How to Address the Digital Challenges Faced by Students in Online Education
Instilling the importance of safeguarding their educational environment from cyber threats in students is a vital task that can never start too early.
The incorporation of digital learning in education brings about potential risks for students. These dangers range from seemingly harmless digital diversions to more serious issues like cyberbullying and the presence of online predators.
Despite these risks, educators must continue to embrace technology in the learning process. Digital learning is essential for preparing students to meet the demands of the modern world. Furthermore, digital tools offer a wide range of personalisation options and collaborative, accessible learning experiences for both students and teachers.
The Most Prevalent Online Threats Encountered by Young Students
Balancing the benefits of online learning with concerns about digital learning safety is a primary objective. Some of the primary challenges that students face in online learning environments include:
- Digital distractions: During school hours, students may be tempted to engage in non-academic activities, such as playing games or browsing social media, which can negatively affect their academic performance.
- Inappropriate content: Internet access may expose students to inappropriate or explicit content, potentially harming a child’s well-being and causing compliance issues for the school.
- Cyberbullying: Students may become targets of cyberbullying through various online platforms, causing severe emotional and psychological effects. Studies show that a significant number of teenagers have experienced cyberbullying as victims, perpetrators, or witnesses.
- Online predators: Online predators may attempt to establish harmful relationships with students.
- Phishing and scams: Students might fall victim to phishing emails or fraudulent websites, potentially leading to compromised personal information, identity theft, or threats to the school’s network.
- Unauthorized access: If students fail to secure their devices or accounts properly, unauthorized individuals might gain access to their personal information and school-related data.
Guiding Students in Avoiding Deepfakes and Misinformation
Ideally, students should begin learning about digital threats as soon as they start using internet-connected devices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends integrating digital citizenship into the curriculum as early as kindergarten or first grade, teaching young learners the distinction between online and offline activities, privacy awareness, and responsible communication in digital settings.
Some schools have improved their digital citizenship classes in response to increased online exposure due to COVID-19. Older students should also be educated on recognizing deepfakes and misinformation.
Given the prevalence of social media use among students, they should be encouraged to critically assess the authenticity of the content they encounter. Research shows that a significant percentage of social media users have been exposed to content flagged as false, raising concerns about the unchecked spread of questionable material.
Enhancing Online Student Protection Beyond Traditional Cybersecurity
One of the major challenges in educational cybersecurity today is the lack of awareness about the vulnerability of district information systems and data.
At this point, every school district should have essential cybersecurity measures in place, including firewalls, web filters, and anti-phishing protections. While these measures are considered adequate by many, they often prove insufficient, leaving districts vulnerable after a security incident occurs.
Here are three strategies schools can employ to reduce risks to students:
- Educators and IT teams should adopt multi-layered cybersecurity approaches like defence-in-depth and zero-trust strategies to enhance security.
- All end-users should be educated about their role in maintaining school safety. Students should be trained to identify and report potential phishing emails or online scams.
- Cybersecurity efforts often focus on high-level users, but students and their school-provided accounts are also targets for cybercriminals. Many incidents start with a compromised student account and then spread throughout the district’s information systems. Therefore, IT teams must prioritize the security of student accounts.
It is unfortunate that educational institutions must allocate a significant portion of their limited resources to online safety. However, given the prevalence of cyberattacks on schools and individual students, ignoring the issue is not an option.
By implementing comprehensive cybersecurity awareness, digital citizenship training, and robust data security measures, we can create safer online learning environments for our community.
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