Lowell, WA-Hoyt, and other North Tacoma schools were invited to participate in a parent workshop on Digital Citizenship. Links in slides are to resources shared.

1. Holly Gerla
Sam Harris
Emily McMason
Lowell Elementary School PTA
10 December 2013

2. What is Digital Citizenship?
Using technology:
• safely
• responsibly
• critically
• productively
Image: Wikimedia Commons

4. Educate...
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yourself
your kids
your family
your community
Image by San José Library
Flickr Commons

5. COPPA
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
(new updates July 1, 2013)
Children must be 13 years of age to use a site
that collects any personal information about
them.
Personal vs. Private - is there a difference?
How do expectations change as your child gets

8. Terms of Service
READ THEM!
Make your children
read them!
Also look at
Privacy Policies or
Community Guidelines
Some are actually easy to read :)

9. A Top Ten...
List of Discussion Topics for
Parenting in a Digital World

10. 1. Draw a line in the sand...
and then sign a pre-nup.
Once the rules are set, put them in writing.
...with your children. Ask them what they think are reasonable boundaries. Working with them creates
buy-in and a sense of joint purpose.

11. For example:
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Where and what are the electronic devices
in your house?
What are the hours of use for tech tools?
Do they have to ask permission to visit new
web sites?
Are you “friends” with your children on social
media?
What are the expectations when visiting a
friend’s house?

12. 2. Be wishy-washy.
Explaining to your child why the change is
happening lets them know we all learn and
adapt with new information.
It’s okay to change your mind, to try a set of rules and then change them.

13. 3. Play Your Top 40.
Have them envision 40 people:
grandparents
teachers
their “crush”
the dean of admissions to the college of their
dreams
their potential employers
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How are those people going to react when they
see your post?

14. 4. The Price is Right
A $400 pencil? An $800 bracelet? Would you
worry about these items getting lost,
damaged or stolen?

15. 5. On the Catwalk
Model it. Work it. Show your kids that the rules
are livable. By everyone in the family.
Digital images: an entry point to the
conversations.

16. 6. Fly like an Eagle
It is tempting to put our heads in the sand and
say that kids are “digital natives” and are fine.
Kids are also vehicular natives. Can you
imagine giving your keys to an 11 year old?
Even when you want to be an ostrich.

17. 7. Technology by Proxy
If your child doesn’t have a device, that doesn’t
mean they aren’t aware, viewing, or
participating in digital behaviors that may be
questionable.

18. 8. Missing Persons
In the hours our kids are consuming media
content, what aren’t they doing?

19. 9. Everything is educational
What are you learning?

20. 10. Parent, party of one.
Don’t be afraid to stand up to the pressure of
your kids and your own peers and say ‘no’.

21. Resources
Tracking the Trackers - Gary
Kovacs, Mozilla CEO
Browser add-ons or
extensions:
AdBlock Plus
A Clea.nr Internet
Simple Profanity Filter (for
Chrome)
Ghostery (identify and block
trackers)
Lightbeam (for Firefox)
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22. Q and A
What else is on your mind?