Blended Learning as a Strategic Method Against the Illegal Use of
Internet
Julija Lapuh Bele
1,2
, Andreja Sladoje Jemec
2
, David Rozman
2
and Maja Dimc
2
1
Faculty of Management and Law, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2
B2 d.o.o., Trzaska cesta 42, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Keywords: Cybercrime Prevention, Information Security, Blended Learning.
Abstract: The article addresses the issue of strategic prevention and fight against cybercrime related to children and
teenagers with the use of blended learning in order to establish greater awareness and increase the
knowledge of children, teenagers as, parents and educators regarding illegal internet content and related
activities. Based on the theoretical background, practical experience and the analysis of questionnaires, we
have prepared blended learning courses for each target group, which aim to raise the awareness of
stakeholders (i.e. children, teenagers, teachers, parents) and contribute to cybercrime prevention and victim
assistance.
1 INTRODUCTION
The increasing integration of web technologies in
everyday life together with the popularity of social
networks and development of mobile technology
contributes to the creation of an optimal
environment for various types of cybercrime and
illegal internet content. Children and teenagers
represent the most avid users of new technologies
and functionalities, while they are at the same time
the most naïve. Moreover, the general public is not
aware of the severity of the problem.
As a part of the General Programme on Security
and Safeguarding Liberties, the European
Commission established the Prevention of and Fight
against Crime Programme in order to contribute to
the strengthening of the area of freedom, security
and justice. The project “Education as a Strategic
Method Against the Illegal Use of Internet” is
funded within the framework of this programme
with the key goal of increasing the knowledge and
awareness of the general public, children and
teenagers in particular, regarding the issue of
cybercrime and illegal use of Internet.
The project includes the development and
dissemination of best practices in the field of
protection and support of cybercrime victims.
Existing initiatives in this field are primarily focused
on presenting information in different forms;
however, we believe that developing an educational
module and actively implementing it in primary
schools will contribute to increased awareness of
both children and adults consequently resulting in:
increased level of uncovered illegal content,
faster and easier work of law enforcement
agencies, due to greater knowledge of cyber
victims and increased level of reporting the
incidents,
decreased level of the number of cybercrime
cases due to the increased knowledge regarding
information system security.
We believe that only active involvement of the
target groups will produce effective results.
In the EU Kids Online survey, only one third of
9-16 year olds (33 percent) stated that their parents
know more about the internet than they do (Ólafsson
and Livingstone, 2013). We thus believe that all
target groups need to substantially improve their
knowledge regarding internet safety and the issues
of illegal internet use.
The main aspect of our project is to develop and
implement an innovative educational module that
will result in active involvement of the target groups
in the activities of prevention and fight against
illegal internet content and related activities.
Namely, the educational modules teach the target
groups how to protect themselves, as well as how to
appropriately react when faced with illegal internet
use, with emphasis on raising the level of reporting
to relevant agencies. Additionally, the project
125
Lapuh Bele J., Sladoje Jemec A., Rozman D. and Dimc M..
Blended Learning as a Strategic Method Against the Illegal Use of Internet.
DOI: 10.5220/0004837401250130
In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU-2014), pages 125-130
ISBN: 978-989-758-021-5
Copyright
c
2014 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)
addresses the issue of the protection and support of
victims of these types of cybercrime not only
through the establishment of clear guidelines and
recommendations, but also with the establishment of
an online cybercrime victim "hot-line".
2 CYBERCRIME PREVENTION
In addition to its various benefits, the internet also
contributes to increased exposure to different forms
of crime. Today, the Internet enables certain
offenses, which were unimaginable in the past. The
level of privacy has substantially decreased as the
general public willingly publishes personal
information, which, of course, once published can
never be erased – the fact that the general public,
children and teenagers in particular, seem to easily
forget. Furthermore, fraud and scams are
successfully abusing the virtual environment in
which boundaries and time are irrelevant.
Young internet users should be aware of the
threats to their identity and wealth, as well as
potential future impact of their actions. Furthermore,
the core rules of etiquette in the virtual environment
should be communicated to all users. Through
raising the level of awareness of our children, we
will be moving toward the creation of an
information security culture in the long run.
2.1 Information Security Issues
Information security is a very wide area. It
encompasses both technical security, as well as the
threats posed by the users themselves, whether that
is due to the lack of knowledge or naivety when
exposed to social engineering. In relation to the
assurance of technical security, IT professionals can
install firewalls, antivirus software and enable
regular updates of the operation system and antivirus
software. However, there is no software to protect
the system from its weakest link – the human. As the
success of a social engineer is the result of
greediness, trustfulness, naivety and, especially in
younger people, inexperience, protection against
social engineering can be implemented only with the
users’ personal knowledge, attention and care.
Parents can select appropriate software to
improve the security on the child's computer or
mobile phone. However, unfortunately many parents
do not have sufficient knowledge in order to ensure
child’s safe participation in the virtual environment.
When it comes to information security, we
primarily consider PCs and often forget the mobile
devices, especially smartphones and tablets.
According to Gartner Inc. (Gartner Inc., 2013) the
proliferation of lower-priced tablets and their
growing capability is accelerating the shift from PCs
to tablets. The number of smart phones is also
growing rapidly. In January 2013 Center for Safer
Internet Safe.si (Safe.si, 2013) published the results
of the research among internet users, which suggests
that parents consider the appropriate age when a
child gets a mobile phone to be 11 years. Almost
every teenager has a smartphone. The number of
applications for mobile devices cannot be counted.
Each user has installed many of them. However, in
these devices, we do not pay enough attention to the
issue of information security.
Regardless of the platform, the main sources of
threats are the interactive functionalities of the
modern World Wide Web, especially in relation to
social networks. Creating a profile is a prerequisite
for joining the social networks. The profile includes
information about the user along with pictorial
material. When a user creates a profile, he/she can
search for other users, different links, and can collect
and share contacts list. The use of social network
systems is increasingly popular. Interest groups
attempt to realize their interests by using such a
medium. The common tendency that an individual
collects a multitude of “friends” is not derived from
the human need for companionship, but from the
need for status. For many users it could be said that
the whole point of these networks is in the
accumulation of as many friends as possible (Rosen,
2007).
In addition to the positive characteristics and
trends, such as integration of users with common
interests and keeping in touch with real friends
worldwide, the users can be quickly exposed to
abuse, inconvenience, and invasion of privacy. After
creating his/her own profile, the user often forgets
that the web is like a "bulletin board" and that the
information published on the internet stays there
forever. It is practically impossible to trust all online
friends as much as friends in the real world, though
via online social networks the users often behave in
the same way. The consequence of this is the fact
that the increased use of online social networks
excessively reduces the level of self-protection,
while at the same time also decreasing the level of
attention, thereby unduly increasing the level of trust
(Gregoric, 2010).
Users of the internet should be aware of the risks
and pitfalls, as they can ensure their own safety with
caution and taking appropriate action. The set of
traps and risks may include: poor passwords, spam,
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fake websites, false internet phone calls, identity
theft.
2.2 Cybercrime and Its Impacts on
Young People
Children and adolescents represent a vulnerable
group of users who spend a lot of time on the web
and social networks. They are exposed to the same
threats as seniors, some of which can be devastating.
Due to its serious consequences, we have focused on
the following forms of crime as it relates to young
people:
Cyberbullying - bullying of children and
teenagers (threats, harassment, humiliation,
embarrassment, etc.) carried out by children and
teenagers with the use of internet, digital
technologies or mobile phones.
Online sexual harassment and grooming –
includes all actions with the goal of lowering the
child’s inhibitions in order to sexually assault the
child.
Child pornography and the dissemination of
inappropriate content - all materials showing
children or teenagers in inappropriate sexual
context.
Child development can be harmfully affected by
improper internet content. Inappropriate content
constitutes contents that foster violence, spread hate
speech and racial intolerance, enable online
harassment, humiliation and insults, mockery of
bodily defects, distribution of pornographic material
to children, encourage dangerous activities, show
examples of extreme violence and last but not least
allow playing video games with violent and other
problematic content. Furthermore, websites such as
Pro-Ana promote anorexia, publish photos of boney
models and celebrities as an incentive for extreme
weight loss called "thinspiration". They promote
anorexia and bulimia as a lifestyle rather than as a
disease or food disorder. This is a dangerous
message to young boys and girls who are in a
vulnerable period of adolescence and receptive to
environmental influences.
Online pornography has become a global
problem. UNICEF estimates that more than 4
million websites, which show juvenile victims and
even children younger than two years, can be found
on the internet (Cehovin, 2010). Such an experience
causes long-term effects on the child's later life both
in terms of psychological effects, such as feelings of
guilt, responsibility for the abuse, low self-esteem,
feelings of inferiority and depression, as well as in
the light of the fact that a child is victimized every
time anybody watches material depicting his/her
sexual abuse. Moreover, due to the simplicity of
spreading the materials with the use of web
technology, it is very difficult to stop the abuse. It is
impossible to completely remove the materials, once
published on the Web (Dimc & Dobovsek, 2012).
2.3 Digital Identity
Digital identity is made up of the following four
categories of information (Maurel, 2009):
Authentication elements: email address, user
name, password, last name, first name, alias, IP
address, etc.
Data: personal, administrative, occupational,
banking, social data, etc.
Identifiers: photograph, logo, image, avatar, etc.
Digital traces: contributions to public content
management systems such as Twitter, YouTube,
Facebook, Wikipedia, etc.
Digital tracks are practically indelible. Internet
users, especially children, are unaware that their
digital identity may affect their lives. Furthermore,
inappropriate comments and posts, inappropriate
pictures and videos can lead to abuse and can
negatively affect their everyday life.
Active participation on the Internet should be
seen as something positive; of course, if a person
creates a positive online identity.
2.4 How to Prevent Cybercrime among
Youth
Nowadays, parents cannot and should not prohibit
the use of online environment and activities on
social networks. However, they can increase the
awareness of the risks and teach the children how to
protect themselves.
Children and teenagers, due to their avid use
coupled with naivety, are in much greater danger of
publishing too much personal information and
creating too open-public profile in social software
applications.
Due to the widespread use of social networking
sites by children and adolescents, it is important for
parents to play an important educative role. Their
task is not prohibiting the use, but rather raising the
awareness about the consequences of actions
performed in the virtual environment. Complete
control by parents is practically impossible, since
children and adolescents can monitor and change
their profiles at school, with friends, via mobile
devices. Therefore, the main task of the parents is to
communicate the awareness of the potential hazards
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and teach their children how to appropriately react
when faced with troubles online. Adults should
supervise children and teach adolescents to
recognize the bad in the virtual environment.
Parents and teachers should talk to the children
in order to warn them of the risks posed by
irresponsible behavior on the internet, and children
should have a sense that they can always turn to
them. Therefore, the parents should constantly
improve their knowledge on the subject.
Parents and children ought to spend some time
online together. Children should inform their parents
about their favorite websites. Parents should also
have control over the time a child spends on the
Internet. Child's computer should be in a room
accessible by all family members. It must be
protected by a filter, which blocks inappropriate
content. Parents should also emphasize the value of
personal data. They must tell their children that
personal data, photos, name, address, school or data
regarding their family members should not be given
without their permission. Parents ought to alert the
children to be careful when faced with any proposal
for a meeting from people they met online. Without
the knowledge and permission of the parent or
responsible adult, a child should know that he/she
should not meet anyone, despite the promising
potential of the meeting. Children need to be aware
that the people they are talking to on the internet
may not be who they present themselves to be
(Spletno oko, 2013).
3 PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
In order to appropriately adjust the learning content
included in the project to the current issues and
existing knowledge of target groups, we performed a
preliminary research dealing with the level of
awareness regarding cybercrime and information
safety. In addition to the performed analysis on a
group of children, teenagers and adults, we also
reviewed the existing research in the field of
cybercrime and information safety in Slovenia, as
well as EU in general. The findings of existing
research, combined with the findings of our
preliminary analysis, were consequently used for the
selection of the key areas to be included in our
educational modules.
The analysis was performed with the use of two
questionnaires intended for children and teenagers.
The first questionnaire was prepared for children up
to 12 years of age the second questionnaire was
prepared for teenagers (older than 12 years). The
first questionnaire contained fewer questions than
the second questionnaire, since we assumed that the
children in the first group are only beginning to use
the internet, while the teenagers are already using a
wider variety of internet functionalities. The third
questionnaire was prepared for adults (parents and
teachers), since we believe it is crucial for parents
and teachers to be included in the educational
process regarding cybercrime and information
safety. Parents and teachers perform a crucial role in
the child’s entrance to the virtual world; namely,
they should educate the child regarding the positive
and negative effects and not merely rely on
restriction and control. For the distribution of the
questionnaire, the chain-referral sampling method
was used; the questionnaire was given to a selected
group of participants, which then recruited future
subjects among their acquaintances. The total
number of participants included 205 adults, 132
children under the age of 12 and 128 children older
than 12 years of age.
The children and teenagers included in the
analysis all use the internet and only 0.1 percent of
the participants stated that they do not have home
internet access; however, they use the internet in
school. Their answers were compared to the rest of
the participants and we found no differences in the
level of use and awareness.
The comparison of the answers between children
and teenagers displayed differences primarily in
their relation toward parents, namely, older children
are less likely to turn to their parents when in doubt
of when in trouble, which is a reason for concern,
especially due to the fact that teenagers spend large
amount of time on the internet. The latter can be
attributed also to the increasingly wider use of
smartphones.
One of the first steps toward securing your
information online is undoubtedly the use of
passwords. Therefore, we were interested if the
children and teenagers are aware of the importance
of safekeeping their passwords. The results were
encouraging, since 60 percent of the children stated
they do not share their passwords with anyone.
However, concerning is the fact that the percentage
of children who would entrust their friends with
their password increases with the age of the child,
namely the percentage is very low in case of the
children under the age of 12 (approx. 4 percent) and
raises sharply with older children (approx. 16
percent). Similar were the findings related to the
question of safeguarding privacy on the internet,
personal data in particular. We found that younger
children are much more likely to consult with their
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parents (90 percent) before posting personal
information, while this percentage drops with the
increasing age of the child (58 percent in the group
of teenagers).
Graph 1: Who would you entrust with your passwords?
In addition to their attitude toward safeguarding
their privacy while online, we were also interested in
how the children and teenagers establish new
contacts and create friendships online, and how they
would react when faced with an invitation from an
online acquaintance to meet in real life. The amount
of friendships created and maintained online
undoubtedly increased greatly with the wide
popularity of social networks. The research results
displayed that children in general do not discuss the
difficulties they encounter online. More than half of
teenagers included in the research stated that they
would not meet in real life with a person they meet
online; however, they would not tell anybody about
the invitation to meet. The fact that almost 8 percent
of children would accept the invitation to meet
should raise concern. Furthermore, almost half of
teenagers stated that in case their online “friend”
would ask them to keep a secret, they would do so
without additional questions.
Overall, the research displayed a concerning lack
of awareness regarding the dangers of cybercrime,
cyber-bullying in particular, since 46 percent of
teenagers stated they are not particularly concerned
regarding this issue and would simply ignore it if
encountered with a case of cyber-bullying. The
results of the analysis thus pointed out certain areas
of concern where additional education of children
and teenagers is needed in order to avoid further
problems. Children and teenagers should be aware
of the positive and negative points of the use of
internet, and should be taught how to continue their
self-education regarding cybercrime and internet
safety.
Graph 2: What would you do if a person you met online
would ask you to meet in person?
4 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In order to ensure the use of effective and modern
learning methods, we use state-of-the-art LMS
application eCampus to create hypermedia e-
learning content and deliver it through blended
learning approach to approximately 10 percent of
Slovenian primary schools.
LMS system is a web application designed for all
platforms and devices, including tablets and
smartphones.
The primary objective of the project is the
development and implementation of educational
modules for the field of cybercrime related to
children and teenagers, which are designed for
specific target groups, namely children, teenagers,
parents and teachers.
The educational modules include the field of
information system security, cybercrime victim
protection and support, online safety, online
activities and communication via mobile technology,
etc. and strive to reach active involvement of all
participants. Special attention is paid to the youngest
target group (3rd and 4th grade) by designing
learning content specifically for their level of
understanding and even providing different cases for
boys and girls.
The objectives and methods of the project
include:
overview and analysis of critical areas of
cybercrime related to children and teenagers,
development of e-learning materials to be
included in the educational modules,
development of blended learning methods
(combination of e-learning and face-to-face
learning) in order to achieve active involvement
of participants,
BlendedLearningasaStrategicMethodAgainsttheIllegalUseofInternet
129
implementation of educational blended learning
modules in selected schools, and
evaluation of results.
To achieve the planned objectives, various expert
areas are incorporated in the project: educational,
technological, psychological, sociological, and legal.
Consequently, the experts of different fields are
involved in order to ensure an all-inclusive and
cohesive content, and implementation of an
interdisciplinary approach. All experts involved in
the project have long-standing experience and
expertise in their particular field.
A project management methodology is used in
all phases of the project to ensure the control over all
project activities and ensure stable use of resources.
Furthermore, the inclusion of relevant parties in the
project team or as external evaluators aids the
implementation, as well as continuance, of the
project objectives after the formal end of the project.
The target group includes selected groups from
different primary schools - their pupils, parents and
teachers. The effect of the performed educational
activities will be evaluated through comparison of a
questionnaire/exam prior and following the course
coupled with a questionnaire/exam one month after
the course that will be performed also on a control
group.
Since 10 percent of Slovenian primary schools
participate in the project, the critical mass is reached
in order to create multiplying effects and lead to the
long-term goal of the project, which is to continue
the educational activities culminating in the
implementation of the developed modules in the
obligatory educational curriculum.
Furthermore, the project includes the
development and dissemination of best practices in
the field of protection and support of cybercrime
victims in relation with these types of cybercrime.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The presented preliminary research, coupled with
research performed with parents and educators
displayed a need for additional education of all
target groups regarding the dangers of cybercrime
and the importance of information safety. In order to
successfully address the issue of cybercrime, it is
important to implement successful preventive
techniques in all target groups; therefore, continuous
education undoubtedly plays and important role in
raising the awareness of all users and encourages
them to implement the preventive techniques in
everyday life.
In order to evaluate the effects of the educational
module implementation, an evaluation of the effects
will be performed following the conclusion of each
educational module. Through the implementation of
the educational modules that will target our youngest
internet users, and consequent recommendations for
further actions, we will be making the next step
toward the creation of an information security
culture.
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