By Heather Lusk
Zionsville Community Schools has planned five sessions to help parents navigate an increasingly wired world.
Parenting in the Digital Age will guide families grappling with applications, social media and online presence. The series delves more deeply into topics than programs previously offered by ZCS.
“We started to tinker with this over the last two years,” said Dan Layton, ZCS chief technology officer. “This year, we decided to do a little more outreach in putting the series together.”
The first session Dec. 2 will set the stage for families to create best practices and expectations in households and develop a plan for online use.
The following month, Indiana State Police will explain how online predators target children and how those issues can be avoided.
Future sessions focus on the positive aspects of social media, a student-led panel and the ways that social media can impact a student’s future.
Layton said many of the topics are encountered by teachers, and he anticipates that parents are also concerned with the issues.
“It’s always tough to be a parent, but now that we have this wired world there’s a whole new level of issues that can come up,” he said. “This will be a chance to create some conversation around social media and what we can do with it, what we shouldn’t do with it and where we can go from there.”
Ultimately, Layton said the No. 1 thing parents can do to is have open communication with children.
“Don’t wait until there’s a problem,” Layton said. “Have those open and honest dialogues with your kids.”
Sessions take place monthly on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Educational Services Center, 900 Mulberry St. Learn more at zcs.k12.in.us/apps/pages/parenting_digital_age.
Parenting in the Digital Age
- Dec. 6 – App safety and securing your home network
- Jan. 10 – Indiana State Police, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
- Feb. 7 – Social media and student-led panel
- March 7 – From Social Media to Social Leadia
- April 11 – Social Media and Your Future panel
