We designed the Be Internet Awesome program and the lessons in digital safety to be accessible and approachable for everyone. We created a game, Interland, to reinforce the lessons in an engaging and fun way. A series of unique characters (aka “Internauts”) and environments were designed to grow with the program, emphasize human characteristics and scenarios in a non-threatening, relatable, and age appropriate way. The entirely web-based game was designed so anyone could play on any device, anywhere.

We set out to make digital safety and citizenship lessons accessible for everyone, tailoring our implementation and placements to make them relevant and sticky for each target audience. For educators, we created a robust classroom curriculum. For parents, we helped jump start conversations with their kids with the “Be Internet Awesome Challenge” and family pledge to outline best practices for digital citizenship.

Most importantly, for kids, we built our key lessons and content into a format they already know and love: a video game. “Interland” teaches kids digital safety lessons with four “lands” (levels) that reinforce the lessons in the curriculum. Players can explore Kind Kingdom, a place that teaches how to avoid, report, and block cyberbullies, restoring kindness and respect to their online interactions. They can cross Reality River, a water level laden with questions about spotting phishing and scams. They can climb Mindful Mountain, a place that encourages smart and responsible social sharing. Lastly, they can race towards the Tower of Treasure, which teaches how to create and remember strong passwords.

Be Internet Awesome has been received positively by kids and adults alike. 4.2 million users have spent time learning on the website, more than 264,000 educators have downloaded our classroom curriculum, and most importantly, kids have spent more than 1.2 million hours conquering Interland. By opening up channels of communication and making intimidating subjects more approachable, we’re helping parents, teachers, and of course kids be their best selves online.