A Meeting With a Parent of an Internet-Addicted Child

A parent of mine recently reached out to tell me that his kid has an internet addiction problem.

I knew I would get an email or a question like this sometime. I have given advice before, but it was either to parents of early-elementary students or in my role as tech coach.

Ideally, when parents have young kids they will stop using their phone or iPad as a pacifier to make their kids behave or be quiet. I also think parents should use the internet together with their children to show them how to use it properly -- how to know when to stop, how to know what scams look like, how to know how to search, how to know how they can use the internet for work and not just consuming information and share out their achievements, and how to communicate like a citizen ...

But that is a goal too lofty for most parents who don't know or do many of those things themselves.

I really need to start talking with my own students more about balance and both the positive and negative effects of technology.


But for this week when I meet the parents I have a few ideas I am going to share with the family:

"Tell kids to stop at a natural break, such as the end of an episode, level, or activity. It's hard for kids (and adults!) to stop in the middle of something. Before your kid gets on a device, talk about what they want to do or play, what will be a good place to stop, and how long they think it'll take. Set the limit together and hold to it, though a little wiggle room (a couple of minutes so they can finish) is fine."

"Discuss consequences and follow through when kids test the limits. When all else fails, it's important to have discussed consequences for when your kid won't give it up. For little kids, the line can be something like, "If it's too hard to turn off, the tablet has to go away for a whole day." For older kids it's more about keeping devices in a public space, setting expectations, and enforcing them. If they show you they can be partners in moderating and regulating themselves, there can be more flexibility."
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/5-strategies-for-getting-kids-off-devices

"Help your kids self-regulate. Start by having a conversation about all their daily duties and figure out how much game time fits in. Create a calendar, have them set a timer, and reward them for sticking to the time limits. If you've tried this and want more control over their screen time, consider installing a parental-control program that lets you set daily screen limits for different programs."
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/screen-time/is-it-ok-to-let-my-kid-play-minecraft-for-hours

How can I help my kids develop good media habits?

I chose these based on what I think this student's home-life is like.

Here is the contract I came up with for her.

I Got Hacked ... or Did I? What to do

Last week I went to clean out my spam email and found this piece of trash. It caught my eye because the subject line said: Change your password ********** immediately. Your account has been hacked.

I will definitely give this scammer credit for making a subject that was attention-getting - the password was very similar to one I used before.

The note goes on to say that I need to pay about $800 USD in Bitcoin to a provided account. (how generous!) The author went on to say that I couldn't get in contact because

I did have a minor freak-out but then thought through what the email said.

1. The phisher said there was evidence of dirty habits. If watching CNN on YouTube is dirty, you caught me.
2. The password wasn't exactly what I used to use. I also knew that my password was different at the date of the "hack".
3. The hacker phisher said s/he used my own account against me. So, I went into my sent box to see if an email was sent from my account. It wasn't.
4. I went to Have I Been Pwned? and entered in my email address. Yeah, a few years ago my email info had been leaked from a third party. 
5. Thought through the worst-case scenario - the phisher actually had control over my computer and if I didn't pay would brick it. -- NEW LAPTOP! No, seriously, I can get a nice laptop for less than the asking ransome.

It made for a good lesson with my class and Tech Crew. I talked through the problem with both groups and told them my thinking and what to do. My class suggested I should tell the IT Director, cute.

If you think your Gmail account has been hacked:

1. At the bottom of the Gmail inbox is something that says "Last account activity" with a link to Details. Click the link to see when and where your account was last accessed. (Unfortunately for this problem, the "hack" was a few months prior so I wouldn't have been able to see that anyway.)
2. Go to myaccount.google.com and go to the Sign-in and Security tab. Check account activity and run a Security Checkup.
3. Change your password.
4. It might be a good idea to remove any connected apps that you don't need at this point as well.

Social Media Commenting ... on Paper

This year the third grade teacher and I are swapping classes once a week so my students can get a period of art, and her students can get a period of tech skills.

I agree with the decision to hold off on giving them their school email address for a few months, but it makes the lessons a little more challenging.

So, seeing as how they will, or most likely, are online I have spent the last few weeks doing offline responsibility activities. Talking about topics around questions like:

• What does responsibility look like?
• How can you be a good communicator?
• What do you like people to say to you?

The Plan

Copy of the template.

I wanted the students to practice communicating online, and I had seen the fourth-grade teacher do an Instagram thing last year. Since Instagram is pretty popular, I went with it, but I didn't find an Instagram template mobile template I liked so I made the above one.

The students drew pictures of what they did over the autumn break. Next time they will add their avatar, choose an appropriate username, write a comment for their image and choose an appropriate hashtag for their post.

After that, they will do a gallery walk and look at others pictures and write a comment. If we have time, they will reply.

Internet Comments

Good communication offline and online is very similar.

You should be cordial.
You should give compliments.
You should try to keep the conversation going.

What comment would you make about this picture?

Not finding anything in my own files for elementary students, I came up with the following guidelines.

Compliment
If you are taking the time to write a comment, there must be a reason. Give the author a boost and tell them what caught your attention.


Connection (if possible)
Just like in reading, show a connection from the post to yourself or from another comment in the thread to yourself.


Ask questions in your writing
Conversations are like playing catch with a baseball. The game ends quickly if you don't throw it back. A question is how you can do that in your comments.


Think before you post. 
Ask yourself, is this something I want my parents, teachers, friends, strangers to see? What are the consequences if you post this?

===

Browsing through my files I found this gem from a friend sent to me a few years ago. I really like the one about proofreading and I think I will add that to what I give my students.

Make a compliment

Add new information

Make a connection

End with a question

Proofread your comment