Digital safety can be a tricky subject to tackle, especially with kids. We all know how important it is to stay safe online, but when it comes to making a game plan for how to introduce basic digital safety to our kids, many of us may be left scratching our heads on where to start! After all, the subject is a little more complicated than the good old-fashioned “look left-right-left” when crossing the road.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a digital whiz to help young ones learn how to stay safe on the web. Google’s Be Internet Awesome program gives you access to a range of resources that will help teach the kids how to use the internet safely. If you’ve got young ones who are ready to start exploring the internet, this program is the perfect way to get started!

Welcome to Interland

Interland: the land of the internet! This colourful world has been designed to teach kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety through gameplay.

Interland is divided into four main games, with each one focusing on an important aspect of digital safety:

• Tower of Treasure: Making a strong password to protect your personal information.
• Kind Kingdom: What to do about cyberbullies.
• Reality River: How to spot scams.
• Mindful Mountain: Understanding the risks of sharing too much personal information online.

After each game, there’s also a quiz to cover what’s been learned.

How you can play

It’s easy-peasy to take part in the program: just visit the website here and dive right in! The games are browser-based so you don’t have to download any programs, but you may need to adjust the game quality if you’re noticing any slow-down during gameplay.

While older children should be able to play independently without an issue, it’s recommended that you sit alongside younger children to give them a hand and provide some additional insight. Who knows – you may learn a thing or two yourself!

Not ready to dive in just yet? Check out the family guide.

In addition to resources for teachers, the Be Internet Awesome program has also published a handy family guide. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about digital safety, making good habits and how to have a family discussion if you or your kids ever have any concerns.

The family guide goes into great detail, right down to a glossary of different digital safety terms and what they mean. Have a read and you’ll know the difference between trolling and web crawling in no time!

More information

These days, technology is changing so quickly that it’s not just the kids who need a refresher course every now and then! If you’re looking for some more information about staying safe online, the Internode team has some resources of their own that you may like to check out:

• Avoid phishing scams
• Remote access scams
• Staying safe on public WiFi
• Cyberbullying guide