Students learn essential online safety

11th February 2014 3:43pm - Return to press releases

Students at East Riding College are learning valuable lessons about “e-safety” during a themed week dedicated to the subject.
The College has designated this week as Stay Safe Online Week, with a range of activities and resources aims at enabling learners to better protect themselves against cyber bullying, cyber stalking, identity theft and grooming.
It coincides with the international Safer Internet Day, which takes place on February 11 in more than 100 countries across six continents.

Client services manager Lynn Bhalla said: “As a College we have a duty to protect young people and vulnerable adults and in the modern world this extends to helping them to safeguard themselves online.
“The aim of Stay Safe online Week is to raise awareness of the risks associated with using the internet and social media and to encourage responsible use of them, and to keep learners safe while they are online.”

During the week, the College has been encouraging learners to be aware of the risks of using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and ASK.fm, instant messaging, texting, chat rooms and e-mail. Staff have also been urging them to take care when sharing personal information such as their name, address and date of birth, and when posting images of themselves or their family or shopping online.
These messages have been communicated through online activities, presentations, an interactive quiz and a number of videos, in and outside of classes.


Staff have also held drop-in online safety clinics to help learners set their social media privacy settings correctly and to keep them safe when shopping online.
Jordan Chalders, 17, who studies at the Bridlington campus, in St Mary’s Walk, visited one of the drop-in clinics.
She said: “It’s really important to keep yourself safe online. You hear a lot about people being bullied and other bad things happening so the information from the College has been really useful.” 

For more information about East Riding College, go to www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk or call 0845 120 0037.

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Notes to editors

For more information about this press release, call Matthew Croshaw, marketing and communications manager, on 01482 390720 or email [email protected]