Google's Be Internet Awesome has officially launched in the Philippines

Google's free multifaceted program Be Internet Awesome is aimed to educate children on the principles of digital citizenship and online safety. It focuses on five key topics: how to be smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave when using the internet. It includes a variety of teaching materials and related resources to assist teachers and parents in teaching digital literacy principles to kids.

"The internet is a crucial part of everyday life. For kids and students, it opens up many opportunities to play, learn, and connect. However, it also exposes them to risks that adults face too. With Be Internet Awesome, we hope to help parents and educators in promoting and teaching digital responsibility inside and outside of the classroom--to raise the next generation of netizens who’s more smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave online. We will continue to work closely with the Department of Education and other partners from across sectors to bring Be Internet Awesome to more students and communities nationwide," said Bernadette Nacario, Country Director of Google Philippines.

Google ran a pilot run of Be Internet Awesome in the Philippines with the Department of Education (DepEd) to test it and obtain comments that might help improve the program further. More than 20 schools from Antipolo, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and Nueva Ecija participated in the experimental run. Over 50 instructors presented the Be Internet Awesome lessons to a total of 2,014 children in grades four to eight.

The pilot run's findings were positive. The kids offered Be Internet Awesome a high rating of 90 percent to 94 percent on essential criteria. They claimed it helped them learn important online safety practices, which they believe are critical in the digital era. Meanwhile, the instructors considered the content to be very useful and indicated they had additional suggestions for how to improve it.

"Educating students about digital responsibility is imperative and using Google's Be Internet Awesome is an effective way to do this. We’d like to thank Google for launching an important program that will equip our teachers and parents with the accessible resources they need to teach digital citizenship. Coming from the success of the pilot run, this program holds great potential to educate more students nationwide. The Department of Education will continue to work closely with Google to potentially integrate Be Internet Awesome into the national curriculum so it can be formally taught in the classroom," said Leonor Magtolis Briones, Secretary of the Department of Education.

Be Internet Awesome’s website in the Philippines is available in English and Filipino. Visit them to learn more about the program and access its resources.