Digital Citizenship & Internet Safety

• K-5 teachers utilize lessons from YetiAcademy, which is part of our district wide TypingAgent subscription.
• All grade levels can use UpSavvy Digital Citizenship videos and incorporate them into their curriculum. UpSavvy recently decided to shut down their platform, but have provided the videos on a free YouTube channel (above link).
• Common Sense Media has lessons and activities already created that teachers use “plug and play” or modify for their situations, grades 3-12.
• This year we are implementing CyberNut, a phishing campaign to help MCMS and OPHS, OPIS, OVHS students understand how to spot phishing emails and texts.
• Other resources that will be shared by TechLITES:
  • Resources compiled by VCOE so teachers have a place to easily find lessons, projects, and topics.
  • CDE Digital Citizenship Week Resources
  • News Literacy Project Resources

Many parents ask how they can support safe internet use and responsible digital habits at home. To help, the district has hosted training workshops tailored to each grade level (Elementary, Middle, and High School).

• Parents can access recordings of these trainings by clicking the links below and logging in with their child’s district-provided email address (xxx@opusd.us) and password.
• We strongly encourage families to watch these videos together and use them as a starting point for meaningful conversations about online safety, digital responsibility, and any questions that come up.

Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety Workshops for Parents and Students:

• Elementary Students and Parents (1hr 6min) - presentation starts 5 minutes in. Workshop Outline with Timestamps
• Middle School Students (43min) 
• Middle School Parents (59min) 
• HS Students (23min) 
• HS Parents (1Hr 18min)

• The following article from EduTopia, A Teacher’s Guide to Copyright and Fair Use, explains the rules when it comes to using copyrighted material in the classroom—and easy ways to make sure teachers are always in the clear. This is great information for parents too.
• Explore information from the University of California on Copyright in the classroom. 
• Students, watch this video from Common Sense Media on Creativity, Copyright and Fair Use.

• In compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Oak Park Unified School District uses web content filtering to block access to inappropriate or harmful online content, including pornography and other high-risk categories.
• All students access the internet through the district’s secure WiFi network, which is filtered and monitored. The filter works in the background to block inappropriate websites and prevent searches using certain keywords (e.g., pornography, violence, or bomb-making). When a student attempts to visit a blocked site, a message will appear stating that the page is inaccessible.
• The district uses a combination of filtering tools—GoGuardian, and Palo Alto—based on the type of device being used.

Internet access is tiered by grade level, with four filtering groups:

• Grades K–2 (most restrictive)
• Grades 3–5
• Grades 6–8
• Grades 9–12 (least restrictive)

Younger students (K–2) are automatically assigned the most restrictive settings. Older students must log in with their district credentials to access content appropriate to their grade level—for example, certain educational video or social media platforms may be allowed at the high school level but blocked for younger students.

This layered approach ensures safe and age-appropriate internet access for all