For the LGfL DigiSafe team, a clear online-safety resource highlight of 2018 so far has been the launch of BBC Own It! And the best bit? It’s not a single resource, but an entire portal – aimed at and very much ‘in’ the voice of young people. We met Own It Editor Dave Howard and asked for his top tips for parents and teachers taking a first foray into the uber-cool world of Own It.
Here’s what Dave had to say (scroll to the end to find out our favourites, and let us know yours, too):
“BBC Own It is designed to speak directly with children (mostly aged 9 to 12) about things that affect their lives online. However, much of our content can just as easily be used by parents, teachers and other professionals to start conversations with young people about staying healthy and happy in digital spaces. If you’re keen to explore the site in more detail, here are ten links to get you started:
1) Gaming: should you take a break?
Linked to the WHO recently classifying gaming addiction as a mental health condition, this video (and associated text advice from psychiatrist and Own It advisor Dr Aaron Balick) could be used to kick off a conversation about gaming habits, and being aware of lines they could cross.
We are building the Own It Scottie Dogs, Will and Ainslie, into a brand that helps us find humorous ways in to tricky topics. In this short comic animation, one of our furry friends starts to worry that he has a serious illness – after doing a ‘Doggle’ search of his symptoms.
3) The best and worst of life online
This hard-hitting film was a central plank of Own It’s launch on Safer Internet Day back in February. It can be used to start a conversation about how children and teens are themselves in control of how they conduct themselves online, and how the words they choose to use online – nice or nasty – can impact others.
4) “Be curious, be smart, be kind, be you”
This spoken-word piece was workshopped and composed with kids by former European and Scottish Slam Poetry champion MiKo Berry. It celebrates the internet as the greatest invention of modern times. But it also explores how, just as cars need seat-belts to go fast, we need to consider how we keep ourselves safe online.
This video is a deliberately different take on digital well-being. Our phones and devices go with us everywhere, including to the bathroom (yes, even yours – don’t deny it!) This video, starring CBBC and Radio 1 presenter Katie Thistleton, shows how many gross things could be living on our phones.
A ‘top five’ of Own It resources just wouldn’t cover it – so here are five more I couldn’t go without mentioning:
6) Have you seen bullying in online gaming?
A video, in which kids talk about their personal experiences with bullying in online gaming. How did it make them feel? It is a great platform to get kids in classrooms to talk about their own experiences and share them with an adult.
7) Being smart on social media
This is one of a series of films shot with the casts of CBBC shows, and stars actors Millie and Tallulah, who play Millie Inbetween and her older sister. It’s intended for introducing kids to social media for the first time – and asks them to prioritise security settings, and not giving away too much information about yourself.
8) Are you parents savvy on social media?
Part of our “Managing Parents” collection. Team Own It vlogger, Scola Dondo, and her mum talk about their shared life online and what it’s like posting things to social media that your parents can see. This video is important in getting kids to realise that it’s not awful being friends with your parents online and, actually, you can help each other.
9) 8 Ways to Spot a “Sharent” listicle
When we showed this page to a group of children in Glasgow, they cheered and gave it a standing ovation. This collection of memes can be used by children to start a conversation if they feel their parents or carers are sharing too much of their lives online.
10) Get Urgent Help or Advice Here
This is the most important page on the Own It site. Please, if at all possible, make the children you work with aware of it. It’s a fast-track to places they can go to get help when they need it – from Childline to CEOP to dialing 999 in an emergency.”
Dave Howard, Editor of BBC Own It
PS from the LGfL DigiSafe Team – three of our favourites so far are:
- Number 3 above (The best and worst of life online) – great blend of the awful and the awesome
- When your parents are on social – different way to start a parent session, thinking about who exactly has no filter – adults or children, and…
- This great series where Kids Explain concepts to their parents – genius!
Tweet @LGfLDigiSafe and let us know yours…
