Teachers and students from “Todor Kableshkov” 75th Primary School in Sofia received training in online safety and digital-media competences. On April 27, 18 teachers from the school were introduced to the main online risks and the available methodologies and tools developed by the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre, including the holistic model for developing key competencies in students.
A group of primary teachers of the 75th Primary School went through the training first, followed by the secondary teachers later in the day. The Bulgarian SIC’s experts discussed with them the main risks for children online, presenting selected case studies from the Centre’s Hotline and Helpline, as well as important statistics. The teachers were also shown specific tools and methodologies for risk prevention and developing students’ digital media skills which could be implemented in their work. All materials are developed by the SIC’s team and include the “Cyber Jolly” video lessons, Kahoot quizzes, the Critical Thinking and Tolerance Handbook and the Competence Approach in Practice Handbook, etc. Key training programmes of the Bulgarian SIC such as the Cyberscout programme were also presented.
The next module of the training was devoted to the digital and media literacy framework and the philosophy and principles of the holistic model for developing key skills in students. The training also included a practical session on planning lesson units and developing digital-media competencies across different subjects.
The teacher training was supported by the Disney Company.
A few days before the teacher training, on 19 April, 41 children from the 5th and 6th grades of 75 Primary School took part in a training session dedicated to the potential risks of social networks and what to do in case of Cyberbullying. The students discussed with the Centre’s trainers how to better protect their social networking accounts – mainly Instagram and TikTok. They also had the opportunity to practise creating strong passwords, and how to use the settings in the different social networks to protect themselves from harmful content and strangers on the web. The students also discussed the topic of online bullying, its consequences and what children can do to protect themselves. Children were encouraged to report if they are a witness or become a victim of online bullying to the SIC’s Helpline (tel. 124 123 or chat module), including anonymously.
