Parenting in a Digital Age

Cybersecurity Tips for Families and Schools

Common Sense Media: New School Year Screen Time Rules from a Teacher and Mom
Common Sense Media: Four Tips for Keeping Tech in Check at Bedtime

Promoting Cyber Safety

Helpful Resources

Introducing SeeSaw to Parents of our K-2 Students

National Online Safety Guides for Parents - Quick and convenient downloadable guides for what parents need to know about many popular Internet platforms and trends.

One of the biggest challenges today is keeping our children safe online. To help all schools address age-appropriate issues with the Internet and the use of cell phones and other mobile devices the WCASD will be using the comprehensive curriculum from Common Sense Media. This will help ensure that all students are equipped with the skills and habits to use technology productively.

Internet Matters - This site provides an extremely comprehensive, well-organized, and easy-to-use guide for keeping children of all ages safe online.

Is Video Game Addiction Real? - Science Daily

Facts Regarding Screen Time and Video Game Addiction - Resources from the Mayo Clinic

The Cyberbullying Research Center offers resources for parents and teachers for helping kids stay safe online and use other technologies like cell phones responsibly

Onguard Online- Created by the federal government with games, videos, and other resources for teaching kids of all ages and adults about online safety. Be sure to download the parent guide Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online available free at this site.

Family Online Safety Institute and the National PTA resources

Use Parental Controls on Your Child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch - Utilize Apple's resources for setting up restrictions on your child's device.

Safety Detective - Blog discussions and reviews of antivirus software protection for your home computer. This site is offered for your review and consideration. WCASD does not endorse a particular product or method of rating products.

Shape the Sky Downloadable Resources - Presented at Henderson High School in November 2017, Shape the Sky is a network of parents, educators, clinicians, and media who have come together to enrich the online experience for our children through better education and more effective communication.

All student-assigned, district-owned devices are filtered for content on and off-campus. Parents may wish to add additional controls and usage limitations.

Setting Up Parental Controls on Home Routers
Comcast
Verizon
Most routers will allow you to select the devices to which limitations are applied. Check your router manual for more information.

Setting Up Parental Controls on iOS Devices
(Note that not all options will be available due to the application of group policies.)

All student-assigned, district-owned devices are filtered for content on and off-campus. Parents may wish to add additional controls and usage limitations.

West Chester School District promotes through its curriculum, instructional practices, and technology tools active engagement in the digital world. We want our students to produce content, not simply consume it passively. Through a partnership between home and school, we can shape critical thinkers, effective communicators, good digital citizens, and life-long learners, equipped to achieve their personal best in an increasingly technological world.
 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this topic please contact:

Ashley Melanson
Elementary Instructional Technology Coordinator
amelanson@wcasd.net  

Sam Zang
Elementary Instructional Technology Coordinator
szang@wcasd.net

Annie Korb
Elementary Instructional Technology Coordinator
akorb@wcasd.net

Mary Beth Clifton, Ed.D.
Secondary Instructional Technology Coordinator
mclifton@wcasd.net

Chris Cromwell
Secondary Instructional Technology Coordinator
ccromwell@wcasd.net

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We have to be cognizant of a new digital divide—the disparity between students who use technology to create, design, build, explore, and collaborate and those who simply use technology to consume media passively.

2017 National Education Technology Plan Update