Digital Citizenship & Internet Safety

Technology is a powerful tool that can transform the way we learn and teach. Technology fosters the application of 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation. Technology takes our learning beyond our school walls to the vast and wondrous world beyond. Schools provide a very safe and secure environment for children to learn technology skills and practice digital citizenship.

It takes families, schools and the greater community working in partnership to ensure that our children remain safe and develop responsible online habits both in and out of the school setting. School Resource Officer Rick Veenstra from the Arlington Heights Police Department joined our Technology Facilitator Beth Breaux to talk with our PTA about Internet safety and digital citizenship. Here is some practical advice that they shared:

• Know and supervise what your children are doing online. 
• Play child-appropriate video games with your kids. Teach them safe ways to play. Don't let them use their names for a user name or for online gaming.
• Keep children off of social networks while they are in elementary school. 
• Keep a list of your children's apps and passwords.
• Keep telling your children it's not okay to share any personal information on Internet.
• Have your children keep devices in open family areas, not in their bedrooms.
• Keep your privacy settings on social networks high.
• Make sure geo-coding and geo-tagging location services on social networks are turned off. 
• Remind your children that they have a "digital footprint". Just about everything on the computer or online is permanent. Browsers save what they are searching. 
• Make your children aware that a "digital tattoo" resulting from creating inappropriate online posts can negatively impact their future opportunities (acceptance to universities, participation on sports teams, employment, etc.)
• Make your children aware that cyber-bullying is against the law. Help your children feel safe and assured telling you if they experience online communication that upsets them or that they know is dangerous. 
• Do not download files from an unknown source.

Officer Veenstra shared some web resources about Internet safety and Internet monitoring that parents may find helpful:

Internet Safety
commonsensemedia.org
isafe.org
netsmartz.org/parents

Internet Monitoring
mymobilewatchdog.com
shieldgenie.com
Halt Social Monitor App

Thank you, Officer Veenstra & Mrs. Breaux!