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August 15, 2002

Net-Wise Teens: Safety, Ethics, and Innovation (cont'd)

Keep Parents Informed

Acceptable use policies, filtering tools, and refining your network settings can help curb negative uses of the Internet at school, but what about when students go home? Certainly parents are concerned about their children having negative experiences on the Net, but because they aren't monitoring everything kids are doing online, or may be uncomfortable using technology themselves, risky or inappropriate behavior may go undetected. Making sure parents are educated about online realities and issues can help close this gap.

Doug Fodeman, technology director at the Brookwood School, a private elementary school in Massachusetts, says one of the best ways to open parents' eyes about the Internet, no matter what age their children are, is to take them Web surfing. In workshops he gives at Brookwood and takes on the road to other schools, he shows parents sites popular with kids. For example, he pulls up file-sharing site Madster and searches for "Britney Spears." Music files come up, but so does pornography. Fodeman also encourages parents to talk frequently with their children about what they're doing online, and to use kids' expertise to learn more about the Internet. "It can be as simple as asking their child to take them to a chat room, or asking them what LOL [instant message-speak for "laughing out loud"] means," says Fodeman, who is planning to write a book on the topic.

As do many educators, Caryn Gregg, technology coordinator at Prospect Sierra, sends the AUP home to parents to make them aware of the safety and ethical concerns surrounding the Net. "It serves to remind parents about the issues without preaching," she says. Next year, however, her school will go further by suggesting to parents that they "remove temptation" by taking Internet access out of the bedroom. Doug Fodeman is even more adamant about moving student computers to a public location. "The analogy I often use with parents is 'Would you give your kids complete access to a bookstore that has Hustler and Playboy right next to Great Expectations and then say I'm going to leave now for 12 hours?'"

Parents might also be interested to know that putting the computer in a central location may have another positive side effect-getting girls more involved in technology. Educators and parents have observed anecdotally for some time that girls prefer computing in social settings, a fact supported by a recent report on girls and computers by the American Association of University Women.

Next Page: Teach Kids to Be Web Literate > > >

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