Tag Archives: Internet

Parents, kids and technology survey – update

Posted on May 10, 2012 by | Comments Off on Parents, kids and technology survey – update

This isn’t just your usual boring, annoying reminder to participate in my quick parenting survey about kids and technology. That’s because the initial response has been so positive, and I’d like to share a few of the emerging facts BEFORE I urge you all to: 1) spend two minutes to complete it yourself (if you haven’t already) and 2) to please share/ repost it for your friends and followers.

One of the questions I ask parents was what their top concerns were about having their kids online. Now it’s important to bear in mind that all my respondents, since they found me through my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or some other online source, are already at least somewhat comfortable online, and this may colour their responses somewhat. Nevertheless, their top 5 concerns jive pretty closely with what I’ve been hearing from parents in workshops over the years.

Chart

Personal information is really a huge concern, as it should be. Not only do parents worry about the privacy issues, but they are also concerned their kids may jeopardize their future job and social prospects with inappropriate posts now while they are young. Time is a huge issues, and helping our kids control the impulse to be online constantly is a difficult battle to win when most adults struggle with the same issue. Finally, dealing with sexual and violent content on the Internet remains a justifiable concern, as research indicates in desensitizes our kids to these things at younger and younger ages. There are other concerns listed here as well, and some parents were kind enough to share their own fears with me as well.

These results are fascinating to me, and I plan to spend a lot more time discussing them individually, but I need your help. The amount of data I’ve collected is a great start, but I’m still limited by what I can say until I get the numbers of responses up there. Please help me out by sending the link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RWRparentsurvey) to your friends and colleagues, sharing it on your walls or Twitter accounts, or even putting it at the bottom of your own blog posts.

In return, I promise to write about the results and offer some practical suggestions to parents and teachers based on current research, best practices and whole load of common sense. Because as a mom of three pre-teens/ teens myself, I know how confusing it can be to stare at a lot of scary numbers.  My goal is to translate those charts into practical steps that will make sense in your home, with your kids.

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Survey: Parents, share your concerns about kids and technology

Posted on April 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Survey: Parents, share your concerns about kids and technology

Power ButtonThe very best part of the work I do at Risk Within Reason is the direct contact with parents, teachers, students and readers. I learn something new every time I do a presentation , and the questions I get from audiences and my blog readers help keep me focused on the current issues for schools and families. Which I then pass on to my readers and workshop participants.

Like the explosive growth of Twitter use among teens, partly (they say) because their parents are watching them too closely on Facebook. Or the ways they use video chat to communicate things with friends without leaving a trail. Or the truly creative use  of blogging, animation and gaming sites to produce things (from  photos to animation to game design and coding) that teens couldn’t have imagined doing even 10 years ago.

It isn’t all bad stuff. It isn’t all scary. Our teens are bright and earnest and curious. But we do need to watch them very carefully. And I like to think that by helping keep my readers informed about these complex and ever-changing issues, I make it easier for them to know what to watch.

When I do workshops on digital safety in schools, I always send out quick surveys beforehand — one for the students and one for the parents. That way I can integrate data from that school into my talk; they like to know what their students and parents believe.

The results are fascinating. They’ve shown me an interesting disconnect between the fears and concerns of both groups, as well as not too surprising differences between the household Internet and cellphone rules as understood by the kids and their parents. It’s a topic I plan to write about soon.

But before I do, I need your help. I’m trying to collect more information about parents’ concerns. What are you worried about when it comes to your kids and technology? How do you deal with those worries? What do you wish your kids knew?

If you have children under the age of 18, please take  5 minutes from your busy schedule to complete this simple 10-question survey. If you have more than one child, pick one between 10 and 16 when you consider your responses. It’s anonymous and confidential. And I promise to write all about it here on Rise Within Reason.

Click here to take survey and then share it with your friends by forwarding the link to this post: http://wp.me/p1S4ya-fX.

Thank you!

Alissa

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Check it out: Webinar on how schools should teach kids about Internet safety

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | 1 comment

Educators and concerned parents should check out this upcoming webinar from the wonderful folks at Embracing Digital Youth. Their credentials, grounded approach and passion for teaching creative, respectful use of digital technologies are beyond reproach. Although the content is primarily aimed at U.S. schools dealing with new legislation, the underlying issues and recommendations are certain to be relevant for educators everywhere. This will be worth watching!

Embracing Digital Youth is proud to announce its first webinar. Through these webinars, Embracing Digital Youth will seek to help educators, mental health professionals, law enforcement, and  policy-makers engage in prevention and intervention activities that  are grounded in research insight, focus on influencing positive  behavior and implementing restorative practices, and encourage effective evaluation.

Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act: What Schools Must and Should Do

The webinar will be available for viewing in an archive shortly  after the live presentation. A companion 2-page Issue Brief will provide insight into    implementing the recommendations provided in the webinar.  Materials will be provided to support attendance at this webinar to  obtain Continuing Education Units.

  • What steps must a district take to be in full compliance with the new requirement to receive E-rate funding?
  • How should schools organize their efforts to respond to this new   instructional requirement?
  • What Internet safety issues must be addressed and what other issues should be addressed?
  • How can these issues be addressed in a manner that is effective  —      and does not raise fears that could undermine a district’s transition to a 21st Century learning environment?
  • What important role will school librarians play in the delivery of    professional development and instruction?
  • How should this instruction be incorporated into the school’s    safe school planning with respect to critical issues such as cyberbullying, cyber threats, and digital dating abuse?

The U.S. Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act added a provision to the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requiring that schools receiving E-Rate funding provide students with instruction in  Internet safety, including cyberbullying and social networking safety. School agencies receiving E-rate funding must update their policy so they can certify they are providing Internet safety instruction, beginning with funding year 2012 (July).

This Webinar will provide recommendations on how districts can engage in effective multidisciplinary planning to ensure that the manner in which they will provide Internet safety instruction is grounded in accurate research insight, uses effective approaches to promote positive norms and transmit effective skills, and incorporates evaluation to ensure effectiveness.

Moderator: Nancy Willard, Director of Embracing Digital Youth, a program of  Center for Safe and Responsible Internet use, and author of Cyber Savvy: Embracing Digital Safety and Civility (2011, Corwin Press).

Presenters:

  • Mike Donlin, Program Supervisor in The School Safety Center of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for  Washington State.
  • Lisa Jones, Research Associate Professor of Psychology at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
  • Connie Williams, NBCT, Teacher Librarian, National Board Certified. Petaluma High School, California. Past President of the California School Library Association,
  • Eric Willard, Chief Technology Officer – Community Unit School District 300, Illinois.

Don’t miss out on this highly interactive webinar that will provide high quality, multidisciplinary insight for educators!

Our next webinar will be:

Positive Peer-based Approaches to Address Cyberbullying      

This webinar will take place on April 26th at 7:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

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