Cyber Heroes: Games That Teach Online Safety

We are living in an evolving tech world, where more than half of the tasks have been done online, be it transactions, booking, learning, teaching, gaming, or marketing, though the list is too long involving crimes. 

Yes, you read that right!! Technology not only eased the life of every man in the street but for the evil minds too who aim mostly at innocent children. 

As per the survey, more than 300 million children across the globe become victims of online exploitation every year, and the primary reason has always been ignorance of online safety practices.

This alarming statistic highlights the urgent need to prioritize teaching your children about the importance of online safety. 

However, the question remains the same – HOW?, and what if I say through Gaming? Also, learn about Slot Games Through the Ages by reading this article.

In this article, we will examine the concept of ‘CyberHeroes’ – an online gaming app that is intentionally created to educate on internet safety and allow your children a taste of control over their digital being.

The Importance of Online Safety

The Internet is indeed a wonderful resource, but often carelessness of you, and not following the prescriptions can push your children into the hazard of online threats. 

According to CG’s blog post, last year in 2023, nearly 60% of teens experienced some form of cyberbullying, and unfortunately, the percentage rose very next year. 

There are several other reasons that determine the importance of online safety:

• Avoiding Harmful Content: As an elder, you might know how to safely navigate the internet, and handle the situation; sadly, not all children can. 

  They unintentionally stumble upon a site or content that can harm their innocent mind, therefore, it’s vital to teach them how to be safe when exploring the online world. 

• Prevention of Cyberbullying: The knowledge of online safety reduces the terror of cyber bullies. 

  It encourages them to not fear and report the situation. 

• Protecting Personal Information: In today’s online era, the stealing of private details is becoming very common but can be reduced following online safety precautions. 

Prioritizing online safety has become pivotal if one doesn’t want to stumble upon the harmful impact of the internet. 

Introducing Cyber Heroes

Children’s love for gaming is not hidden from anyone, and taking advantage of it Psychologist Dana Klisanin designed this interactive game named ‘CyberHeroes’ in 2010 to help kids in learning online safety.

The program encourages one to be an active citizen by overcoming various challenges that take place in the virtual world. 

It appeals to the players’ enjoyment when teaching fundamental ideas of cybersecurity. 

Game-Based Learning

The game-based learning approach is the core of CyberHeroes that enables the players to be placed within a gaming context where pertinent skills would be practiced. 

Contrary to just watching videos about how to recognize phishing attacks or adjust privacy settings, players are involved in more practical actions within an interesting context, making the lessons stick.

Key Learning Outcomes

The game CyberHeroes acts as an educational program that focuses on teaching the players the following online safety key outcomes: 

• Identifying Phishing or Cyberbullying as the threat of the Internet. 

• Knowledge of appropriate actions to take and the significance of safeguarding their private details. 

• Harsh but necessary vital assessment tactics when navigating the internet.

• Also, it encourages respectful attitudes to the Internet as well as constructive behavior online.

Why Game-Based Learning Works

The traditional teaching method often struggles to captivate young minds, especially the ones who have grown up in the digital age.

Here, the game-based learning method appears as the best alternative option that uses the power of games to define and support learning and improvement in children.

• Helps Problem-Solving: The approach of game-based learning can help your children develop problem-solving skills that will enable them to understand the causation and logic, as well as make safety decisions outside the house or school. 

• Practical Application: Your children have been provided instant feedback and a chance to improve the mistakes they have made. 

• Safe Environment: Your children can also experiment and take risks to know the outcome of the decisions they have made. 

• Team-Work: There are features available that enable your children to play in teamwork and collaboration, and they learn the value of teamwork. 

• Increases Student Engagement and Motivation: Game-based learning helps sustain interest and build up motivation among the players with the fundamental portion of its interactive nature. 

In brief, game-based learning enhances online safety skills giving your children the ability to effectively manage the digital environment.  

Do You Know?
The first online threat was the Creeper virus, a computer program created in 1971 by Bob Thomas.

Real-Life Impact

As Parents and educators, you have the primary responsibility of helping your children understand the meaning of online safety and safe digital civilization. 

Concerning their online safety, there are additional steps you can take such as introducing your children to the CyberHeroes program that intends to improve safety skills within them in a fun way.

Tips for Parents and Educators

More tips for parents and educators include:

• Initiate Engagement: In addition, you can motivate your children to play educational games and also discuss with them after they finish playing so that learning can take place.

• Talk About It: Grab some time, sit with your children, make them comfortable, discuss with them about online safety, and know their ideas on it. 

• Set the Standard: Children learn what they see, therefore, you must also practice safe online activities to be a good role model for them. 

• Be Updated: Keeping yourself updated on the new technologies and their cons and pros will help you mitigate the risks early. 

To conclude, it can be emphasized that game-based learning as CyberHeroes can still be very effective if you take a hands-on approach in guiding your children through digital education.

Conclusion

To sum up, the increasing popularity of CyberHeroes games proves that interactive learning in children has a lot to do with driving safe use of the Internet. 

The method uses the enticement of this gaming style to provide the little users with a critical level of awareness and skill that will secure them proactively in an increasingly maze-like virtual environment. 

Therefore, we must continue to incorporate technology into our lives, but one thing should be constant: the importance of educating young minds about online safety and a game-based approach to help them learn in a fun way. 

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