Saferinternet.gr conducted an online survey in order to gather feedback from educators concerning internet safety education. With the invaluable cooperation with the Greek Schools’ Network, the survey questionnaire was sent out to a list of educators of both primary and secondary education levels all around, out of which 679 responded. The results of the survey were forwarded to the European Commission in the framework of the Pan-European Safer Internet Forum 2009.

The results are as follows:

·       99% of the educators think that Internet safety should be taught in schools.

·       Primary schools are considered as the most suitable level for such an education to begin, by 70% of the respondents. A 19% chooses high school and an impressive 11% thinks that internet safety education should begin in kindergarten.

·       As to how internet safety should be taught, 45% think that it should be integrated with the Informatics lessons, 28% prefer an inter-disciplinary approach while 14% prefer a more seminar-like format. The options independent lesson with or without grades were the least preferred gathering a 5% rate each.

The five most important issues educators believe that should be taugh in the framework of internet safety education are:

o     Fundamental rules of safe internet use (72% of the answers)

o     Protection of privacy (63%)

o     Proper use of online communication services (chat, sns, fora) (57%)

o     Trustworthiness of online content (44%)

o     Utilization of the positive side of the Internet (41%)

·       Eight out of ten educators find that they need a combination of solutions, such as online and offline content, seminars and e-learning applications in order to effectively teach internet safety.

·       Concerning the Greek students’ needs in the framework of the internet safety education, educators raised the following issues: Development of self-protection methods, cultivation of the critical thought, understanding of the risks, learning how to manage their online communications properly and hoe to identify if an online source is reliable or not. For all of the above issues, many educators emphasized on the need for an experiential approach. We cite some quotes:

“(They should learn) ... about the usefulness of the Internet beginning with school lessons and reaching to everyday life (work, education, leisure). They should comprehend that the digital world has the same moral and legal rules, just like the world we live in..”

“Internet safety education should treat the student not as a simple user and consumer of new technology products, but also as a content creator.”

Asked if there are any changes to the Greek educational system that should be implemented in order to successfully introduce internet safety in schools, the educators noted the needs of Greek schools in terms of technical infrastructure and especially the need of 24/7 connection to the Internet.  Many educators referred to very old computers and operating systems that have no similarity with the modern ones children can access at home or at an internet café nowadays. They even mentioned total lack of informatics labs in certain schools. Several emphasized on the need to train the educators on the issues before starting to teach internet safety. Last but not least many respondents insisted that Informatics should be immediately introduced in the primary schools, as children gain computer and internet access younger and younger.

·       Finally, even though the majority of the educators do not believe there are any factors differentiating  Greece to other European countries in terms of internet safety education, there are several responses indicating the fact that digital illiterate parents and even educators are an obstacle that some European countries do not have to surpass. Some interesting quotes:

“A lot of kids gained access therefore lacking experience and parents cannot guide them due to lack of computer related knowledge.”

“The one-sided use of the Internet for leisure, the digitally illiterate parents and educators that are stuck between their fear of technology and their tendency to underestimate the issue (differentiate Greece to other EU countries).”

“In Greece students do not even put on a helmet when they drive their motorcycles…internet safety is just a detail…”

In the relevant documents you can find the English version of the poll and the analytical results.

Documents Affiliated :