Blogging IT

Tonight I attended the Internet safety presentation at Dunbar Grammar, led by Ollie Bray and PC Gunn. Like many of the parents, school staff and other folks there, I thought I knew about the Internet and social networking sites, both the positives and the dangers. I came away from the talk thinking that I don’t know as much as I thought or as much as I need to know. This doesn’t just mean something to me as a teacher and manager of ICT in East Lothian, but as a mum. My children are still young, I can still monitor what they are exposed to but how can I keep up with their use of technology and how can I support them to understand the implications of publishing online? One of the slides in the presentation was in text speak, used by our children every day, and I didn’t understand it! I need to take PC Gunn’s advice and download text speak hints and tips online. Will I be completely out of touch by the time my children are of ‘Bebo’ age? I hope not - not if I can do something about it. But it will take a conscious effort to keep up to date, to talk to my children about what they do online - to educate.

What struck me tonight was how important this information was not only for parents, but for teachers and for pupils. Our need to raise awareness is vital to true digital literacy. The next step for East Lothian needs to be working with headteachers and other staff in schools to have a clearer understanding of issues and to support education on safety online. We need to keep our knowledge as up to date and relevant as possible and we need to work with partner agencies such as community police to move forward. We also need to keep a balanced view and remember the importance of online resources for learning.
There was a plea at the end of the session to ’spread the word’ about these events. This is my attempt to spread the word. These events are worth two hours out of your day.

To find out more, visit the website: http://edubuzz.org/blogs/internetsafety/