Internet Safety Information
Internet Safety Presentation
SIX UNDERGROUND APPS STUDENTS HIDE FROM SCHOOLS
(originally featured on eSchool News In Apps,Apps & STEM – http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/19/underground-apps-students/)
Technology is nearly ubiquitous in classrooms, and it holds extreme importance in the lives of today’s children.
But
with technology comes responsibility, and many ed-tech stakeholders
emphasize the importance of teaching students about digital citizenship,
being aware of their digital footprint, and being responsible and safe
online.
Despite the best efforts of parents and educators,
children can – and do – get into sticky situations with technology. And
as everyone knows, things you post online, in group chats, or send in
text messages don’t disappear if you delete them.
Here, we’ve
compiled a list of apps adults might want to know about, not in an
effort to alarm parents and teachers, but rather to inform them of the
threats that accompany technology ownership and use.
- Whisper:
The app states users must be 17 years old to down the app. Even if
children followed that age restriction, high school students can
download and use it. The app lets users share their thoughts or opinions
via text that is placed on top of an image. Users also can connect
directly with one another. It has the potential for cyberbullying and
online harassment.
- ASKfm: This app lets users ask
anonymous questions (they can also choose to not be anonymous). Kids
might use it for cyberbullying and to unfairly target certain
classmates.
- Private Photos (Calculator%): According to
the app, “anyone who starts this application will see a calculator but
if you put in a passcode it will open up a private area.”
- HiCalculator:
The app’s description indicates it “can hide your photos and videos
behind a calculator.” Parents, teachers, and other adults are likely to
pass over the app without realizing it.
- Hide It Pro:
Users can hide pictures and videos behind a lock screen and can create
multiple photo and video albums and email them to others from inside the
app. The app automatically locks when users exit it, and it also
includes a code-enabled feature that makes the app appear empty if
someone, like a parent or teacher, finds it and knows what it does.
- Yik Yak:
This location-based app lets users post text-only messages that are
visible to users who are closest to the original poster’s location. The
app’s iTunes description says the app contains frequent and/or intense
sexual content or nudity, frequent and/or intense alcohol, tobacco, or
drug use references, crude humor, fantasy violence, and more – all of
which could be problematic in any kind of environment where bullying and
cyberbullying or sexual assault or harassment are concerns.