Explaining the Cybercitizen profiles
This section contains:
Cybercitizen profiles overview
How to use the profiles
Connection to the ACMA’s research
Cybercitizen profile overview
These cybercitizen profiles provide educators with information on how students at different ages use the internet and mobile technologies. They outline the skills, knowledge and behaviours or capabilities that children and young people require to help keep themselves safe online. The profiles equate to five different age groups:
- lower primary ages 5-7
- middle primary ages 8-9
- upper primary ages 10-11
- lower secondary ages 12-13
- middle to upper secondary ages 14-15.
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How to use the profiles
These profiles underpin the ACMA’s educational programs and are designed to build skills, knowledge and behaviours across all age ranges. Teachers may wish to use the profiles when designing their own cybersafety programs in combination with their system’s curriculum documents.
Teachers are advised that each group of students, as well as individual children and young people, will have different needs based on their experiences and skill levels. Teachers should use the age group that best meets the current skill, knowledge and behaviour levels of their students to cater for these differences. A student technology audit is available for teachers to establish what technology their students use outside the classroom and what areas may need to be targeted for their education and safety.
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Connection to the ACMA's research
The ACMA cybercitizen profiles are informed by the ACMA’s research project Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007, which surveyed 1,003 children and young people.
The profiles take the findings of this research on children and young people’s media and technology use as a starting point in suggesting skills, knowledge and behaviours that are age appropriate. The profiles will evolve in response to further research findings.
Each cybercitizen profile is divided into four key capabilities:
- Digital media literacy
- Positive online behaviour
- Peer and personal safety
- e-Security
What is digital media literacy?
Digital media literacy is often understood as the ability to access, understand and participate in or create content by using digital media.
Developments in digital technology have had significant effects on the way individuals interact with communications and media services. An increasingly wide range of sources of information, ways of doing business, services (including government services) and entertainment are now commonly made available and accessed online and/or through digital media.
What is positive online behaviour?
Positive online behaviour is the ability to develop positive, appropriate and constructive online relationships with peers, family and strangers in a variety of mediums.
Key concepts associated with positive online behaviour include netiquette, appropriate contact and communication with others, and consideration of issues such as cyberbullying, problematic usage and unethical behaviour.
What is peer and personal safety?
Peer and personal safety involves developing protective behaviours while using a range of online mediums including social networking. These behaviours include protecting personal information to safeguard privacy, identifying when feeling unsafe and recognising grooming tactics.
Personal information is any information or combination of information that enables the identification of an individual.
Personal information may include full name and address details, phone numbers, email addresses, user names and passwords, bank details, and student identity card or passport details.
The role of the trusted adult is central to maintaining personal safety, while adopting appropriate behaviours towards others is central to ensuring peer safety. For older students, the concept of the digital footprint is explored.
What is e-security?
e-Security is the process of ensuring that electronic information is kept safe from corruption and malicious attack, and that access to it is suitably and effectively controlled.
Good e-security practice involves implementing e-security measures such as installing protective software.
The focus of this capability is understanding basic computer protection and the consequences of not protecting computers and files.
The skills, knowledge and behaviours required to protect personal information online are covered in the peer and personal safety capability.
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