Digital Partnership

Our Digital Partnership in Charlevoix

by Mike Ritter

Tonight as I write this brief article, my daughter is doing her math computation homework with paper and pencil, our eighth grader is working on his macbook for school in the living room, and our junior son is currently using FaceTime to talk to one of his friends on his phone.  

Recent research that I read online by Common Sense Media, an independent nonprofit organization found that “our nation’s children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families.”  I guess that study somewhat confirmed what I am observing tonight in my own home.  With the uptick in digital use in our world, it is our partnership that can provide our children with a healthy understanding and use of the many digital devices they have access too.  

Each student in Charlevoix has a school provided digital device that is filtered at school and home through the use of our iBoss filtration system.  We rely on our filter to help provide safe digital access on our school provided MacBooks and iPads.  We also depend on our staff and parents to monitor our children’s internet access.  This message extends the conversations from monitoring our children’s school devices to also keeping track of all of the other digital access points our children have in our homes as well.

It will continue to be the goal of Charlevoix Public Schools to monitor access in our district.  Our iBoss filter is updated daily and our tech. director is able to block any areas of concern brought to our attention.  In order to do this effectively, we will continue to need your help.  Don’t ever hesitate to call your teacher or principal if you encounter a problem with your child’s internet access at home or school.  We use this communication as a way to find solutions to any problems we might encounter.

Here are some things that you can do to help safeguard your children at home.  The first thing I recommend is for families to  set time limits to your child’s digital use in your home including our school provided devices.  The second recommendation is for you to know where your child is when using digital devices so that you can monitor their access.  My final recommendation is for families to talk openly about digital use and to make sure that you know what types of information your children are accessing online from any and all devices.  

After writing this article I can tell you that my wife and I will also strive to be more informed regarding the technology access our children have to ensure their digital safety.  For more information, I recommend the non-profit commonsensemedia.org website for many of the questions we face as educators and parents.  As educators, we rely heavily on our families for support and we will continue to look for ways to increase our digital partnership with you.

Submitted to the Courier - Mike's Message