Brett Lee Visit and eSafety Resources

Brett Lee spoke with students in Students in Years 3, 4, 6 and 12 about how to make good decisions online, consistent with who they are as a person. The talk was part of our eSmart programme which pulls information from the eSafety Commissioner's office who, as part of their impressive work committing to improving our online world, offer a series of excellent resources aimed at parents.

Brett Lee, who has been a regular speaker at the College, encouragingly told students how impressive their understanding and knowledge was on being eSmart. Many of the points he raised were on the importance of children using their knowledge to make good choices online and to ensure they take steps to keep themselves safe. He emphasised how important it is, when something goes wrong, to talk to a trusted adult. While some of the technologies he discussed with the different year levels varied, the key message was consistent. For parents, we recommend the website of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner as a go-to reference to stay updated with emerging technologies your children may be using and strategies to monitor these. Their website is regularly updated, has useful infographics and is easy to read. There is information on current statistics, strategies to help keep your children safe online, options regarding parental controls and information and reviews on social media and online media. Their website also provides parents with a way to report any cyber-bullying and their latest work, launched earlier this week, offers methods to report any image based abuse for Australians of all ages. Julie Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, discusses the importance of creating an online world where the values of respect, empathy and consent are present. These are some of the commitments we make as part of the eSmart programme. Consciously talking at home about how these values need to guide our behaviour online at all times, is just as important as the work we do at school in our programmes.