Survey of Internet and At-Risk Behaviors

June 2008

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
f n May 2007 through January 2008 fourteen Monroe County school districts in New York State participated in a major research study undertaken by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RlT). A major portion of the study was an online survey. lt was designed to.

Measure the nature and extent of online victimization and offending experiences of K-12th grade students; Determine types and levels of supervision and role modeling employed by parents pertaining to the use of computers and portable electronic devices by their children; and Obtain information from teachers about their perceptions of school-related cyber abuse and crime, along with the potential need and challenges associated with implementing cyber safety and ethics instruction.

The survey project was the initial basis for establishing a partnership among RIT and approximately thirty school districts from throughout the Greater Rochester New York area, along with three prominent national organizations, including: (1)the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), (2) the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), and (3) Rochester InfraGard Member Alliance. InfraGard is an information sharing and analysis effort serving the interests and combining the knowledge base of a wide range of members.

These organizations initially joined forces in August of 2006 and eventually formed the Rochester Regional Cyber Safety and Ethics Initiative (RRCSEI). Monroe County school districts was actively involved in helping to create the RRCSEI, and shaping its mission of "advancing K-12 cyber safety and ethics education along with parent and workforce training in these topics through research, instructional programming, professional development, evaluation and public awareness." Thereafter, Monroe County districts and numerous other area school districts agreed during the fall months of 2006 to participate in what became the R/f Survey of lnternet and At-risk Behaviors.

This report explains how the survey project was designed and administered. lt summarizes the results of Monroe County districts' student, parent and teacher versions of the survey and makes recommendations for staff development, instructional intervention and outreach to parents. This report is one of three being provided by RIT to Monroe County districts as part the RRCSEI study. Other reports to be provided to districts are (1) a district level analysis of survey findings report and (2) a Content Analysis Report of available online instructional resources that school districts may wish to consider using as a basis for providing lnternet safety, information security and cyber ethics education. ..Source.. by Rochester Institute of Technology