Advice and guidelines for online learning
Lots of you are joining us for online learning so here are a few bits of advice for keeping safe online.
Passwords:
• It is always good advice to make sure you have a secure password for logging into Zoom, Facebook and other platforms.
• Ideally passwords should be around 12 characters longs and contain numbers and symbols. Can you remember an old postcode, phone number, or car registration plate (not your current ones!) Try adding 2 of those together. Or pick 3 words that don’t usually go together and include some numbers or symbols for example Horse*Parsley&Snow
• Don’t share your password or pass it on for others to use.
• They say passwords are like underwear, change them often, don’t share them and don’t have them on display!
• Keeping passwords written down in a safe place is fine. The risk from online hackers is bigger than from people rummaging through a notebook on your bookcase.
Information sharing:
• Be careful what you share online and on social media. Once shared information is out there and can be hard to take back. So think before you type or share.
• Don’t post anything that could reveal personal details about yourself. It may seem harmless to find your wrestling name by putting the name of your first pet and first school together but these are also common security questions (Hedwig Hogworts).
• Adjust privacy settings if you need to, so only friends and private groups can see your profiles.
Video communications:
• Be respectful in video chat rooms and allow others time to speak.
• Think about what is in your background, you may not want family photos or this morning’s washing on show!
• You don’t have to be on video but you soon get used to it and it does rather add to the experience.
• Do not contact other learners directly (unless agreed by you, the learner or the tutor in advance.)
• Don’t respond to people who you don’t know.
• If you see, hear or experience anything that is troubling you, please let your tutor or development worker know.
Tutors only hold your contact information for the duration of your course. They keep this securely and delete it at the end of the course.
Tutors may recommend additional privacy settings so that the work we do together is safe.
