Hundreds of students at Franklin Regional Middle School on Friday participated in an interactive assembly presentation from one of America's most prominent tech companies to learn the importance of online safety and security.
As part of its Online Safety Roadshow, Google is hoping to raise awareness about the importance of online protection measures when it comes to shielding some of the county's youngest internet users from the many dangers that exist across the more than one billion sites on the web.
Google formally launched its Online Safety Roadshow right before the pandemic began, though it went on a pause following its onset.
The company's May 26 event at Franklin Regional Middle School marked the first time that Google has offered such a presentation locally. It worked with Pennsylvania State Senator Kim Ward and employees out of Google's Pittsburgh office in Bakery Square to organize the presentation, which had students learn how to create a strong yet memorable password, avoid talking to strangers online and how they can remain kind to people using the internet, among other lessons.
"Parents are critical in how kids are using online tools but at Google, we have these resources to come in and also help these kids understand how to use them smarter," MJ Henshaw, a public affairs spokesperson at Google, said. "In all these places where we have offices, we don't just want to just invest in these spaces; we want to make sure that we're being good community members. And so it's our way of coming in and helping the communities where we have offices and locations."
Google does not charge schools for the assemblies it puts on and Henshaw said the company relies heavily on its local offices to help decide where it should offer such presentations. Google is also open to working with interested schools directly, Henshaw said.
"We love working with as many people as possible," Henshaw said. "This is just the one we went to today. We're happy to work with as many people that are interested in it."
