Many primary aged children have enthusiastically and skillfully incorporated technology into their day-to-day lives in a manner, and at a rate, far in advance of most adults. Cyber-literacy, however, is not synonymous with cybersafety. Children need to be taught critical thinking skills in order to perceive and avoid the risks inherent with technology use, even if, traditionally, they may not be considered developmentally ready for such high-level thought processes. The acquisition of such skills is central to keeping primary-aged children safe as well as enhancing their online experience.

Hector's World™ (www.hectorsworld.com) is a downloadable animated series exploring cybersafety for early childhood and primary school age children. The first set of lesson plans, based on the pilot episode of Hector's World™, focuses on online privacy and is currently available from the NetSafe website. More episodes and lesson plans will be released throughout 2007 and 2008, so be sure to check the NetSafe and Hector’s World™ websites regularly for updates.