This is an archived resource page. Information listed here may no longer be up-to-date.
Updated May 3, 2021
The guidance below is intended to support OSU units with developing and implementing virtual programming for youth participants (under age 18). Recommendations are offered as best practices and should not be construed as official university policy. For current policies related to youth programming at Oregon State University, including Standards of Behavior for program personnel, visit youth.oregonstate.edu/policy. See Online Safety Resources for a collection of links related to safe virtual programming for youth.
Guidance for Online Youth Programs
Adults who are responsible for delivering virtual content to youth audiences are expected to abide by the same Standards of Behavior that apply to all OSU youth programs.
These standards address the need to include a second adult in any direct electronic communications, secure parent consent prior to capturing or using any media containing minors, and limit 1-on-1 interactions. In addition to the guidelines for youth programs in general, the following recommendations should be considered when creating safe virtual experiences for youth:
- Ensure that you have a current technology use agreement and electronic code of conduct for youth participants (see Templates below).
- As a general rule, avoid recording or capturing the likeness of any minor participants. This is especially important to avoid if you are using a personal device or shared computer.
- Secure parental consent forms, which specifically authorize youth participation in the virtual programming. Be sure to include specifics about supervision ratios (adults-to-youth), program design, content moderation and behavior expectations.
- Parents or caregivers should be cc’d on all meeting invitations. Individual invitations or unmonitored messages should not be sent directly to youth attendees without including a parent recipient. This includes private chats or direct messaging within a software application.
- Maintain online security by using technology that requires login via e-mail invitation, password protection, or other secure methods (see Technical Tips below). Avoid posting meeting links on public sites.
- Monitor and prohibit sharing of personal contact information. This includes any personally-identifiable information, such as phone number, social media accounts, e-mail addresses, etc.
- Plan a debrief at the end of each session to learn what worked and what can be improved.
See Templates below for sample virtual codes of conduct for program staff and youth participants.
In alignment with Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") regulations, parents should ultimately be in control over what information is collected from young children--particularly those under age 13--while online. Several popular social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, require that users be at least 13 years old in order to gain access to their services. Given the dynamic nature of the Internet, it is often difficult to determine which commercial websites and online services (including mobile apps) are directed at children. While the COPPA rule does not directly apply to OSU, it should inform our usage of certain platforms to deliver content to youth.
The chart below includes general guidance on appropriate usage and possible age restrictions of several popular 3rd party platforms. In many cases, while it may be acceptable to use tools like Facebook to promote your program or events to a general audience, it may not be appropriate to use the same service for delivery of programming to children and youth.
Note: this not intended to be an exhaustive list, and OSU does not endorse usage of any particular service for its youth programs.
Adult | Youth 13-18 | Children <13 | |||||
Type | Platform | Delivery | Promotion | Delivery | Promotion | Delivery | Promotion |
Social Media |
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Twitch |
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YouTube |
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Ask.fm |
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Video Collaboration | Zoom | ||||||
Google Hangouts |
There should be no issues using this platform
- Zoom video conferencing is a free service made available to OSU personnel.
- Canvas is the learning management system (LMS) available to individuals with ONID credentials. For instructions on how to add non-OSU individuals to a Canvas Studio site, go here.
- Bridge can be used to host online training or professional development for OSU employees (ONID login required).
See also Online Safety Resources below for non-OSU sponsored content.
To view the Privacy Notice for Oregon State University, go to https://uit.oregonstate.edu/ois/privacy-notice-oregon-state-university.
Zoom Meetings’ privacy policies can be found here: https://zoom.us/privacy and https://www.zoom.us/docs/en-us/childrens-privacy.html
Zoom is utilized by K-12 schools and educational institutions to connect virtually with their students and is FERPA compliant. More information can be found here.
See Templates below for sample parental consent forms and waivers.
It is recommended that OSU youth programs utilize the more restrictive Webinar platform when using Zoom. Webinars are designed so that only the host and designated presenters are able to share video and audio. Webinar attendees join in listen-only mode, and participant lists are only visible to the host or presenter(s).
For information on how to request a Zoom Webinar license through OSU Information Services, visit https://is.oregonstate.edu/zoom/webinar-licenses.
If the webinar service is not an option for your program, the following settings are recommended when using Zoom's standard Meetings service:
- Disable “Join Before Host” to ensure your youth participants cannot join the meeting until the adult host and moderator are present.
- Enable the Waiting Room feature, which prevents attendees from joining the meeting until you are ready, with adequate program staff in place.
- Turn off (disable) participant recording. You can do this from the Host Dashboard.
- Turn off (disable) screen sharing and file sharing by participants. You can do this from the Host Dashboard.
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Disable participant-to-participant private chat using the “Everyone Publicly” setting.
- For more information about chat settings, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203650445-In-Meeting-Chat.
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If using the public chat feature, consider whether or not you will be saving a chat log. If so, logs should be saved to a university-owned computer or device and must follow OSU's General Records Retention guidelines.
- For more information about saving the chat log, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004792763-Saving-In-Meeting-Chat.
For additional information about how to properly configure Zoom Meetings, please review OSU's Zoom Security Guide.
Take an online mini-course on how to deter "zoombombing" and unauthorized access in Zoom (Canvas login required)
See also the following recent (March 2020) security guidance published by Zoom:
- School Administrator’s Guide to Rolling Out Zoom (.pdf download)
- How to keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event
- Acknowledgement of Risk and Waiver of Liability Forms - used to inform participants and parents about potential risks involved with an activity, and to document their acceptance of those risks.
- Model and Information Release Forms - required in order to record the name, likeness, voice, participation, comments and/or appearance of participants in video, sound, photographic or written material.
- Sample Virtual Code of Conduct for staff (addendum to Youth Safety Standards of Behavior)
- Sample Virtual Code of Conduct for youth participants
Online Safety Resources
- CommonSense.org – resources for educators and families
- ConnectSafely.org – safety, privacy and security for users of connected technology
- Prevent Cyberbullying from StopBullying.gov - be aware of warning signs a child is being cyberbullied or is cyberbullying others
- Protecting Children During a Crisis - free 30-min online training
- Safe Online Learning for Teachers
- Emergency Remote Instruction Checklist from Quality Matters
- Family Online Safety Institute - international non-profit working to make the online world safer for kids and families
- NetSmartz online safety education from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Staying Safe on Social Media - provides strategies for organizations to protect youth from the risks of technology
- Electronic Communications and Organizations' Duty to Protect
- Electronic Communication with Youth in Challenging Times (.pdf download) - outlines appropriate uses of technology
- Protecting Kids Online from Federal Trade Commission - provides strategies to talk to kids about online safety and employ parental controls for supervision
- Teaching Online: Best Practices, Technology & Tools from National Association for Gifted Children
- Keeping Your Kids Safe Online During COVID-19 (PDF download)