Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 15 September 2008 08:16
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Promising that the new social network for kids called “SuperClubsPLUS
Australia” is “completely safe” and “educational” for children six to
12 years of age, Telstra has put the support of its “Telstra
Foundation” right behind the new project.
Despite Australia already having programs such as
the Federal Government funded NetAlert program promoting cyber safety
for children and parents, new initiatives in keeping kids safe online
are always a good idea, especially when they take advantage of the
latest online trends.
One of the hottest right now is the whole “social networking” space,
dominated by sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others.
While there are undoubtedly children under 13 years of age accessing
these services, those particular sites are recommended for children of
at least 13 years of age and up, and certainly don’t specifically cater
to the needs of younger children.
And while there are social networking-esque sites such as the Habbo
Hotel and Disney’s Club Penguin, these aren’t Australian in origin, as
SuperClubsPLUS Australia clearly is.
Billed as a “positive and practical solution” to help kids safe online,
the site “teaches children how to keep themselves safe online no matter
where they go on the Internet.”
It’s being rolled out across Australian schools in partnership with La
Trobe University, supported by the Telstra Foundation, and is headed by
Dr Martyn Wild. He is an internationally recognised e-learning expert,
cyber safety advocate and leader of the project.
Dr Wild said that: "SuperClubsPLUS Australia is an environment where
primary age children build their own web pages, communicate with
friends in Australia and around the world, and get involved in any
number of online projects, local and international, designed to help
develop their online technology skills. But most importantly the
children learn in very practical ways how to keep themselves safe
online at all times.
"SuperClubsPLUS Australia provides an online voice for six to 12 year
olds and has been optimised for Australian children as well as their
teachers. This includes having Australian mediators that protect and
encourage children in real time.
"SuperClubsPLUS Australia stimulates young people to safely explore
their identity, their creativity, and reach out to others. From our
earlier experiences with SuperClubsPLUS in the UK, we knew that
Australian children would also benefit from this safe social networking
tool as it is mediated constantly by highly trained professionals, all
carefully vetted and with educational backgrounds,” stated Dr Wild.
So, what does the SuperClubsPLUS site say that it lets children do at
its site, and what is the Telstra Foundation’s involvement? Please read
on to page 2.
