Digital Citizenship & Practical Parenting (Part 1)

Fact: Technology is rapidly changing the world we are living in. It is changing the way we, learn, communicate, shop, entertain, travel and teach.

Raising children in this digital climate is not an easy task. Some of you have no memories of a computer in your house growing up while others may have memories of one computer located in your parents bedroom or some other place where using it involved being monitored. Fortunately and unfortunately, these days no longer exist.

As a parent I have been very intentional with the amount of technology and television that we allow our 18-month-old to watch. That's a ridiculous statement! Think about what I just said. I have to be intentional with not allowing my 18-MONTH-OLD to overuse technology. You know the drill… YouTube Mickey Mouse, playing peekaboo barnyard on our phone, etc. My 18-month-old can even FaceTime grandparents who live out of state.  

Technology is Amazing

What we can do with technology today is simply incredible. For example, our students at OCA have access to real time collaboration through Google Documents.

Technology is Frightening

We get this at OCA. That is why we have put several technology safeguards into place.

1. Content filtering system on campus.
2. Any Chromebook that is allowed to leave campus, our content filter follows the device off-campus.
3. Every high school student must sit through a technology orientation and Chromebook course before they receive their device.
4. Hapara System- where the teachers can see what the students are doing on their computers in real time and create a classroom management process.

What can you do to protect your home?

First and foremost it is important for both educators and parents to remember that we should always focus on the hearts of our children. There is a place to block access, hold accountable, control usage, and monitor content. However, let’s continue to partner together as a school and as a family to raise children that desire to do the right thing. Let us spend intentional time talking about the values and beliefs of our children because ultimately their actions will flow out of these values and beliefs. When we can focus on the heart we are truly creating digital citizens.

It is no surprise that we see Jesus frequently focusing on the heart and the character of people. In Matthew 5:21-48 we see a famous passage where Jesus repeats the statement, “You have heard that is was said...

Jesus is more concerned about the beliefs and values that are causing the specific action rather than the specific action. As parents, let’s not forget this.

Now, with my sermon over… I do believe there is wisdom in protecting your home and our school by using technology appropriately. So, let’s get practical.

Be looking for Part 2 of this blog series next week with practical information to protect your home.