Students chat with the Premier online

News bulletin: 15 September 2009

A group of students took up the opportunity to chat with Premier John Brumby and Minister for Education Bronwyn Pike about safe online behaviour in a virtual discussion last week.

A total of 77 students and teachers from schools across the state, including Bendigo, Warrnambool, Maffra and Greater Melbourne, took part in an online conference with the Premier and Ms Pike from the comfort of their classrooms on 8 September.

The Leading Online Virtual Conference was a lead-up to the Leading Responsibly in a Digital World Student Summit on 12 October. The online conference and coming Summit are both designed to give students the opportunity to have their say on the important issue of responsible and respectful online use.

As well as chatting to the Premier and Ms Pike about the issues they felt were important to make the best use of the internet, students answered questions about how they normally communicate online and the potentials and risks involved with using the internet.

The well considered comments from the students flew fast and furious in response to discussions on cyberbullying and getting the message out about how to behave respectfully and ethically online. The conference clearly showed that students are keen to have their say on these issues and have strong opinions about using the internet responsibly.

For more information and to view the conference, including video and audio of the Premier and Ms Pike, see: Leading Online Virtual Conference