International Safer Internet Day is fast approaching.  This means it is time to raise your awareness of how you and your children interact online and how to overcome the potential challenges that could take place in the online world. 

Connect Safely, an online organization emphasizing smart communication, created a user-friendly Parent’s Guide to Cyberbullying in order to help parents assist their children when needed with online communication.  Connect Safely defines Cyberbullying as the “repeated harassment of some type of power imbalance that takes place online” (Parents’ Guide to Cyberbullying: Connect Safely, 2014. Print).

Five common questions are addressed in this Parent’s Guide:

·         What is Cyberbullying?

·         How is it likely that my child will be cyberbullied?

·         How do I know if my child is being cyberbullied?

·         What is the best way to keep cyberbullying out of my child’s life?

·         What do I do if my child is cyberbullied?

If your child is experiencing forms of cyberbullying, it is important not to respond or retaliate. Instead, save all evidence, ask the person to stop and reach out to an adult for help.  As an adult, it’s important to assist your child in regaining the confidence needed to ask for help.  Most young people do not share with their parents about bullying online or offline, so you are lucky if your child shares this information with you.  Use this as an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with your child.

Join us on February 3 as we host a GWAPA presentation on Digital Citizenship and follow the GWA Digital Citizenship Weebly to prepare for the upcoming Safer Internet Day on February 11th.  Keep up to date with recent articles, research and Digital Citizenship findings by subscribing to our Facebook Page. 

In the age of social media and smartphone communication, students love to connect through the use of Instagram.   As a picture represents a thousand words, sharing photographs are an eye-catching way of socializing in mixed-media conversations.   Connect Safely, an online organization emphasizing smart communication, created a user-friendly Parent’s Guide to Instagram with responses to parent’s top 5 questions:

·         Why do kids love Instagram?

·         Does Instagram have a minimum age?

·         What are the risks in using Instagram?

·         What is the best way to help kids stay safe on Instagram?

·         Should my child’s profile be private?

It is important to remember that once a photo on Instagram is shared, it is digital and can be shared and copied by anyone who sees it.  Becoming familiar with the public and private settings is very important.  Remember, when a photo is public anyone in the online world has access to see it.  When it is private, you choose to share the photograph with a limited number of friends.  Choose trustworthy friends to share photographs with as once your friend receives a photo they have access to share it with anyone they desire.  Instagram defaults are set to public.  This means that one has to take the necessary steps to choose how to change the photo to private.

Posts and photos become part of one’s public image.  The safety of Instagram depends on how one uses it rather than the age of the user.  Be smart and initiate a parent conversation asking them to teach you the step by step how they use Instagram.  By understanding some of the key concepts, you will know what questions are important to ask.  It is never too late to learn how to use Instagram properly.

Follow the GWA Digital Citizenship Weebly to prepare for the upcoming Safer Internet Day on February 11th.  Keep up to date with recent articles, research and Digital Citizenship findings by subscribing to our Facebook Page.

Every day our students are connecting, both on line and off line.  In order to promote their online identities and behavior, it is important they understand who they are online is who they represent off line.  Thus, as educators, we encourage students to make responsible, wise choices when connecting through social media and the online world.

In order to promote this responsible online behavior, the Digital Citizenship Committee, consisting of ICT teachers and school counselors, met last year to update the GWA Digital Citizenship and Acceptable Use Policy.  Here, it is noted that a student’s digital footprint has an impact on their learning and overall well-being.  Further, digital citizenship encourages responsible online and offline behavior both in and out of school.  

Keep up to date with recent articles, research and Digital Citizenship findings by subscribing to our Facebook Page.  

After the recent Christmas holidays with an abundance of family and unstructured time, you may be asking yourself the following questions:

·         “Why is my child on his/her iPad all time time?”

·         “Why are all of these music videos on YouTube?”

·         “How much is too much iPad time?”  

All questions related to media use are important, yet more important are the responses to each of your questions in relation to the developmental age of your children. Consequently, it may be challenging coming up with appropriate responses to these situations especially when we have not grown up with technology at our fingertips as our children do today.  It is important to remember that you are more prepared and qualified in this area than you think you are.  Approaching these situations with balance and boundaries will provide positive connections with your children.

Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, offers science-based answers and practical solutions to all of your questions regarding media and health.  As a pediatrician and a former Hollywood filmmaker who loves media, he calls himself The Mediatrician® and offers advice to your media parenting questions based on practical solutions that enrich your child’s development.  Responses to questions regarding examples such as smartphone and iPad usage, video-gaming, music streaming and brain development are found on his site: Ask a Mediatrician. By viewing his site, you may notice that your questions are valuable and worth asking.