Being An Online Detective

This lesson is a practical exploration of the strategies young people can use to assess people they meet online and improve safety and help seeking.

Learning intentions:

  • Understand that there are risks and rewards to meeting people online

  • Develop skills and strategies to enhance online safety
  • Research and define key words and behaviours in relation to online safety

Digital Educator: Vanessa

  • 12-30 learners

    Class size

  • 7+

    Year Level

  • 40-60 minutes

    Course duration

  • One

    Student Handouts

    Preparing for the lesson

    Information
    Resources

    ACHPE Objectives

    UNESCO Objectives

    Safety & Wellbeing

    Sequence
    Extension
    In this Being An Online Detective lesson, students will be introduced to the concepts of cyberbullying, image based abuse, and online hate.

    They will work in small groups to explore their prior knowledge of online safety strategies. Students will be presented with a series of safety actions to think critically about, identifying the reasoning behind each action. Students will then watch a short video before going online to research a series of terms and help seeking pathways.

    The lesson finishes with a quiz to consolidate what the students found when researching the eSafety Commissioner. You will need to use your computer keyboard/mouse to select answers and sort steps.

    Each lesson ends with a consolidation activity, inviting students to list 1 thing they have learnt from the lesson, 1 thing they already knew, 1 piece of advice they would share with a friend, and 1 adult or organisation that would be helpful in relation to the lesson topic.  

    Facilitator Printouts

    There is no Cheat Sheet for this lesson. All required information and discussion points are in the player.

    ThinkUKnow (Australian Federal Police) 

    Police warn 'sextortion' of teens will become harder to investigate as social media platforms introduce encryption (You can share this article with the students if you think it is appropriate for the cohort)

    Student Printouts

    Additional Information

    Students will work in small groups to conduct research on the eSafety Commissioner website. You can also do this as a large group, navigating the site and finding key pieces of information together. If you are not in Australia, it is preferable to use the equivalent organisation in your country.
    AC9HP8P04: Examine the roles of respect, empathy, power and coercion in developing respectful relationships.
    • Recognising the impact bullying and harassment can have on relationships, including online relationships.  Examining what constitutes disrespectful, harmful or violent behaviour within peer, family and intimate relationships. 


    AC9HP8P07:     Explain and apply skills and strategies to communicate assertively and respectfully when seeking, giving or denying consent.
    • Understanding and applying online and social protocols to enhance relationships with others and protect their own wellbeing, including recognising and responding to online content that may be harmful for themselves or others (such as grooming or image based abuse), respectfully communicating needs to concerns to others. 


    AC9HP8P08:     Refine protective behaviours and evaluate community resources to seek help for themselves and others. 
    • Exploring strategies for dealing with online abuse and bullying when there is an imbalance of power, such as grooming, image based abuse or negative social interactions, and reporting the situation to appropriate authorities, trusted adults and through online tools.
    • Examining how support services such as the eSafety Commissioner can provide support for young people who feel unsafe, bullied or abused online.
    Key concept 4: Violence and Staying Safe4.3 Safe Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ITCs)
    • Key idea: Internet and social media use require special care and consideration.
    • Sextortion is coercing a person into sharing intimate images before threatening to release them unless money is paid.
    • In Australia, most victim/survivors of sextortion are boys aged between 13 and 17.
    • Commonly, the perpetrator pretends to be the same age as the victim/survivor, often suggesting romantic interest. 
    • There is a high likelihood that students in your class will have encountered strangers online, received friend requests from unknown people, and asked for sexual images or chats. 
    • This lesson should be followed with Online Safety & Red Flags lesson which digs deeper into the strategies online sex offenders use to groom young people. 
    • Students can create posters demonstrating what information is ok on a public profile. These can be laid out like social media accounts and make an excellent classroom display. 

    Ideally, you will have scope to deliver all of the lessons in your program. However we understand that many schools have limited capacity to do so. Should you find yourself having to implement part of this program, we have provided a suggested sequence of lessons within the broader skills and knowledge categories of relationship, consent, gender, and cybersafety. We recommend delivering at least one lesson from each category.

    1. Group Agreements & Pod Mapping should be the first lesson as per best practice.
    2. Puberty & Reproduction: A Refresher should be delivered early in the program to ensure students have an understanding of the physical, emotional, and social changes of puberty including menstruation and sperm production.

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