Updated: Thu Apr. 20 2006 2:29:55 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

Seventh grade students in Scarborough are the first in Ontario to use a software package designed to teach them about threats they could face while using the Internet.

CyberCops is a computer based program that teaches students in Grades 7 about the risks found in chat rooms and on-line bulletin boards.

Ontario's minister of consumer safety and correctional services said that the Internet is a good tool for students, but they also need to know about potential dangers.

"We have to make sure that not only the children, but their parents, realize that it is also a potential area for very, very great concern," Monte Kwinter said Thursday.

Students will use the CyberCops program in classrooms with teachers. The software gives students the chance to follow on-screen characters through potentially dangerous fictional situations.

In one scenario students see a videoconference between a police officer and two girls who complain they are being stalked by people they met online.

The two girls learn that posting their pictures on the Internet and giving out their phone number has left them vulnerable to bad people.

The CyberCops experience is supported by a guidebook for parents and teachers. In addition, there are lesson plans linked to health and physical education curriculum. As students use the program they are encouraged to develop an Internet safety plan for themselves.

Ontario spent $1 million helping to develop the software and create support materials.

In a similar software program called Air Dogs, Grade 8 students will learn to protect themselves from credit card fraud and learn about software piracy and on-line bullying.

With files from CTV's Dana Levenson and The Canadian Press