The first week in January 2016 was an exciting one for Zeeko, as we launched our crowdfunding campaign with a target of raising €5,000 to enable us to put a Digital copy of the Zeeko Internet Safety Guide, into every primary school in Ireland. We are absolutely delighted that we reached our target, within three days!
We also received a significant amount of media coverage from both national and local print and broadcast media, which you can have a read of and listen to here: http://zeeko.ie/
The media picked up on the results of our All Ireland Digital Trend Report, which were the results of research we carried out in late 2015. We visited over 45 schools across Ireland providing training for children, parents and teachers and surveyed 2,200 children about their online activities. The results make for interesting and challenging reading. Here are some key findings:
- Confirmation that hand held tablets are a more popular device used by students between 1st and 6th class than smartphones, laptops, consoles or iPods
- 67% of children in 3rd class access the internet, play games online and use apps from a tablet as opposed to 42% using a laptop or desktop
- 50% of children in 5th class have one or two hours a day “screen time” and over 30% of first and second class children are spending 1 – 2 hours a day in front of screens.
- IOS devices are more popular than Android amongst all age groups.
- When asked “if they had ever been cyberbullied or experienced cyberbullying happening to people around them” a worrying 26% of 2nd class students and 34% of sixth class students said they either had or knew someone who had been cyberbullied. 15% of first class children, 26% of third class children, 24% of fourth class children and 23% of 5th class children said they had been cyberbullied or knew someone who had been cyberbullied.
- Over 54% of sixth class students have admitted to speaking to a stranger online.
Some of the results of this report indicate that children as young as six and seven are creating their own online digital relationships by interacting with strangers online. We know from our work that this is of concern to parents and educators. Regular readers of our blog will know that at Zeeko we believe the internet is a great resource and has enormous potential in the education setting, however, there are also many risks online especially for children. As mobile devices and powerful hand held computers become more available and less expensive it is becoming more difficult for parents to restrict access. Many parents tell us that their children have apps or are using social media sites without their consent. Our advice to parents is that the best thing they can do is teach children how to navigate the internet safely. The feedback from parents attending our seminars is very positive. When parents feel informed they feel empowered!
The content of the Zeeko Internet Safety Guide, which includes information and advice on areas such as Your Child’s Digital Footprint, Cyberbullying; dealing with Stranger Danger, Excessive Internet Use and Inappropriate Content. The book also includes a chapter that deals specifically with safety settings on digital devices to help to keep your child safe online.
You can buy a copy of the Zeeko Internet Safety Guide here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zeeko/zeeko-internet-safety-guide
Remember to keep in touch with what is happening at Zeeko via our social media channels:
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