Safety at your fingertips with Plymouth University

Plymouth University is offering a day of fun activities to encourage people of all ages to surf safely in cyberspace as part of Safer Internet Day.

The annual international event, taking place this year on Tuesday 5 February, will focus on online rights and responsibilities.

The day is open to the public, and staff and students from the School of Computing and Mathematics and School of Education will provide a range of events on campus, including testing how safe your password is, safe sharing of images and safe use of social media.

Dr Shirley Atkinson, Lecturer in Information Systems in the University’s School of Computing and Mathematics, said: “Being online is part of everyday life, with the internet being used for everything from shopping to homework, as well as keeping in touch with people. The important thing is that we are teaching our children how to use it safely but also how to really grab all the exciting opportunities that it brings.”

It starts at 10am in Rolle Building with other agencies, including Devon and Cornwall Police, Plymouth City Council and the Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board (PSCB), on hand to provide advice on related subjects.

The timetable of activities and lectures covers subjects that will appeal to primary and secondary school children, along with two practitioners’ seminars, led by a PSCB champion, aimed at those who assess children’s safety.

Professor Steven Furnell, Professor of IT Security, said: “We have a plethora of knowledge at the University who can teach at any level so we would encourage people of all ages to attend no matter what their ability is.  Our aim is to help everyone who comes in leave at the end of the day better informed.”

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