Asmorestudentsspendlargechunksofstudyandleisuretimeonline,schoolsacrosstheUSAareaddingcourseworkfocusedonprivacy,cyberbullyingandelectronicplagiarism.
ManyschoolsnotonlyareincorporatingInternetsafetyintolessonplansbutalsoshiftingtheirfocusfromthepervasive"strangerdanger"messagetypicallygiventoyoungcomputerusers.
Theidea,saysPrincipalChrisLehmannofPhiladelphia'sScienceLeadershipAcademy,isteachingstudentstobebetter"digitalcitizens."Freshmenathispublichighschoolarerequiredtotakeacourseinhowtowatchtheirdigitalfootprint—inotherwords,tobecarefulwhattheysayontheInternet.
"Allofthedrama,allofthegrowingup,allofthegrowingpains,allofthethingsweknowhappeninhighschoolnowalsohappendigitally,"Lehmannsays."Thinkofeverymistakeyoumadeasateenager.Nowimaginemakingthatmistakeinapermanentpublicforum."
Manyschoolsaroundthecountryhaveadoptedsimilarcoursework.Forinstance,atSchwenksvilleElementarySchoolnearPhiladelphia,librarianJoanCurtisteachesfifth-gradershowtorecognizeboguswebsitesusingafakebutrealistic"LibrarianoftheYear"siteshecreated.
AtGresham-BarlowWebAcademy,achartermiddle-andhighschoolnearPortland,Ore.,allmiddle-schoolersarerequiredtotakeanonlinesafetycoursethatcoverstopicsincludingcyberbullying,plagiarismandonline"ethicalbehavior,"PrincipalMichaelHarrissays.
ThedigitaltrainingcomesasresearchshowsthatWebusageisvirtuallyubiquitousamongkids.ThoughmoststudentssaytheygenerallyaccesstheInternetfromhome,75%ofteenssaytheygoonlineatschool,too.
Newfindingsshowthatevenyoungchildrenspendtimeonline.AnationalsurveyreleasedinOctoberbythenon-profitCommonSenseMediafoundthat41%ofchildren8andyoungerhaveaccesstoasmartphoneand13%havespenttimeonsocialnetworkingsitesandvirtualworlds.
Schoolsteachstudentstobewaryofwhomtheymeetonline.Harrissayseducatorsareconcernedaboutolderstudentsaswellasyoungerones."Eventhoughthey're15,16yearsoldthey'restillprettyvulnerable,"hesays.
vulnerableadj.易受攻击的；易受伤害的
Statisticsshowthatonlinepredationisrare—aHarvardstudysponsoredbyattorneysgeneralinall50statesfoundthatbeingonline"increasestheavailabilityofharmful,problematicandillegalcontentbutdoesnotalwaysincreaseminors'exposure."Itsaidkidsmostatriskarethosewho"oftenengageinriskybehaviors"andhavedifficultiesinotherpartsoftheirlives.
sponsorv.赞助；发起n.赞助者；主办者；保证人
attorneyn.律师；代理人
"Thewhole'strangerdanger'thingwasverymuchdrivenbyparentalalarm,"saysBarbara-JaneParis,principalofCanyonVistaMiddleSchoolinAustin,whotestifiedbeforeCongressin2010oncyberbullying.
Thechallenge,sheandotherssay,isteachingkidsthatwhattheysayanddoonlinecanhaveimmediate,profoundconsequences—andthatanoffhandcrueltyorindiscretioncanlastforever.
indiscretionn.轻率；行为失检
"Youcan'tindefinitelycallsomebodya(slurforgays)andthenjustsay,whencalledtothetable,'Iwasonlykidding,'"Parissays.
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