Home learning, the safe and respectful way

One of the first jobs as a family, is to read and understand the poster below which offers top tips for getting the most out of home learning, especially by ensuring the online safety of your family during this period of increased screen-time.

Attending lessons as part of our virtual school should be as much of a positive experience for our students as any other form of learning we offer. To enable this, we expect a professional approach to teaching from our staff and high standards of behaviour from and engagement from our students.

This means observing some basic requirements to create the safe, efficient, and positive learning environment that we are usually used to:

• Bullying and discrimination will not be tolerated and will be addressed by our team, along with other forms of misconduct

• Students in Primary should join lessons properly dressed in their school uniforms and be ready to learn in a workspace that is appropriate for school lessons

• Virtual lessons will be timetabled and students should join lessons at the appropriate time - registers will be kept

• Any sickness or other absence should be reported to teachers in the usual way, ideally on the day of absence. When students do not join lessons as expected, there will be a follow up home

We recognise that this is a different way to approach learning and are here to support at every step of the way.

Expectations of Tech Use

Privacy & Security

From https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/privacy-and-security

Just as in real life, it's important for young people to know whom they can trust with their information online. Though security programs and privacy settings can help block some issues, such as computer viruses and cookies, kids should also learn how to create strong passwords and protect their private information. Starting in elementary school, kids can learn the importance of looking at a website's privacy policy with their families and asking for permission before creating accounts or downloading files. Older teens can learn concrete strategies for identifying scams, as well as limit the types of information that companies collect about them through apps and websites. Developing skills around Internet privacy and safety can help set a strong foundation for students and their digital lives.

The Dos and Donts of Creating Strong Passwords

• Do make your passwords eight or more characters, using combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols. (These are harder to crack than regular words because there are more combinations to try.)

• Don't include any private-identity information in your password. (People may easily guess passwords that include your name, address, birth date, and so on.)

• Do change your password at least every six months. (This way, even if someone does guess your password, they won't be able to get into your account for long.)

• Don't share your password with your friends. (Even if you trust them, they might unintentionally do something that puts you or your information at risk.)

Why Teach It

Help your students …

• identify strategies for creating and protecting strong passwords;

• spot and avoid online scams;

• and understand the concept of Internet safety and privacy, why companies collect information, and how to understand privacy policies.

Kids may not realize they're putting their information in jeopardy, because the warning signs aren't always obvious. With your help, students can master the fine art of password creation, recognize and avoid online scams, and distinguish positive and safe sharing from oversharing. These skills are crucial to the security of the digital devices your students use as well as the information those devices store. Otherwise, your students may expose themselves and their families to serious issues, such as computer viruses or data and identity theft.

Parental Controls - Youtube and google

Keeping our children safe online during this extended lockdown period is very important as there is likely to be more screen time involved. It is also too easy to simply let one video roll on to another. It is our responsibility as a whole school community to ensure that our children are not accessing material that is inappropriate for their age group. Use the following links to look at ways in which you can lesson the chance of straying onto inappropriate websites, but always remember there is no substitute for parental supervision, and having a family chat about this. Any questions, please do ask your class teacher, or send an email to Mr Chris on christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com.

Children and Screen Time - A Parents' Guide (Courtesy of 'The Key')