BE SAFE IN CYBER SPACE - TWILIGHT FORUM

Helping put a spotlight on cyber safety issues for children and young people

Evaluation results

How would you rate the value of time spent attending the event?

• A number of interesting issues were raised and it was a diverse group of people that came together to discuss the problems. It was very valuable to attend the event and hear the range of comments and discussion.
• Excellent opportunity to connect with Industry, Higher Education and Education providers.
• For me I found it interesting to hear the different perspectives even though I came away with nothing concrete. Just a greater awareness of the issues and potential size of the problem.
• Highly.
• I found it very useful and beneficial. I learned about the topic and experiences shared by participants.
• Informative. It is not my specific area of interest; however I knew that going into the event. That said, I still gained a lot from being there.
• It was a very positive experience and a great opportunity to meet others who are working in the area of cyber-safety and who are concerned with current trends.
• It was very interesting, but it now needs to go further to start on some solutions.
• Particularly good value with the opportunity to meet other people concerned about cyber safety issues.
• Quite valuable.
• The forum was quite informative and well worth going to.
• Useful.
• Very high. It is an interest of mine and the panel and audience feedback was great.
• Very worthwhile.
• For me, this was low value. We had a speaker from Netalert at our school last year making us aware of the issues - I was more interested in resources for dealing with the issues.

Has this event given you new viewpoints and insights?

• Certainly has.
• It certainly has, particularly the time spent by youth on mobiles and internet, the global dimension of cyber safety, and the challenges ahead re hazards and safety and the need to create protection technology.
• It has reaffirmed my previous notion that education is a very important issue with regard to internet safety.
• It's confirmed what we knew but gave a new perspective of involving kids on the learning process.
• No - but it does reinforce the complexity of the issues.
• No real new information but good to hear professionals opinion who work in this area. The focus on pastoral and parent information as a solution I see as the key. You will never stop the problem but being wise will help to protect.
• Other viewpoints outside my workplace.
• Some new things to consider and some resources to look at (websites).
• We need to be more vigilant in the protection of our younger generation's exposure to Web material. In addition we need strategies for protecting those 15yrs and up. It is the youth who are so free with putting their private info on the Web.
• Yes.
• Yes it has indicated to me that there are many others concerned about the issues and it is not just solely people in the "educational" field.
• Yes, it has given me a warning to consider. It would have been useful if the names of software that are useful for blocking some of sights on the Internet were provided.
• Yes- it was good to get industry and Telstra's point of view.
• Yes.

What did you like most about this event?

• Ability to provide feedback, and the audience participation. The panel was excellent, but the ability to get more viewpoints added to the experience.
• Breadth of views and total participation by participants.
• Convenient time, length of time and place. Excellent speakers.
• Good venue, well organised.
• It was fairly direct and to the point.
• Opportunity to hear the views of others.
• Organisation and an opportunity to network with others outside my usual network. Panel of speakers presenting their viewpoint.
• Talking to others.
• The calibre and diversity of the presenters.
• The format of the forum - well moderated by Julian Lowe with crisp presentations from the four engaging speakers. Good discussion from the audience followed these presentations.
• The lady from IBM was very good. Information was very relevant and powerful to an education institution. She spoke very well.
• The mix of people.
• The mix of people attending.
• Yes, but I hope the industry comes with a little bit of solution.

What was least useful about this event?

• I cannot think of anything.
• I personally found the forum informative, thought provoking and quite stimulating.
• I was looking for strategies, rather than hearing the issues.
• No comment.
• None.
• Nothing.
• Only 2 hours
• There was a fair bit of time spent discussing the severity of the problem, rather than focusing on ways to move forward.
• Think it could have been more led from the audience rather than a convenor (only when and if required).

What would you suggest to improve future events?

• A little more focus from an expert in the area.
• I think the format and the way the forum was presented was well done.
• I would endeavour to start closer to the advertised starting time. Perhaps a 10 minute pre forum chat with attendees is valuable but the 4.40 pm start is difficult to justify given most of us are time poor. Unfortunately late starts have become part of the Australian culture in sectors of society. Other countries where I start their meetings, conferences, forums etc on time.
• If appropriate, create and "Action Sheet" of things to possibly follow-up etc.
• Keep the Panel number to four. This worked well.
• May be to invite industries who have found some solution to the problem. It is very frustrating to hear the claim from industry that it is their fault, but they have no solution.
• More time, maybe workshops with plenary session.
• Opportunity to get a list of attendees and contact info.
• Perhaps a little bit more with viewing examples of risks and then some of the many available online resources - having been already appraised for their usefulness and audience.
• Perhaps a presentation of resources i.e. samples of school internet policies, samples of cyber PowerPoint presentations schools have used, structure of parent forums schools have run, demonstration of filters etc.
• Rather than just provide a topic for discussion, also provide a rough framework for its progression. An example for this would be "Online safety for children, with a focus on solutions".
• Small group discussions.
• Video or audio recording.

Would you support a follow-up event in February 2009 where young people would be encouraged to share their experiences?

Please rate the following question on a scale of 1-5 (1= NOT at all beneficial and 5= VERY beneficial)

Average ranking of 4.53

Explain why/ why not

• A proactive regional response would hopefully be relevant to the people in our region. Ballarat is well known for a collaborative approach that benefits the majority: industry, education, government, families and most importantly young people.
• A regional response has more clout and more resources than just one teacher trying to push the issue.
• Because the region has come issues in this area that are probably unique to country areas and there should be a regional focus for any response.
• Developing a regional response would help the global issue by developing tools to combat these problems, and would also increase the profile of the region.
• It is obvious that some schools are active in this area but the whole community needs to recognise the issues.
• It would appear engagement of the families and the broader community is essential in raising awareness of the scope and issues associated with cyber safety. The general community can develop knowledge, understanding and appreciation of cyber safety through a committed, cohort collaborative approach. The University of Ballarat could be the catalyst to implement a strategy of community engagement and education, hopefully supported by the three tiers of government and businesses.
• Not sure. Publicity about the issue and safeguards from what I see has not really taken off. I would like parents IT awareness to be improved and demonstrate to them the importance. Get them to look at Childs facebook page and msn contacts. Show them how to look at internet history. I guess what I am saying is that it needs to be very practical.
• The issues are much bigger than any one group can take on and requires input and involvement from various groups. I believe the sheer scale of the problem has deterred people from effectively addressing it but a collaborative approach is the ONLY way to address the issues.
• The more people involved, the more ideas can be collected.
• We need the expertise from a diverse range of people to have a strong response.
• We need to be leaders in this space.
• With the ever changing environment of cyber space, we need ever changing actions and awareness to combat the risks and to prepare young people well to deal with this world they are now immersed in.

In what ways might you or your organisation be able to contribute?

• Contribute ideas onto a blog etc. Attend regional meetings.
• I am a member of the ICSL, so we may be able to bring expertise on the issues at hand.
• Identifying young people willing and suitable to be involved Identifying key stakeholders.
• Interact and discuss issues with the educational community.
• Promote the event to parents and students - newsletters and websites etc.
• Providing expertise in the IT security area and perhaps consulting with the School of Education on ways of educating students etc.
• Research and assistance in writing.
• The KIDS Foundation is well placed to inform, promote events and engage primary schools in cyber safety developments and initiatives through our work in schools through our School Safety Clubs. Cyber safety is a natural extension of our safety awareness work. We ultimately seek to develop safety risk intelligence in children.
• We could assist in securing speaker.
• We have some sample material. We would probably have some interested students.

Are there any other comments you would like to make?

• I acknowledge and commend the work the University has initiated to this point in time. I believe it would be beneficial to invite Graeme Oswin, Megan O'Neill and a Telstra representative to join our planning committee to add breadth and reach.
• I have already spoken to work colleagues and they are supportive.
• I thought that the forum was a little bit short. Perhaps two sessions, each of an hour and a half with an intermission, would allow a more thorough discussion to take place.
• No.
• The organisation of the event was excellent.
• Went well, good first step toward developing a better community understanding.