Abstract:

The information and communication technologies (ICT) have reached impressive development in the recent 20 years and they have positively influenced almost all the aspects of human life, including the education. Currently, their usage is not only in the hands of enthusiastic and technologically proactive teachers who, since the very beginning, have seen them as versatile and useful didactic aids. However, ICT are becoming more and more universal tools and means of modern education. The use of ICT in the education is not viewed just as competitive advantage with a “wow-effect”, but it is considered to be a common part of educational processes which has positive influence on their quality.

These technologies are often being used by young generation on regular – everyday base – as source of information, entertainment and means of peer communication. Fully-fledged application of modern information and communication technologies – as for example smartphones, tablets and laptops – comes together with their connection to the internet. The usage of modern ICT technologies with the internet access also brings a number of pitfalls and risks which may negatively influence children's development. Some of the dangers include for example cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cybergrooming, sexting, obscenity, phishing and others. The teachers and the parents are those who should be fully aware of the problems which are linked to the internet use. They should maintain preventive measures in order to eliminate these dangers and to educate the children about this issue.

This paper aims to map the availability and the usage of modern information and communication technologies with the internet access by the pupils of elementary schools. The key aspects are the safety of the usage and the systematic education of the pupils in this field. These aspects are based on curricular documents intended for elementary education and on the parents' knowledge and attitudes towards the given issues. The basic method of the realized research probe is a questionnaire evaluated with application of quantitative methods.

Keywords:

Education, ICT, internet, safety, elementary school.