Students must be taught how to use the internet safely, or they could compromise the school. However, many educators and administrators are unaware of best practices for remote learning. Fortunately, these practices are not difficult to learn, and they can be even easier to teach. Here are a few tips to keep your students safe while learning online.
Understand the Most Common Cyber Threats
Before logging in, a student should understand what potential threats are lurking online. Otherwise, they will not be informed when browsing the internet, potentially exposing themselves. Generally, there are five threats facing children when learning online. Cyber predators may ask them for their personal information, targeting their physical locations. Next, malware may be installed on devices if a student downloads a malicious link. In addition to these threats, malicious ads and identity theft are also prominent. Finally, many youths fall victim to gambling when enticed to play online games.
Update Passwords Frequently
Usually, student passwords are not built to be effective, costing them in the long run. Instead of allowing pupils to set anything as a password, they should utilize a guide. Regular updates to passwords can also be helpful, as older passwords are more likely to be leaked. Nevertheless, many kids remain ignorant about password protocols since they were never taught. An effective password should be chosen based on its security parameters. For example, they should not consist of sequences in numerical or alphabetical order. Instead, they should replace some letters or numbers with symbols, increasing password security.
Never Download Unauthorized Data
A teacher should monitor connected students using dashboard tools, allowing remote oversight. By overseeing a pupil at a distance, unauthorized content may be interrupted. Internet-based scholars may download malware or ransomware, but teachers can see it quickly. Then, they can intervene, preventing the download from occurring. Consequently, novice students will not infect networks with these programs, keeping them secure. This is a great way to help students who are learning online from home.
Implement an AI-Assisted Web Filter
Often, students’ internet access is unmonitored. Hence, they access inappropriate material without realizing it, possibly compromising network integrity. So, teachers or parents at home should install an excellent k12 web filter before anyone goes online. Since these filters leverage artificial intelligence, they outperform keyword-based models. Once they are integrated, student activity is viewable, and the AI-assisted algorithm learns. Further, these models update restricted content and prevent anybody from accessing compromised data. Teachers do not need to update restrictions by hand, improving overall efficiency.
Read Your District’s Cyber Security Protocols
Most school districts issue regular updates to their cybersecurity practices. If your district releases updated guidance, students should read it right away. However, many staff members neglect to inform students about these updates. After new policies are released, inform all your students, and make sure they know about them. Thus, they will know which practices to utilize when exploring online learning modules. These provisions are designed by knowledgeable IT staff and should be followed.
Encrypt All Transmitted Data
Another common issue when students connect to the internet is transmitting unencrypted data. As a result of these insecure transmissions, student data gets leaked. Therefore, their identities may get recognized, and they could become targets. By encrypting data when you transmit it, these leaks become impossible. As a consequence, student info remains secure and does not get targeted. Young students should never upload anything without using secure encryption technology first.
Furthermore, they must remain in control of devices at all times, or they could be at risk. Since physical interception often precedes data breaches, controlling physical devices is crucial. In addition to keeping devices in sight, administrators should ensure everyone logs off.
Always Use Secure Wi-Fi Portals
Perhaps, your district is beginning to transition to a distance-based learning model. If so, it should teach children and parents about securing wi-fi portals. A simple WPA2 password provides sufficient security to prevent most hacking attempts. Moreover, these security protocols usually come preinstalled on routers, so they are easy. As long as everybody connects using secured routers, their data is much less likely to be stolen. Likewise, they will be more secure while learning from a distance.
Secure Practices for Remote Learning
Remote learning has become widespread, particularly following COVID lockdowns. Today, many parents prefer remote learning, but students must learn online safety procedures. This way they will be able to safely be online and focus on their studies. You will be glad you taught them at an early age how to be careful in the digital world.
