Digital Age Parenting Resources & Reading

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

As a follow up to our Google for Parents workshop, I wanted to share a few resources that help to address some of the questions participants raised about “digital-age parenting.”

Cyberwise is a good “go to” site for parents. Their logo says it all: “No Grownup Left Behind.”

A recent blog post on their site, “What is a Modern Parent,” addresses the impact of the internet and smartphones on parenting and family life today. The post includes information on an app (of course!) called Copilot Family that claims to be “an easy to use tool to help you manage your children's smart phones and tablets.” I have not checked this out by thought I’d include the link here for parents who are interested in learning more.

Parents might also want to take a few minutes to watch the Cyberwise video, "What Kids are (Really) Doing Online.”

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) has a Good Digital Parenting section that provides videos, tip sheets, resources, blogs, and more. Part of their mission is research, and this month they released a report entitled “Parenting in the Digital Age: How Parents Weigh the Potential Benefits and Harms of Their Children's Technology Use." The full report is long, so I am providing you with a link to the overview report, which has some interesting data: Report Overview.

One interesting statistic from the November 2014 FOSI report: “When weighing the potential benefits and potential harms of their children using electronic devices and being online, the majority of parents (53%) feel that, overall, the potential benefits outweigh the potential harms.”

PBS’s Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century provides a great snapshot of how technology and social media can advance the mission of student-centered learning. The show “explores how exceptional educators are increasingly using digital media and interactive practices to ignite their students' curiosity and ingenuity, help them become civically engaged, allow them to collaborate with peers worldwide, and empower them to direct their own learning.”

I hope these resources help to address some of the questions and concerns you might have about family life in the digital age!

"Parenting in the Digital Age" Infographic from http://brighthouse.com/digitalparenting.