The NetSmartz Workshop launched a new initiative designed to provide children with a fun, easy way to remember rules for online safety. Asking a child to think of every aspect of online safety can be very overwhelming. Instead of trying to get across a number of important lessons about Internet safety, NetSmartz developed UYN to help prompt children to remember all they know about Internet safety and apply it to specific situations.
Short cartoon shows that address Internet related issues
"UYN: The NetSmartz Chat Abbreviation featuring Alyson Stoner"
Alyson Stoner is a 12-year-old celebrity best known for her roles in the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen" and the Missy Elliot videos. She also stars in "Mike’s Super Short Show" on the Disney Channel.
UYN games to reinforce concepts taught in the animated shows
- “UYN: The Internet Safety Game”
- “Don’t Open That File: A Computer Virus Game”
- “The Password Rap: An Internet Privacy Game”
Public-Service Announcements(PSA) with Clicky & Alyson Stoner
- "A Message from Clicky and Alyson Stoner" (15 seconds)
- "Use Your NetSmartz featuring Alyson Stoner" (2 minutes)
One of the main rules that NetSmartz teaches children is to tell a trusted adult if anything makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. So another part of the UYN initiative is section for trusted adults that provides suggestions for what to do if a child encounters a possibly dangerous situation online.
What is the goal of UYN?
The overall goal of NetSmartz is to foster an attitude of awareness about being safer online. UYN reminds and encourages children to apply that attitude whenever they use the Internet. As they learn more lessons from NetSmartz, the term UYN appears repeatedly. As children go online, they will be conscious of the dangers around them; if they are put in a situation that is a threat to their safety, they automatically think to use their NetSmartz, and apply whatever skills they have learned to that situation.
How do you use it? Parents and teachers use UYN as a functional slogan for all Internet safety. If you are teaching an element of Internet safety, and want to emphasize its relationship, connect it to UYN. The hope is that, if every time an element of Internet safety is discussed, UYN pops up and children will associate all of their online conduct with using their NetSmartz.
Who has access?
Everyone has access to the interactive materials at NetSmartz.org and NetSmartzKids.org and everyone can benefit from remembering to be safer online. The UYN campaign is designed primarily for children grades K-6.
Why is it important?
If children have a single idea, like “Use Your NetSmartz,” to file all of the tools they learn about Internet safety under, they will be more likely to access those tools when online. Kids use UYN as a reminder of all the things they can do to stay safer online, especially if something happens online that makes them feel scared or uncomfortable.
How can parents use it?
Make UYN a reference point for bringing up issues of Internet safety in the home. Ask your children if they are using their NetSmartz. When talking to your kids about Internet safety, remind them over and over again to “Use Your NetSmartz.” UYN can also be used to create a set of expectations for your children when they sign online, so they have a clear understanding of how they must conduct themselves if they want to use the Internet at home.
How can educators use it?
UYN is designed to foster an attitude of conscious online safety so the more visible it is, the more memorable it will be. When incorporating NetSmartz into your classroom, UYN is a theme to tie everything about Internet safety together. If designing units, UYN is a great point to come back to in order to clarify central ideas about Internet safety. It is also an active tool in itself, something to discuss in class. For example, “When going online today to research your projects, remember to UYN” or “Not giving out personal information is a great example of how to UYN.”
What does each piece address?
UYN also applies to the NetSmartz Workshop’s interactive materials that address Internet safety and security. Each game, cartoon, or song provides skills and information about how kids can avoid danger and be smarter and safer online.
Why is it effective with kids?
It’s effective with kids because it is fun and easy to remember. By shortening “Use Your NetSmartz” to the chat abbreviation UYN, NetSmartz makes the simple term highly visible and memorable. Because it is employed broadly in NetSmartz interactive materials, both visually and audibly, it is hard to NOT remember UYN.
