“Don’t post anything bad or negative because it will come back to hurt you in the future,” Eighth-grade student at Jurupa Middle School

In today’s high tech world, students are constantly surrounded by devices with Internet access. Technology and the Internet have enabled children to obtain resources easier and faster to enhance their learning. Unfortunately, the Internet has also enabled hacking, phishing, and cyberbullying, which harms schoolchildren. In response, schools across the globe have implemented digital citizenship programs to protect student privacy and enhance Internet safety. 

Digital citizenship curricula educate students on Internet responsibility and deter cyberbullying, phishing, trolling, plagiarism, and help protect against online scams. Legislation like FERPA and CIPA mandate that schools protect pupils’ education records and insure their safety. Digital citizenship lessons don’t just train children how to behave while they are in school, but also how to be responsible and considerate on the Internet as adults.

Part of the protection that districts must provide involves securing their network infrastructure and using policy-based management to prevent students from intentionally or accidentally accessing malicious or inappropriate websites at school. Providing students Internet access from personal or school-supplied devices requires network switches and wireless access points and controllers that are capable of granting or denying access to resources based on policy. The network is managed most effectively with a single network management solution that provides visibility into the network and all connected devices. To prevent security risks from network-connected devices and give users access to the correct information at specific times, a network access control solution is needed for easy on-boarding and user identification. A web filter allows administrators control over Internet access throughout the school day and restricts access to certain websites like gaming applications, social media, and video streaming services.

“With Extreme Networks we’re not spending time managing the network, so we are able to dedicate our time to improving classroom instruction. Extreme has allowed us to focus on teaching and learning – not the technology– so we can continue our goal of developing our students’ 21st century digital skills.” – CIO Greg French, Woodford County School District

The Extreme Networks solution brief, Network for Digital Citizenship, Student Privacy and Safety for Primary/Secondary School Districts, can help you address the critical technology issues associated with deploying a digital citizenship program and ensuring student privacy and safety. Our alliances with iBoss Cybersecurity and Lightspeed Systems provide an integrated network access control and web filter solution.

More information on digital citizenship and Extreme resources:

•          Network for Digital Citizenship, Student Privacy and Safety for Primary/Secondary School Districts Solution Brief
•          Access Control BYOD Solution with Lightspeed Systems Web Filter Solution Brief
•          Extreme Access Control and iBoss SWG Web Filter Solution Brief
•          K-12 School District Successfully Implements 1:1 Computing and Digital Citizenship Program with Extreme Networks Products
•          Digital Responsibility: It’s Not Just for Kids
•          ExtremeWireless
•          ExtremeSwitching
•          ExtremeManagement
•          Extreme Access Control