BSA Announces Nationwide, Back-to-School Poll to Name Mascot
Washington, DC (August 10, 2004) Elementary school students heading back to school in September will be invited to name the Play It Safe in Cyber Space mascot, a copyright-crusading ferret who teaches tech-savvy kids about cyber ethics.
Beginning September 1, thousands of kids nationwide are expected to log on to
www.playitcybersafe.com to vote for one of five ferret names by the end of the month. The winning name will be unveiled in January in a new, educational comic book curriculum.
Play It Safe in Cyber Space is the Business Software Alliances (BSA) education program that teaches children the importance of responsible computer and Internet use, respect for digital creativity and copyright protection.
Computer usage is commonplace in youth education today, and good legal and ethical behaviors need to be taught with the technology, said Diane Smiroldo, vice president, public affairs for BSA. We hope that naming the ferret and creating a comic book curriculum that focuses on respecting digital copyrighted works will be a fun way to remind kids and educators about the importance of learning and practicing good cyber ethics.
The four-page comic book about cyber ethics created by BSA and Weekly Reader, a leader in educational publishing, will debut in early January. The storyline, which features the ferret as the Copyright Crusader, is designed to educate children about the importance of protecting and respecting copyrighted works such as software, music, games and movies. The comic book and companion teachers guide will be mailed nationwide to fourth grade teachers who subscribe to Weekly Reader and will be available for free download at
www.playitcybersafe.com.
Recent research underscores the need to continue to educate our young people about the importance of cyber ethics and respect for intellectual property.
Results of a Harris Interactive poll, commissioned by BSA, show that young people ages 8-18 understand the meaning of copyright, yet still illegally download and copy software and other digital materials. In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of cyber ethics, BSA encourages teachers to utilize educational resources, such as the cyber ethics curriculum, Play It Safe in Cyber Space, co-developed with Weekly Reader, in their lesson plans for students.
Children may vote for their favorite ferret name by visiting
www.playitcybersafe.com, from September 1 to 30, 2004. Also available for download on the site are free copies of BSAs currently-available cyber ethics curriculum, Play It Safe In Cyberspace. Since its initial distribution in 2002, the curriculum has reached more than 13 million kids, parents and teachers.
