Mitka, Gorna Oriahovitsa, Bulgaria: e-privacy “Modern Communication Tools, for and against our privacy”

In Bulgaria the subject of safer internet has been popular these last six months: brochures, TV-time, on-line tests etc. are the proof. In Bulgaria some hints on safe internet use are given in the context of IT classes in high-school. Nevertheless, there are still pupils who act rashly.

Our project cooperation “Modern Communication Tools, for and against our privacy” with the Polish school in Bialystok gave students the chance to discover risks related to their internet and work out ways of protecting themselves. All students were very enthusiastic about their work. They prepared their Power Point presentations on their own, giving their pros and cons about working with modern communication tools. They also produced the report of the mock-up court trial. I think that learning the rules of safe internet use should start at an early school stage.

Beata, Bialystok, Poland: e-privacy “Modern Communication Tools, for and against our privacy”

Information technology has recently become one of the most important subjects in Polish schools that have better technological equipment since Poland became member of a United Europe. Computer science is an optional subject for the final school year exams (Matura in Polish). IT is also considered a vocational subject. I personally teach a subject called “Computers in Economy”.

We observe that youngsters in our country are extremely interested in new communicating media. Consequently, the importance of e-safety increases. Young people often do not realise that using communicators, e-mails or mobile phones may be dangerous.

Taking part in the SID 2007 Competition’s e-privacy section with the project “Modern Communication Tools, for and against our privacy” caused discussion at a school level as well as at an international level. The conclusions we made were valuable because they are linked to our personal experiences.

Young people can learn to overcome internet safety problems if we help them in a wise way. Using interactive didactical methods are most effective in that direction, as they are gratifying for the students.

Nijole and Daiva, Kaunas, Lithuania: e-privacy “Keep It Private Keep It Safe”

As from year 2006, students in our school attend IT lessons once a week as from the age of 11. Participation in the SID 2007 Competition showed us that students are safe enough when they use the internet in school where teachers supervise their work and proper filters are installed on the computers. However, they are not always as safe when surfing on the net at home! During the project we got much valuable experience and worked out solutions that we can convey to students and their parents. It is very important to educate society, remind it of the issue and inform students and parents about all possible measures that can keep them safe.

Students participating in similar projects learn how to stay safe online and become valuable resources for their peers. We hope there will be various related competitions in the future, in order to help us exchange experiences with schools from all over the world.