Carnegie Mellon University Uses Verizon Foundation Grant to Teach Children About Internet Safety

Teachers, parents and children in the Point Breeze community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will soon be part of an outreach program developed by Carnegie Mellon University that will teach them how to use the Internet safely and responsibly.

Carnegie Mellon's Information Networking Institute and CyLab received a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to develop a cyber awareness outreach program. The university and Verizon announced the outreach program during a visit to the St. Bede School in Point Breeze.

The program will design, create and deliver targeted educational workshops and materials that promote safe computer use for students in first-through-fourth grades. Two web-based tools will help deliver the learning modules and assess student outcomes.

"The Internet can be a wonderful resource for students, but it also has risks. As a technology company, we believe it is our responsibility to support programs that promote safe Internet use," said Patrick Gaston, Verizon Foundation President.