Kids pick up Internet safety smarts in class
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

METUCHEN - Two fifth-grade classes of Roseanne Misrahi's computer lab classes at Edgar Middle School became Internet safety savvy during the school year.

"This is the first time I used Cablevision's Power to Learn 'Internet Smarts.' I was a little apprehensive," she said. "They have different programs catering to every grade, such as topics about social networking for the seventh grades."

The fifth-graders learned lessons about "Keeping Personal Information Private" and "Misinformation: Truth or Spoof."

The classes focused on online case studies found on www.powertolearn.com. The students worked through the "Internet Smarts" lessons and multiple case studies on online safety topics, as well as conducted their own online research on these topics and on their local elected officials, including Mayor Thomas Vahalla, former Chief of Staff to Gov. Richard Codey and Councilman Peter Cammarano, Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18th District), and Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18th District).

The students learned that the public is entitled to more information about a public official through the First Amendment than about a private person.

When asked how they felt about false information that can be found on the Internet, the public officials said they didn't like it.

"It's important not to believe everything that you read on the Internet," said Cammarano, whose son Joe was in Misrahi's fifth-grade class.

Vahalla added that it is important that the children lead by example.

Buono, whose four children went through the Metuchen school system, said that with all the good the Internet offers, there also are a lot of dangers with the Internet, such as cyber bullying.

"We also have to remember that when we go look for jobs, not only does the boss look at a person's résumé, but also what the person does online," she said.

In 2002, Buono sponsored the S-149 bill, which is the adoption of harassment and bullying prevention policies by public school districts. The bill has been extended to include cyber bullying.

Power to Learn's "Internet Smarts" program provides a forum for teachers and parents to work with children on appropriate and safe Internet usage. Online interactive case studies explore important topics in Internet use at school and at home, allowing students to examine issues affecting schoolwork, class papers, entertainment activities and online safety. Additionally, students, classes and schools can become certified "Internet Smart" by using the family resource booklet "Internet Smarts: Safeguarding Your Children in Cyberspace," which provides parents with quick but important tips and suggestions.

Misrahi said the "Internet Smarts" tool has been wonderful and she expects to continue to use the program in her classes.

Barbara Biancamano, whose son was in Misrahi's fifth-grade class, said it was good to know that Internet safety is being reinforced in the schools.

The students, including Ethan Benderly Kremen, Jacob Czajkowski and Kerrian Devlin, who will be sixth-graders in the fall, said the program was a lot of fun as well as educational.