The other day I was fortunate enough to experience a Parent Coffee Morning, run regularly (first Wednesday of each month) by our school. This particular day had three workshops running, Summer Reading, Summer Math & Summer Technology and parents rotated through each session in 30 minute slots. We had over 50 parents attend which was very exciting! In the session that I was helping in (getting a taste of what part of my new job will be like) was of course, Summer Technology – ideas for what you and your child could doing over the summer with technology.
In one of the sessions, it became very clear that a lot of parents are afraid. Afraid of privacy on the internet, afraid of managing their child’s activity on the internet, afraid of things they’re not even sure about and can’t really explain. Whilst some are afraid, they realise that the internet is not going to go away and those fears need to be addressed, conversations need to be had, and information needs to be sought.
So when Jeff Utecht shared with our Grade 5 team an article he came across regarding our children and the use of social media, it seemed like the perfect catalyst to start the information/conversation ball rolling. Whilst the rules of having a facebook account are “you must be 13 years of age or over”, the reality is more than half of our Grade 5 students already have a facebook account and are using facebook to a certain degree. We certainly do not encourage the use the facebook in Grade 5 but it would be remiss of us to blindly stick our heads in the sand and pretend that some of our students aren’t using it.
Below is an extract from the article. (click this link for the full article) I’ve shared it on our classroom blog for the parents of my students. It is very informative, has simple but very effective tips for parents and it’s well worth taking the time to read the entire article.
Who are your kids friending on Facebook? What are they really texting to their classmates? How much online time is too much?
Too often, parents who are misinformed about the social web (willfully or otherwise) will shut their kids out of it completely, only to find they are logging in anyway. If you’re not taking an active role in your child’s online life, you may be missing important opportunities to ensure they are on the path toward “digital citizenship,” and protected from inappropriate content and people.
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