If you’re a district CTO or technology leader, there’s a new resource that you should be aware of and use on a regular basis. #DITTO is a free online safety magazine for schools, organizations, and parents to keep you up to date with risks, issues, advice, and guidance related to keeping children safe online, with a view to enjoying and learning about technology. A new edition is released approximately every six weeks.
Disclaimer: The magazine is published by a knowledgeable man in England who gives it away for free in the hope that school districts will invite him in to provide training for their staff members. However, that doesn’t take away from the quality of the content.
Online Safety Magazine Content
This edition of the magazine included the following topics:
- Privacy vs. free
- Skin gambling
- Risk taking online
- Fortnite
- Ditto Junior (written by children and young people for adults and included in every issue)
I found the articles interesting, albeit a little long. I learned several new things in the “Risky Behaviour” article concerning the choices that adolescents make while online. The advice to parents in each article is particularly helpful and comes from experts such as social workers and educators. And it includes links to valuable resources.
For Your District
Anyone can subscribe to the magazine by scrolling toward the bottom of the page here and providing name and email address. Or you can simply bookmark that page and go there on your own periodically to access the latest issue.
If you’re a school or organization anywhere in the world that works with children, you can host the magazine on your own website (as long as there is a link back to this page), or you can print and send the magazine to your staff and parents or share via your social media channels. Previous issues are archived here.
Safety online is an important topic in today’s digital world. This resource provides information to share with staff and parents and will save you from having to recreate an already good wheel.
If you want further information about online safety, be sure to check out this blog.
