A teacher's guide to new and emerging technologies, apps and platforms

New technologies seem to emerge each month, and with them, new ways for people to interact online. As an education practitioner, it’s helpful to be aware of how new technologies are enabling new trends and behaviours among children and young people. The Professionals Online Safety Helpline provides advice to professionals working with children and young people on online safety issues. Through its work, it has identified the most recent trends affecting learners of all ages and schools and colleges. This guide sets out these trends, the risks associated with them, and offers tips on how to manage those risks and support learners to do the same.

The rise of ‘battle royale’ games

New games often quickly gain popularity among players. In recent months a new kind of game has captured the imagination and attention of children and young people to an unprecedented degree. ‘Battle royale’ games challenge a large number of players to eliminate all other opponents to become the last surviving player. Played online over the internet, these games can attract millions of users. Fortnite: Battle Royale is a good example. This multiplayer game has been the subject of several Professionals Online Safety Helpline cases and concerns have been raised about whether it is addictive. Each game can last around twenty minutes, and leaving the game affects a player’s standing. It’s because of this that some children and young people struggle to leave the game when it’s time for the family meal, for example.  

In spite of negative press, this has become a hugely popular type of gameplay among children and young people. It's hardly surprising that games developers are adding this mode into their latest versions. For older players, both Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V are to be released in 2018 and will include battle royale modes. Younger players will find battle royale modes in Darwin Project and Crazy Justice. Children who have played Fortnite may also play other battle royale style games that are not yet age rated such as Fear the Wolves and SOS. You can find more information about Fortnite and other battle royale games on the Ask about games website.

Battle royale games can be very exciting to play but as with all online games, it’s important that learners and parents/carers are aware of the possible risks and take steps to stay safe online. Here are some tips on how to do that.

Top tips

• Strike a healthy balance. Gaming is fun but it can become obsessive. Consider engaging your learners in a conversation about balancing screen time with time offline and entertainment with education and other important aspects of their life. You can also encourage parents and carers to have this discussion with their children at home. The Screen time overload? (Education practitioners) playlist explores issues around screen time and ways to address it.
• Use safety settings. Games and gaming consoles have various settings that can be enabled to protect children and young people when gaming online. Make sure your learners and their parents/carers know about them and how to apply them. A parent and carer’s guide to the benefits and risks of online gaming on Hwb may be useful to raise awareness of the risks of gaming and some steps to help children and young people game safely.
• Talk about online chat. Some games have in-built chat functions but others may use third-party servers to link into interactive online communities. These third-party servers may have minimal safety settings. Also, in games like Fortnite where sound is crucial, players tend to wear headphones and parents/carers won’t be able to hear what is being said by strangers. Make sure your learners are aware of this and know what to do if something goes wrong when interacting with people online. You can also advise parents/carers to have sound coming from the TV as well as the headset so they can hear what other players are saying.
• Promote sleep. Getting little or no sleep will have an impact on a child or a young person’s learning. Sometimes this can be down to excessive gameplay into the early hours of the morning. Consider addressing this directly with learners so they can understand the importance of sleep for their well-being. If you suspect a learner is suffering from sleep deprivation as a result of excessive gaming, it’s important to address this behaviour and follow safeguarding procedures.
• Get ahead of the game. As mentioned before, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V will be released later this year, both with battle royale modes. Consider reading up on them now to find out what your learners may be playing. Note that some learners may have already had access to ‘beta’ versions of the game over the summer holidays.
• Do your research. Here are some helpful sites for credible information about games including reviews, age-rating information and general safety advice.
  • UK Safer Internet Centre: provides gaming guides including how to implement parental controls on gaming devices.
  • Ask About Games: advice and tips for parents and carers on playing games safely.
  • Common Sense Media: provides reviews on games by parents and carers, children and young people.
  • PEGI: European game rating with clear, age-related labelling.

Recently activated app functionality

Messaging services and popular apps are regularly updated. These updates often include new features, bug fixes and security updates. Over recent months, the following key features have appeared in several commonly used apps and resulted in a number of calls to the Professionals Online Safety Helpline. It is important to support learners in taking care when using new features as in some cases these may lead to accidental disclosure of personal information or location to unintended recipients. If you have any questions about newly activated features then the Professionals Online Safety Helpline is available to assist you in understanding these so that you are more able to support your learners.

• Activity status. Users of Instagram are now able to post an activity status following the inclusion of this feature in other apps such as Facebook Messenger. Setting an activity status lets your followers know if you are currently using the app or when you were last active on the app. The addition of this feature now provides users with a choice over their activity status. Turning it off will mean people can no longer see if/when you are active and vice versa. This element of a social media platform could have a negative impact on someone who is being bullied, harassed or stalked online.
• This feature was first introduced on Snapchat and has now migrated onto several apps including Instagram and Facebook. Stories are a great way to share parts of your day and feel less permanent than posting on to your timeline as they typically remove themselves after 24 hours. Users need to be aware however that it is still possible for other people to screen-shot and share their story content wider. It is possible to edit and delete a story before the 24 hours are up, but users should be advised to put some thought into these posts and consider what personal information you may be sharing.
• Many apps provide users with the option of sharing their location. On Snapchat this comes in the form of a filter you can add to your photos and you can also add your stories to an interactive map. On Instagram it appears as an option when adding a caption and on Facebook you have to actively turn off your location if you don’t want to share it with every status. Social media is about connecting people, so this is an obvious step to help do so, but there are also clear safeguarding implications. Encourage learners to make active decision about when to broadcast their location. When on holiday, it may be fun to tag that they are at a particular attraction, almost like creating a digital memento, but do they need to tag their location every time they are at home?

Staying up-to-date with new technologies

Online technologies and behaviours are constantly changing. Here are some tips to help you.

Top tips

• Prevention’s better than cure. Update your school/college crisis management policies to include steps to take if a new online safety concern arises.
• Is it a real issue? Remember that media outlets are looking to sell news, and a sensational story about the dangers of technology does this perfectly. Take a moment to consider the evidence. Is what you’re reading a genuine cause for concern?
• Determine the source. Act to safeguard those who attend your school/college first and foremost. Has the information about a concern come from an internal or external source? However you find out about the issue, you may wish to investigate further and take time to consider your actions before alerting school/college stakeholders.
• Share information on a need-to-know basis. Quite often, online crazes that are reported in the media have little bearing as to what is happening in your local area. If the latest craze is a game that may expose children and young people to harmful content, it’s understandable that you may want to share warnings about this. However, doing so can actually raise learners’ curiosity, resulting in attempts to seek out the game. That’s why you should only share information if it is really necessary.
• If in doubt, ask for help. If you work with children or young people and want advice about an online safety concern, please contact the Professionals Online Safety Helpline for further advice, on 0344 381 4772 or helpline@saferinternet.org.uk. For more information about keeping learners safe online, the Keeping safe online Zone features a wide range of online safety resources, available bilingually.