Instructional Technologist

Andy Carvin recently posted on learning.now about a law that will mandate Online Safety curriculum schools. We’d like to think that we are doing enough but we may have to so even more. I am especially interested in having parents actively involved in the online safety education of students. A conversation about use (I am particularly interested parents of pre-teens and teens) of the Internet and social media sites would be beneficial.

Two leading education technology associations, ISTE and CoSN, came out with a joint statement praising the move. “ISTE and CoSN have advocated for this approach for many years and we are pleased that Congress has now ratified our position. Education, not mandatory blocking and filtering, is the best way to protect and prepare America’s students.”

I had a discussion with my sixteen year-old daughter about this. She wondered if my objective was to make the parents “smarter” about the Internet I don;t think that would ever happen; I can’t keep up with her and often learn of new Internet tools from her. The idea is to create awareness; start conversations between parents and teens about what they are up to online. They may be home at 10 pm, but do you know where they are on the Internet?