Our youngest learners are using all kinds of online learning tools but what do they understand about password safety? MONKEYCOW is the perfect storybook to teach password safety this year. This blog posts contains an exclusive story video to use at home during the month of Safer Internet Day and free resources to send home too.

The National Cyber Security Centre recommends to ‘Think Random’ when setting passwords. Choosing three random words that are memorable, but not personal to you, makes it easy to remember but also difficult to guess your password.

A good way to create a strong and memorable password is to use three random words. Numbers and symbols can still be used if needed, for example 3redhousemonkeys27!

Be creative and use words memorable to you, so that people can’t guess your password. Your social media accounts can give away vital clues about yourself so don’t use words such as your child’s name or favourite sports team which are easy for people to guess.

National Cyber Security Centre, Think Random

But how might you teach password security to children? It sounds like a really dry lesson for any learners let alone young children!

MONKEYCOW STORY

This story, from number-one best selling children’s author Stuart Spendlow, is the perfect book to teach password safety and the concept of layering up with random words; so long you don’t tell anyone your password!

From the creators of number one best-selling PENGUINPIG comes MONKEYCOW (Limited Edition)! When a little girl creates the most delicious chocolate cake imaginable for the summer fair, she hides it in a top-secret underground base with a password for the door. Filled with delight, she makes her way around the town spreading the news and sharing the password with some locals. However, little does she know the disaster that is soon to strike…

MONKEYCOW

Make sure you click on the MONKEYCOW link above to get your hardcopy of the story.

MONKEYCOW Workbook

After learning the story, download this free Pages workbook to use at home or in school to teach password layering. If you do not have an iPad or Mac to run Pages, download this free PDF version of the workbook.

On your Apple device, click the link above. In your browser tap the Download button. Open the document in Pages, a free app by Apple you may need to install first.

The workbook includes teacher notes which explains the objectives and activities included.

Take children through the social media apps of Sunny Town residents, let them guess their passwords then use ‘invisible ink’ to write layered passwords of random words.

Learning At Home

With school closures across the world, it’s likely more children are spending time logging in to online education sites and services to learn at home. This May, bring online safety learning in to your home with MONKEYCOW and teach the importance of password safety and security.