The FBI announced a new program Tuesday that is designed to help teachers educate students about cyber safety.
School nowadays is much different than a decade ago. Computers, iPads, and other technology is a part of classroom curriculum. With technology, comes concerns about cyber crimes.
The FBI program is called the FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) Internet Challenge. It was developed with the assistance of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and with the input of teachers and
schools.
FBI-SOS is available through https://sos.fbi.gov.
The website features six grade-specific "islands." The islands are specifically for third through eighth-grade
students. They highlight various aspects of cyber security through games, videos,
and other interactive features. Each island has either seven or eight areas to
explore—with a specific cyber safety lesson—and its own central character and
visual theme.
To encourage participation and enhance learning, FBI-SOS includes both testing for students and competition among schools. Each grade level has its own exam, which can only be taken after teachers have
signed up their respective classes and all activities on the island have been
completed by each student. Once all the exams for a class are graded (done
electronically by the FBI), schools appear on a leader board in three categories
based on the number of total participants. During each rating period, top
scoring schools in each category nationwide are awarded an FBI-SOS trophy and,
when possible, receive a visit from a local FBI agent.
All public, private, and
home schools are eligible to participate.
If your child's school is not participating in the program, you and your child can do it on your own. However, the exam can only be taken by third through eighth graders whose classes are registered by their teachers.
