The new Rich Hill School Resource Officer Sergeant Adam Thomas will be helping with character education in the district this year. On Tuesday, Thomas worked with middle school students on aspects of Cyber Bullying and Cyber Predators. The class watched a real TikTok video posted by a student that resulted in a predator being able to track them to their address in Pheonix, Arizona using addresses visible in the background, the type of vegetation visible, the position of the sun, the food they were eating, Google Maps, their names mentioned in the video and on their TikTok account, and online directories. The video was only 31 seconds long and the girls were just posting that it was humid on their way to school.
Technology is an important component in education and society for these kids. While the school has multiple layers of cyber security protecting students, children are not well-protected on their personal devices like cell phones and home computers. Thomas hopes to educate kids on how to make wise decisions using their technology to keep themselves and their friends safe.
