Online games-based child safety environment

ABSTRACT

The Child Safety Awareness Project develops an online games-based educational resource to provide anti-abduction and sexual abuse prevention strategies for children aged 6 to 8. The key messages and strategies are based on global best practice and advice from the Queensland Police Service, the Crime and Misconduct Commission and Education Queensland, and designed to increase the child's awareness of situations which might impact upon their personal safety and to empower them with the ability to act appropriately. The online resources will be used as part of teacher supported activities within the classroom, as well as more widely accessible from a secure Internet site. The project evaluates the learning of children and usage of messages and strategies, and the affect of the resource on the child's self-esteem and confidence.

REFERENCES

• 1: Australian Institute of Criminology (2005): Crime facts info No. 103: Kidnapping and abduction, 2 August 2005
• 2: Diana Russell, The Secret Trauma, NY:Basic Books, 1986
• 3: Neame, A. & Heenan, M., Responding to sexual assault in rural communities, The Australian Institute of Family Studies, Canberra, 2004
• 4: Finkelhor, D., Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse. The Future of Children: Sexual Abuse of Children 4(2):31--53, 1994
• 5: Ernest E. A., President of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, 1991
• 6: Sanderson, J., Child-focused prevention of child sexual abuse programs, CMC, Australia, 2004
• 7: Kraizer, S. K., Rethinking Prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 10, 259--261, 1986
• 8: Battle, J., Manual for the culture-free self-esteem inventory for children, Special Child Publications, Seattle, WA, 1981
• 9: Leland, C. et. al. Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom, Language Arts 82(4), 257--269, 2005
• 10: Salpeter, J., Telling tales with technology, Technology and Learning 24(7), 18--22, 2005

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Animations

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities; Audio input/output; Evaluation/methodology
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Prototyping; Graphical user interfaces (GUI); Training, help, and documentation; Screen design (e.g., text, graphics, color); User-centered design

  J. Computer Applications
  J.4 SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
          Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY
      K.4.1 Public Policy Issues
          Subjects: Human safety

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Experimentation, Human Factors, Measurement, Performance

Keywords:
animation, anti-abduction, child safety, games-based learning, sexual abuse prevention, social and psychological evaluation