A national program to teach Australian students how to fight off online predators and cope with cyber-bullying will be going into the trial phase. The trial for the $3 million "world-first cyber safety initiative" will roll out in 164 public and private schools in Australia, until April 2010.

The program represents the Australian Government’s concern with the emergence of cyber-bullying in the schools and its impact on the students.

Under the program teachers and school leaders will be provided with a range of tools to help them deal with bullying. The program aims to:

• talk about cyber safety in schools
• improve the curriculum in relation to cyber safety
• increase the skills of teachers to teach students about the issues
• work better with parents and students to keep children safe.

Source: Trial to lift web safety as cyber bullying increases, couriermail.com.au, February 9, 2010

Tags: Australia, cyber safety, cyber bullying, online child safety, education