Catching Up with High-Tech Kids
July 2008, Volume 1, Issue 1
catchin ^ W hi tek kdz (Catching Up with High-Tech Kids)
from Texting Answers to Facebook & YouTube Postings
by Dave Eisenmann, Technology Integration Specialist, Department of Teaching & Learning, Minnetonka [Minn.] Public Schools
Many adults have little knowledge of what kids are really doing with technology. While they worry about securing Internet filters on computers, kids are accessing the Web through their cell phones. Many teachers are unaware that students can text answers and e-mail photos to one another during tests. Children know that blogs, wikis, and social networking sites are generally unmonitored by adults. They push the limits and often post inappropriate information, oblivious to the cyber footprint they are creating which will follow them the rest of their lives. Webcams and video-sharing services create a venue for instant fame, and teens create movies designed to shock the viewers. The pornography industry’s profits are ballooning, and children are big contributors.
There is so much happening so fast that educators and parents avoid the topic altogether. Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about sex, drugs, and alcohol, but rarely does this list include Internet safety. Teachers feel overwhelmed with their curriculum responsibilities and see this as the parents’ job. Minnetonka [Minn.] Public Schools is tackling these issues on all fronts, working to educate their staff, students, parents, and the greater community in partnership with local and state organizations to inform them of what kids are up to and the dangers involved in today’s high-tech world. Rather than seeking to catch and reprimand offenders, Minnetonka is working to proactively prevent incidents by teaching students about the permanency of their digital records and encouraging open dialog between adults and children.
An Example
On a popular social networking site, administrators at Minnetonka Public Schools were shocked to find a mock profile of one of the high school principals with student comments well outside the boundaries of appropriate. Teachers giving computerized tests were unaware that students were instant-messaging one another across the room. As a result, the school district chose to start an educational campaign. High school drama students created public service announcements that aired during morning announcements emphasizing the dangers of sharing private information online and the permanency of this information for college admissions counselors and future employers. Classes were offered for staff, parents, and the community, educating them on how kids are using technology and how they can talk to them. They saw immediate results; student postings online were suddenly more appropriate, teachers proactively worked to prevent misuse of technology, and parents and adults from the community attended classes and began discussing technology use with their children.
Minnetonka Public Schools educated students, staff, parents, and the community about technology use by children. During NSBA’s upcoming T+L Conference in Seattle (October 28-30, 2008), the school district will present how we partnered with local and state organizations and law enforcement officials to teach about technology dangers and proactive, positive approaches to dialoging with children. All of the material and content that was used in the “Catching Up with High Tech Kids” classes, as well as the video announcements produced by our high school drama team will be shared. Attendees will have a clear vision of how to begin this type of initiative in their own community.
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