Kids today. They're addicted to their phones. Distracted. Cyber bullied. Right?
Well not quite.
Kids today are living in a world more connected than ever before. They are living in a world where they can harness the power of social media for social action and they are doing that in ways many adults could never even imagine.
As innovative educators we do our part to help our students become empowered digital citizens, but it's not just our responsibility. Parents want to help their children engage effectively in today's digital world, but many just don't know how.
Fortunately, Common Sense Education has some amazing resources to help remedy that and lucky for you, I've compiled them all in one place.
[5 Innovative Suggestions For Supporting "Kids Today"]
- Digital Life Survey: A simple survey of the school community's daily use of and attitudes toward media and technology. You can share the results to generate a buzz and ongoing conversations about your community’s behaviors and opinions.
- Video Discussion Night: Invite families to drop in for a brief parent coffee, grade-level assembly, or school-wide community meeting where a short video is used to spark a dialogue. This comes with a guide packed with everything you need to host a successful discussion.
- Teen Panel: Our kids are often the experts. The teen panel highlights the unique voices and experiences of teens in your community and is valuable to parents with kids of all ages. It comes with a comprehensive handbook that focuses on every detail from how to select and invite panelists, to how to manage Q&A on the night of the event.
The family toolbox provides resources you can use throughout the year to help parents continue authentic conversations at home with their children. Here is a sampling of what you will find:
Your Turn
What do you think? Are these resources you have or would use where you teach? What do you think would work best? What would be challenging? Not sure how to organize a workshop in your school. Read this article from innovative educator, Craig Kemp.
Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.
