Schools focus on Internet safety

Some local school district administrators are encouraging parents to make sure they know what their child is up to on the Internet.

Bellefonte Area instructional technology specialist Arlin Roth said it’s as easy as running a search about the mobile applications found on their child’s device.

Global Safer Internet Day was this week, but school districts work yearlong to make sure they maintain Internet safety with students and staff.

And what some might see as inconspicuous apps might be the most problematic.

Roth said there are a group of apps that have the ability to keep information anonymous.

For instance, he said the Vault app looks and acts like a functional calculator but also has secret folders in which users can hide and lock pictures and videos.

“These are apps that are purposely designed to keep you anonymous, but we tell students to use common sense,” Roth said. “I don’t know who came up with the phrase, but don’t send anything you wouldn’t send to your grandma.”

Roth said Twitter released a list of 10 dangerous apps students should avoid.

Roth researches those apps, and familiarizes himself with ones that services claim to be harmful so he can help find a way to encourage students to avoid using them. However if there is a problem, he can find a way to understand the app and combat the problem with help from the counseling office and student resource officer.

Bellefonte Area, like other districts in Centre County, uses content filters on its computers for all users.

Roth said any organization that receives federal funds must, by law, use Internet filters.

The schools also block obscene websites that could be inappropriate to minors.

“Every computer and Internet connection goes through filters, and we can monitor what students are doing,” Roth said. “The (computer) labs are also set up in a way we can see what students are doing, but when they’re given a computer it’s because they’re assigned a task. It’s when they have the computer accessibility with no assignment that’s our biggest threat.”

But some searches aren’t always deliberate.

What Roth called “accidental searches” are sometimes unavoidable.

“You go to look up one thing, and search for images and another thing that could be inappropriate comes up,” Roth said. “That’s just how things work, and it’s unavoidable. That’s why we also ask teachers not to search images when it’s projected on a screen in front of (students). We take those precautions to avoid accidental searches.”

But deliberate inappropriate searches could come with consequences.

Roth said students would lose log-in privileges.

There are also two students at Bellefonte Area High School in a certain group permitted only to use computers enhanced with extra filters, Roth said.

The district hasn’t had to deal with students who know their way around the filters, but Roth said he expects some students to know how.

“All we can do is our best to monitor Internet activity, and be proactive in safety and education,” he said. “You can take the same precautions online like you would in the real world. We want to prevent everything we can, but the crazy thing is it doesn’t stop some students from making bad choices.”

The district doesn’t offer specific Internet safety classes but does hold education nights for students and parents.

For the past two years, the district held a social media online safety night for parents about how students can misuse programs and the consequences that come with it.

“One of our biggest tips is to look at the device,” Roth said. “If you don’t know what the apps are, look them up.”

Counseling office administrators and school resource officer Mike Lyons also speak in class.

Teachers, starting as early as the elementary level, also include Internet safety in class curriculum.

Roth said it’s more of a reminder to students when they use technology.

The biggest problem Bellefonte Area faces is cyberbullying, Roth said.

“It’s that general meanness that students face through social media, and then have to face that bully in school,” Roth said. “Our counseling office deals with these issues regularly. ... It can affect anyone. It’s not what people think are just bad kids.”

A red flag is if students are found using secret or anonymous apps.

“What happens outside school doors eventually follows a student back into school,” Roth said. “We do our part at school, and all we ask for is for parents to also keep an eye out.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Schools focus on Internet safety."