Teachers Trained to Keep Kids Safe Online, WV
New Program in Putnam To Keep Kids Safe Online Posted Wednesday, November 1, 2006 ; 11:12 PM Schools taking action to help keep kids safe while using the Internet. Story by Kristen Sell POCA -- The Internet -- today's information super highway. But for teens, it also could be a highway to the danger zone. For that reason, teachers in the Putnam County school district were trained Wednesday on Internet safety. With the implementation of a new program, the school system is confident their kids will be a little bit safer surfing the web. The program is called Net Smartz. Laurie Nathan with the National Center for Missing and Exploited children took time to explain to area teachers how the program works and how their kids will benefit. She said often times, kids put too much information on the web for anyone and everyone to see. Myspace.com is a popular network for teens, for example, but even when users set their profile pages to "private," enough information is available to put that child at risk. Teachers such as Shelley Steward at Poca Middle School know the kids use networks like MySpace.com, and no one discourages it. But Net Smartz will help kids draw the line -- online. The teachers trained will bring their new found knowledge into the classroom. But the program doesn't stop there. Another goal is to educate the parents. More information about the Net Smartz program can be found online at www.netsmartz.org. http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=15819