Digital Citzenship
October is Digital Citizenship Month and we wanted to take a moment to share a couple of ideas with your family as media and digital devices are an integral part of our world today.
Make a family media plan. Media should work for you and within your family. When used thoughtfully and appropriately, media can enhance daily school life, boost reading comprehension, strengthen keyboarding skills, deepen problem solving, improve critical thinking and boost creativity skills. Look to organizations like Common Sense Media http://commonsensemedia.org or reviews about age-appropriate apps, games and programs to guide you in making the best choices for your children.
Treat media as you would any other environment in your child’s life. Know your children’s friends, both online and offline. Most online communities (Minecraft, Fortnight) state that users should please watch out if you are talking to people in their games. It is hard for either you or the gaming corporation to know for sure that what people say is true, or even if people are really who they say they are. Everyone should think twice about giving out information about yourself.
It’s okay for your children to be online as it will be a typical part of adolescent development, but be aware of your child’s social platforms. Many children need to be reminded that a platform’s privacy settings do not make things actually “private” and that images, thoughts, and behaviors shared online will instantly become a part of their digital footprint indefinitely. For example, some students already use Snapchat and have posted online material, but according to the user agreement no one under the age of 13 is allowed to create an account or use the service.
Keep the lines of communication with your child honest and open. Review apps your child has downloaded and be familiar with the usage agreement, what information is being collected, and what is being shared about your child with others. Set boundaries to protect and warn about the importance of privacy and the dangers of predators.
Kids will be kids. Mistakes will happen. Handle errors with empathy and turn those into teachable moments. Children learn from adults and if they know they have your support, their digital world will be easier to navigate.
Digital Citizenship Week: October 17 - 21
Throughout the week, Mrs. Kulp, Librarian and Mrs. Mueller, Technology Teacher, will be teaching lessons to focus on student safety and responsibility while being online. This is also a special spirit week. Check out the events below:
