Who should be teaching kids to use technology in smart and safe ways?

Final thought

Today I participated in an ISQ webinar which was run by Michelle Webster from eSmart Schools and it really got me thinking about how we need to be teaching our students more than just how to access content and demonstrate learning in flashy ways. While the internet and associated technologies have opened up a world of possibilities to our students, they have also opened up our students to the world and provided them with many possible ways to misuse technology or make poor choices with it. 

Recent events in the media see young people using technology such as social media to bully or behave inappropriately outside of school. In some cases parents are demanding that schools deal with these issues. Meanwhile some schools take a step back claiming no direct responsibility. 

Now I am not totally saying this the wrong way to respond, but...If schools are making the integration and use of technology a priority then I believe that equal priority must be placed on teaching students to use technology in safe, smart and ethical ways. We are not just responsible for teaching children how to use technology but also how to be the digital citizens of the future. 

There is a definite role that parents need to play in all of this and a certain level of responsibility that only they can be accountable for, bit I think that schools can certainly play a part and maybe even lead the way.

You can turn on as many safety filters as you like and lock down devices as much as possible, but the fact remains that if kids want to find inappropriate content or do something inappropriate with technology - they WILL find a way. We need to educate them to KNOW better and DO better and then trust that they will.

More about eSmart Schools.....

eSmart Schools is a behaviour-change initiative designed to help schools improve cybersafety and reduce cyberbullying and bullying. eSmart Schools provides a framework that guides the introduction of policies, practices and whole-school change processes to support the creation of a cybersafe or eSmart environment.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to know what steps your school takes to help you students develop as digital citizens. Feel free to ask questions or comment below.

Laura