MANILA, Philippines — Less than two weeks before the opening of classes in public schools in a blended learning setting, the Department of Justice has come out guidelines for the conduct of online classes to protect children from abuse and from harmful content.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Department of Education’s recommendation to reset the opening of classes to October 5. No face-to-face classes will be allowed when the classes start, while sessions will be limited to online sessions.
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The DOJ acknowledged that using video conferencing for online classes poses many security risks. This includes “loss of confidentiality, availability, and integrity of computer data, as well as the exposure of students to abusive strangers and harmful online content.”
Here are the guidelines the DOJ crafted for the conduct of online classes:
School administrators are advised to never share meeting room credentials — neither the ID nor the password — to the public.
Meetings are advised to be set as follows:
- Accept participants’ request to join individually
- Provide a standard naming instruction for participants, such as: SURNAME, first name, middle initial
- Start meeting with participant's video camera turned off
- Require password from participants
- Mute participants upon entry
- Disable desktop/screen share for participants who are not assigned as hosts of the meeting
The DOJ said that participants must be prohibited from renaming themselves, sending messages to each other, accessing file transfers, and sharing their screens and whiteboards during meetings. They will also not be allowed to replace their background image.
Students should also not be allowed to be alone in the virtual classroom. A school administrator must be always present for supervision.
The DOJ also advised educators to always update the application being used. “Every service/application connected to the internet is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. It is crucial that users regularly update their apps once it is available,” it added.
Parents and guardians meanwhile are urged to guide their children in their online activities, especially during classes. “This includes their capacity to teach them how to discern information online and to provide guidance on how to implement safety measures to prevent becoming a victim of cybercrimes,” DOJ said.
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Report irregularities
The public is urged to report any irregularities or unwanted circumstances during online classes to law enforcers.
They may reach the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group through: acg@acg.pnp.gov.ph; (+63) 998-598-8116; (+632) 8414-1560; pnpacg.ph/main; and www.facebook.com/anticybercrimegroup. E-complaints may be filed at https://acg.pnp.gov.ph/eComplaint/
The National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division meanwhile can be reached through ccd@nbi.gov.ph; (+632) 8523-8231 to 38 local 3455; and www.nbi.gov.ph.
Reports may also be sent to the DOJ’s Office of Cybercrime through cybercrime@doj.gov.ph; (+632) 8524-8216; www.doj.gov.ph/office-of-cybercrime.html; and www.facebook.com/OfficeofCybercrimePH.