¿Uso seguro de Internet en la escuela? Retos de la Unión Europea 2010

Este documento gira en torno a la seguridad relativa a la educación on-line. Lo primero es el hecho de que "the use of the Internet and other online technologies continue to increase across Europe, and young people are among the first to take up the new technologies and services. According to recent research, 70 % of 6-17 year olds in the EU-25 used the Internet in 2005. This had increased to 75 % by 2008, with a striking rise among younger children – 60 % of them used the Internet". Este acceso de los jóvenes a Internet han puesto sobre la mesa 5 áreas donde el peligro es evidente: 

- giving out personal information

- seeing pornography, violent or hateful content online

- being bullied (i.e. cyberbullying)

- receiving unwanted sexual comments

- meeting an online contact offline

Cada país está implementando de una u otra forma sistemas OS (On-line safety). En el caso de España, el documento relata "OS is included in a more general curriculum key competencecalled 'Information process and digital competence'. This skill entails a person being autonomous, efficient, responsible, critical and reflexive when it comes to selecting, dealing with and using information and its sources, as well as different technological tools. It also creates critical and reflexive attitudes concerning information assessment, verifying it when necessary, and respecting the socially agreed behaviour norms to regulate the use of information and its sources.".

Los grandes tópicos sobre los que gira el OS son 6:

1- 'Online safe behaviour' dirigido "to prevent persons with a sexual or any other illegal interest in children using technologies to be friend and get close to them (so-called 'grooming')...students are taught to not reveal any personal information, nor give out their address, name of their school, telephone numbers, etc.". 

2- 'privacy issues', dirigido a evitar "the publication of personal information on blogs and homepages and to engage on social networking sites with the perception that this can really only be seen by the persons they want to see it."

3- 'Download and copyright issues', "to persuade children about the existence of copyright for some online materials and that copyright gives an exclusive right for authors to distribute, reproduce and make their works available to the public. Even if file sharing is not illegal when it involves sharing of private files, pupils are advised that uploading and downloading music and movies without prior permission from the rights holder is illegal in European countries. The peer-to-peer networks are also analysed and children are taught that these networks allow people to share files that are stored on their personal computers with others that are connected to the network. In that case, as many peer-topeer providers offer anonymity, they have often been associated with illegal file sharing and children must be aware of those issues."

4- 'Contact with strangers', "Children are advised that the process of getting close to them happens through a progression of manipulation and persuasion, in many cases without the child noticing it. To avoid any kind of physical injury, children are recommended never to meet someone that they know online without telling an adult and to always meet in a public place."

5- 'Cyberbullying', "students are advised of the ways in which cyberbullying can take place via e-mails, or instant messages; posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs, profiles, homepages or on websites; using someone else's user name to spread rumours or lies about someone (stolen identity). In all cases, children are advised to communicate with their parents and school tutors and not to remain silent to any incident. In many countries, this topic is also treated in collaboration with NGOs that in some cases are active in schools."

6- 'Safe use of mobile phones', "the same safety measures as for using the Internet become important for using mobile phones (protection of personal data, harmful content, consumer protection, gaming etc.).".

Como se puede ver en el gráfico anterior diversos países implementan políticas de colaboración con  entidades privadas o públicas para adiestrar en el uso de Internet de cara a evitar los peligros señalados,  países entre los que no se incluye España ni Extremadura. No estaría mal que nuestra Comunidad extremeña,  de igual forma que hace en otras áreas (educación vial, sexual, de la salud) lo hicera en ésta, siendo que "The  Spanish Safer Internet Centre, called SAFENET II and coordinated by the association Protégeles, signed an agreement with the main confederations of parents’ associations, as well as with the Ombudsman for Children, RED.es, and the main teachers unions. That agreement provides a wide basis for collaboration in schools and also entails an important preventive aspect through campaigns, studies and materials directly addressed at the main agents in the educational field: pupils, parents and teachers."

Al mismo tiempo, las recomendaciones incluidas en este documento deberían formar parte de la nueva ley de educación extremeña.

El artículo 3: Objetivos generales, párrafo f) establece "Consolidar la utilización de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje", que debería incluir el "uso seguro". Lo mismo para el Capítulo III, artículos 75 y 76.