"It’s time to stop the 'circle of blame' that we perpetuate regarding inappropriate or unsafe Internet content, with media consumers blaming producers and advertisers, and producers and advertisers blaming consumers. We all share the responsibility for the culture we are creating and passing on to our children. "
In my view, there are 2 kinds of parents when it comes to digital responsibility and online safety:
- The parent that knows nothing about the Internet, thus their children are free to explore, learn, and make mistakes on their own.
- The parent that thinks they know "enough" about the Internet and uses monitoring software and makes every attempt to track and document all online activities of their children.
So, which parent will give their child the best chance to be a responsible, SAFE digital citizen? My thoughts: neither. Whether you do nothing to keep your child safe online or you do everything you think will work, nothing is a substitute for teaching, learning, and having open two-way communication.
Google offers up a good document on their site that is a collection of information to keep your family safe online. The advice is good for any parent to read, consider, and put into effect. Topics covered are:
- Sexually explicit and violent material
- Meeting strangers online
- Sharing too much personal information
- Cyberbullying
- Exposure to vulgar language
- Sites promoting inappropriate behaviors such as eating disorders/drug use
- Malware
Parents need to be proactive in keeping their children and family safe. The internet is a very powerful and useful tool, however like anything in the World, it comes with it's risks and potential consequences. Frequent and open communication is the key to creating safe, responsible digital citizens.
What are your thoughts? Are there things parents should or should not be doing that aren't mentioned here?
These are some great resources that Google provides for parents to use. We have had this discuss on how far educators need to go when teaching digital citizenship and when should parents step in. I believe that teaching digital safety and citizenship needs to be co-taught between home and school. Both teachers and parents need to take part in educating their children on the importance of Digital safety. I am glad to see there are resources out there that can guide parents in educating their children in digital safety.
ReplyDeleteResources are great, anything to make people discuss the problem is really important. We have become impersonal in many ways, and use computers to avoid conflict- this is a good time to utilize all 3- communication, technology and eye to eye contact!
DeleteTotally agree, it takes efforts on all fronts to address teaching digital citizenship. Unfortunately, the way things seem to be going now, it seems like the schools will have to take the lead on this with parents being support. We should keep this in mind and potentially take steps to educate parents while we educate the students.
DeleteLove it all! Definitely needs to be done using teamwork and almost like a co-teaching model. Parents and Teachers are both equally responsible to have our students/children being aware, safe and smart. We are educators need to do what we can to make this transition into the digital world smooth and not so intimidating if we want all of our parents on board. The process is so important to keep all lines of communication open and wanting to participate with the same goal in mind. Educating all involved and giving them the tools to be successful is so important and urgent (not sure that it would hurt to start young and maybe have some overlap as well from school and home).
DeleteSounds like this could be a very helpful topic for a parent and community educational seminar.
DeleteParents do need to take an active role in this endeavor. Unfortunately we have too many "adolescent adults" who want to be their child's favorite enabler... instead of making responsible adult decisions, which may not always be the most popular. Like the "birds and bees". we need to have a take about the "posts and tweets"... we all need to step up and really show how this stuff is dangerous and can ruin lives, and eliminate the innocence of youth.
ReplyDeleteI like your thought about teaching the "posts and the tweets." In addition to what we teach our kids about staying safe from others, we must teach them how to be safe from themselves- like what is appropriate to post and what isn't.
DeleteCute analogy Andy ;) Safety all around us is important to be taught and learned by all involved!
DeleteTotally agree with this post and I think that the "posts and the tweets" is a great way to put it. As we have said before, students need to be taught the proper online behaviors and if we don't teach it at school, all to often they won't be taught it anywhere else and they may end of learning the message the hard way.
DeleteI completely agree that parents should take a proactive approach to teaching about internet safety. Granted, I never really got any of "the talks" from my parents, and I think I turned out just fine, but it is a different world now. There are so many more dangers out there- that come from all directions- so it is imperative we discuss any and all issues with our kids. I talk with my daughter about strangers and such, and I am sure, within the next few years, I'll be adding internet safety to the list.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that taking a proactive approach to kids's safety on the Internet is essential. As we're considering using socia media to enhance our communication with students and parents, I think that finding online safety resources for parents and families would be great to share.
DeleteI think parents play a huge role in online safety and digital literacy of their children. In the past, when kids where doing their leisure activities, they were in the front or back yard were parents could easily see and assess what they are doing. In today's day and age, there are so many more options for leisure activity out there, such as the internet. Parents need to be in-tune with what their children are doing online, especially within their own home. I think that we as a school district can help parents with that by informing them and making them aware of current negative behaviors that are associated with kids of elementary, middle, and high school age.
ReplyDeleteI agree that parents are key in making sure that students are digitally safe and should try to be as aware as possible when it comes to what their students are doing online. By helping students learn what to do and what not to do, we are helping parents at home by giving their child a digital education.
DeleteMalicious content online is a reality that parents can't ignore. My 6 and 8 year old daughters are beginning to spend a lot more time on the computer and I am starting to work with them to be digitally savvy. However, a lot of the time, they are on their own, working in their room or at their desks. My plan is to educate them to the best of my ability and instill them with my beliefs and hope that they know right from wrong, whether it is online or not.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have taken the same position in our home as our kids got older. We tried to educate them about right from wrong, we talked a lot about safety issues and sexual and violent content, and like Ben, tried to instill in them values that would help them navigate online minefields. Still, to keep kids safe and on the right track, it takes vigilance, monitoring, and a ton of ongoing communication. Sometimes technology is so much a part of everyday life, it is easy to forget to keep the communication going.
DeleteIf you haven't already seen it, here is a resource with links to address Christian's list of issues (his bulleted points), plus a few more: http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents. I found it useful.
Great overview of Google resources; the bulleted list of online safety issues is very helpful. To me, it is very difficult to completely avoid unwanted content, even the ads that pop up for weight loss showing a cartoon of a woman with a big belly in a bikini (which has shown up for students researching animals), can be not so appropriate. As Christian stated, the most important thing parents can do is to have two-way communications with kids and to continue to learn together. One of the most important things parents can do is to just keep a watch on what kids are doing online, and frequently. This becomes harder to do as children reach their teens, and they developmentally need more privacy. I find that so many parents use the Internet like some of us used to use videos--as a way to occupy their kids while they, for example, cook dinner. However, videos were predictable and pre-viewable. Now, many parents don't know what their kids are doing online, or they don't understand enough. A big clue in the classroom and at home is if kids hurry up and click on a different window or shut down a window when an adult walks by--that's a sure sign that a parent needs to check into it. A very, very important topic!
ReplyDeleteI think that you are right about the two kinds of parents and the importance of open communication. I think that open communication is very important to have with your kid. While I do believe software filters can help, they will be more likely to come and talk with you about they are thinking or with their questions if you have open lines of communication. Ultimately, I think this will make things safer for a kid. We can’t stop our students or kids from making bad choices if they want to make them, but we can give them the guidance and knowledge to make good ones.
ReplyDelete