Thanks to Pete Reilly for digging into the stats to confirm what most of us have been saying for quite some time in regards to online safety. We know it’s important but it’s over hyped….way over hyped.
When we slice the “less than five percent pie” into these smaller pieces, the risk gets much, much smaller. Of course, statistics aren’t going to matter much if you are the parent of a child who has had an online incident, or the leader of school that has experienced one.
The question is, “Are we going to take a “zero risk” approach to using technology and the tools of the Web?”
It’s good to have some serious and, I think, reliable data to back us up when we delve into this issue with staff.
It’s worth noting that by far most abusers are in a position of power over the abused children (the phrase “well d’uh”comes to mind here). Zero percent risk at schools is obviously not possible when, sadly, there are rare cases of abuse by teachers.
I certainly hope we don’t take a “zero risk” approach! I know it is tempting for some, especially for those who do not understand, or even feel comfortable with new technology. It is the work of people like you Dean that prevents such irrational decision making. I agree with Rob it is great to have some decent data to use in discussion with staff and parents.