Supporting video material ages 12-13

There are three video clips in this section that cover the themes of the videos with young people and a fourth that discusses the role of educators.

Most young people from 12–13 cannot imagine living without technologies: they see them as essential to their personal, academic and social lives.
Most of them are highly skilled communicators, mainly using mobile telephones, instant messaging, email and the internet to connect with family and friends.
They enjoy a variety of activities on the internet, have email accounts and many have social networking profiles.
At these ages, they are becoming independent in their use of technologies and many have a computer or laptop with internet connection in their bedrooms.
On the internet, young people most enjoy video-sharing sites and downloading content such as music, chat using IM and some create their own content to share.
Young people are dependent upon using computers at school to support their learning, and they use the internet at school for school work and information as well as for entertainment.

Social networking sites are very popular with this age group and some young people may have more than one site on which they post their profiles.
Young people use mobiles, email and IM for social networking and consider that their social lives are greatly enriched through these technologies.
They are keen to build large numbers of ‘friends’, both known to them and unknown, to obtain prestige amongst their peers.
They can differentiate between real friends in their life and online ‘friends’.
Some young people in these age groups are aware of how to keep their profiles private.
Some young people have experienced cyberbullying via technologies.

Young people are concerned about safety and privacy, and some have experienced incidents where they have felt unsafe.
They are developing strategies to keep themselves private but need assistance to implement them.
Young people may be aware that they can seek support from parents, older siblings and trusted adults if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe, but many do not share their concerns with adults.
Young people are aware of some legal and ethical issues surrounding downloads, sharing files and communicating respectfully.

The importance of schools having cyberbullying programs, policies and Codes of Conduct ensuring that all students know the implications of them on technology use.
How teachers and students can work together to create Codes of Conduct and policies using existing groups and committees or establishing new ones.
How schools can maximise the potential of using technologies in their teaching programs.
How schools can utilise the ICT competencies of their students to enrich teaching programs.
How professional learning opportunities can assist educators in keeping current with technologies which can be used for educational purposes.
The importance of transition programs to focus on cybersafety issues such as digital footprints, cyberbullying, privacy and their impact on students and their wellbeing.
The importance of creating a partnership between the school and parents in relation to technology use, policies and procedures.

Last updated : Friday, October 09, 2009