t care who their victims are or how old they are. They might target your pupils or target you. And did you also know that many cybercriminals can trace their pathway into cybercrime back to conversations they had in game modding forums when they were still of primary school age. In fact, a report a few years ago by the National Crime Agency found the average age of all the offenders investigated to be just 17.
That’s why it’s important, even from a very young age, to teach pupils how to Be Cyber Smart and make the right choices and stay safe online.
Barefoot have created multiple lessons for three different age ranges, including all you need to teach about this important topic, including lessons plans, teacher presentation, and pupil worksheets. The lessons are easy to teach and fun and engaging and informative for pupils.
My pupils particularly enjoyed donning their barrister wigs and cross – examining some defendants accused of breaking the Computer Misuse Act in the ‘You’re the Jury’ lesson and in doing so, learning exactly what is legal and illegal to do with a computer.
Ready to get your class to Be Cyber Smart? Well visit barefootcomputing.org and download these lessons today.