Growing Up Online is a PBS Frontline special about kids, born after 1990 who grew up knowing technology. It details the things we need to be concerned with today as kids go online. I attended an Internet Safety for Kids workshop that really taught me the things to watch out for — even if your child is not posting things or chatting on the internet, maybe their friends are…and revealing things about your child that could potentially be dangerous!
I remember when we received our first color TV. It came on a Saturday, and I had just finished watching my morning lineup including the Bugaloos, H.R. Puffnstuff, The Banana Splits, and (of course) The Monkees. We made the switch to the color TV just in time to watch Roller Derby! I also remember when my brother bought Pong, and we played it on the TV, thinking it was great. Fast-forward a few years now…I have children of my own who both have computers in their bedrooms with all sorts of games from Reader Rabbit, Arthur, and Clifford. They watch cable-TV — mostly the Disney Channel and PBS. Lastly, I never dreamed that i-Pod would be in their vocabulary! My children do not have Internet connections on their computers, and are too young to be able to chat. I know their schools teach about Internet Safety. It is no different than general safety. Just something we can’t forget to tell our children.
On the brighter side…because of this huge shift in the fast-paced technology world, we need to adapt or evolve our education to address the different learning and personality styles of these techno-kids. We also need to consider the possibility that the school of the future may not be brick-and-mortar at all!
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