IWA Parent FORUM Series partners with parents to address digital citizenship: It is more about TALKI

Incarnate Word Academy launched the Parent FORUM Series- Forming Our Response, Unified in Mission. This is an opportunity for continuing the partnership between home and school, addressing the school’s on-going response to the needs of its students and families.
 
Since beginning his tenure, one primary goal of Incarnate Word Academy President Charles D. Imbergamo has been to strengthen communications between educators and parents. 
 
“Through surveys as well as formal and informal feedback,” Imbergamo said, “I have heard about improving communication, coordinating efforts, expanding partnership with parents—hence, our decision to inaugurate this new initiative.  It will be the first step in forming our response—parents and educators; unified in mission—serving our students and assisting them to foster the fullness of life to which they have been called.”
 
The first session of the series, held on March 1, addressed the topic of “Digital Citizenship: It’s more about TALKING than Technology.”  This session in the series began the conversation with parents about methods to help children develop appropriate technological habits and oversight for 21st century technology.  
 
“The question of digital citizenship and online safety for children is daunting for both parents and educators,” Imbergamo said.  “While there may be no easy answers, or one-size-fits-all steps that adults can take to protect and guide children in their virtual lives, parents and educators will have greater success by working together.  We thought this would be a timely and much-needed topic to kick off the parent forum series.”
 
The session included guest speaker Detective Robert McFarland of the Corpus Christi Internet Crimes division.  He brought the subject close to home, giving insight to the current issues affecting the Corpus Christi area.  He shed light on the actual, current and recent crimes in the Coastal Bend that occurred directly through the use of digital technology. 
 
Priscilla Ramos, Incarnate Word Academy Director of Technology, conducted the second segment of the session addressing steps parents and educators can take to guide young people to safe, productive behavior online. 
 
"Kids today spend more time with media than they do in school or with their parents because they have unlimited access through cell phones, tablets, game systems, and now televisions provide Internet access," Ramos said. "Parents need help sifting through the information about media use, and they often turn to their child’s school for advice. Through this topic of the parent forum series offered by IWA, we will help build a bridge between parents and schools to help them nurture media-smart children."
 
Additional topics discussed included when and how to talk to your kids; socializing and communicating online; mobile phones; protecting computers; parental controls; and resources. 
 
“I think the parent forum series is a great idea,” IWA parent Mary Kuffel said.  “If schools and parents are at least working toward being on the same page, our efforts with our kids will be more effective.”
 
Kuffel has three children attending IWA—two in high school and one in elementary.  She attended this session of the FORUM Series as a parent aware that her children are very savvy users of digital media. 
 
“The bottom line that I took away from this session was to keep talking to my children, keeping them aware that their online actions can have a greater impact then what they may intend.  Also, for me, to follow up and follow through on keeping tabs on what they are doing online,” Kuffel said.
 
Forum speakers emphasized that parents and educators are responsible to equip students with the 21st century skills they need to thrive and maintain focus in this digital world. Many adults consider children’s online, mobile and technological activities as “digital life,” but, to students it’s just life. Their world is as much about creating media as it is about consuming it.
 
The digital world changes very quickly. Both the number of new tools and the ways digital technologies are becoming part of people’s lives are growing at an incredible pace. Many of parents feel like they cannot keep up. Thinking of their children exploring on their own in this complex digital world can give adults anxiety. However, parents cannot prevent children from taking part in the digital environment—unless they want to put them at a severe disadvantage moving forward to higher education and careers.
 
The goal with this session of the Parent FORUM Series was to build awareness and start the conversation of digital citizenship.  ISA is committed to helping children thrive in this digital world, Imbergamo said, and through its partnership with parents it hopes to assist young people to successfully and productively use digital technology in a safe, responsible and respectful manner.  
For informative videos, parent tips and resource material visit iwacc.org Parent Life and click on Online Safety.