An online social media post can lead to serious consequences. Now kids as young as seven years old are learning what they should and shouldn’t post online.
- Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures
- Teaches kids as young as 7 what they can post online
Rachel Pommer is in just the third grade, and she’s already come face to face with dangers online.
“You can talk on games I’ve played in the past, and I didn’t see very nice things, so I decided to tell my parents,” said Rachel Pommer, a third grader at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School.
Luckily Pommer recognized something was wrong.
She and other students at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School are learning how to keep themselves safe by learning what not to do online.
And they’re getting some help from Garfield, the famous orange cartoon cat better known for scarfing down lasagne.
“The message, when he says it, can help drive the message further than a cybersecurity professional coming in to visit,” said James McQuiggan, a cybersecurity expert.
McQuiggan travels around to school across Central Florida, teaching students "Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures." The series of courses use the animated character to teach elementary and middle school students important safety tips.
The students are learning not just how to protect themselves from other people – but also themselves.
Some of the instruction and contact information for instruction visits to schools can be found at www.safeandsecureonline.org.