Ask Alicia About Back-To-School

Know The Rules

by Derek Fisher

It’s crazy to think that we are already in August. The summer vacations are starting to wind down, while parents and children prepare themselves for the dreaded start of school again. In just a few short weeks children will be grabbing their school bags, books, supplies, and probably some technology. Hopefully over the summer we’ve been able to get a break from the devices where possible. But with the return of the school year, kids are likely to be interacting regularly with technology to support their school activities. It’s a good time to revisit some good technology habits to prepare for the coming school year.

Like a lock on a door or window, a simple lock on your device helps keep the common passerby from picking up your device and viewing your activity, photos, messages, and other items on your device you may not want them to see. Worse, they may even be able to interact online as you if you have any social media apps on the device. Parents should check their child’s device to ensure there is a simple password or pin code enabled and that their child knows not to share this information with others except a trusted adult.

There may be device rules at home, but the school will have their own rules. Parents should know the school’s Internet use policies and how the school expects the students to use the technology that is either provided or that the child brings in to the school. This could be as simple as having time-limits for when devices can be used, or the school may even require students to keep the devices locked away during school hours. Familiarize yourself and your child with the student handbook and sign the internet policies if required.

Not everyone wants to be the star in your next video or picture. Make sure your child knows to be cautious around others that may not want to take part in the action if your child is taking pictures or videos during or outside of school. Every parent has different rules on how they expect their children to behave with technology and it’s important for all children to respect the boundaries of others. Parents should remind their child of the importance of asking permission before taking a photo or video of another individual.

Ready to tackle some research on the internet for your next school science fair or history project? Make sure that you are only using trusted websites for your research. Viruses and other bad activity can be found on some websites you may visit. This can lead to damage of your device even by simply going to a website that has been infected. Although you can run antivirus software on your devices, it’s more important to make sure that you stay on the sites that have been provided by the teacher or school. Parents need to make sure that their child knows to ask a parent/guardian if they are not sure.

Additionally, some websites can not only cause harm to the device, but they may actually not be a good source of information. Don’t believe everything you read online. Kids may be asked by their teacher to do research online for more information on a topic they are working on in class. But not not everything online is true, or safe for viewing. Make sure that your child stays on the websites that have been requested by the teacher or that are familiar to the parents. This will limit the possibility of finding information that is either untrue or can lead to child into more false information.

Back to school can be a very anxious time for both children and parents, but we don’t need to add the additional burden of more complicated technology rules and guidelines. As with most things, a healthy bit of awareness and common sense goes a long way.