The Galion City School District is excited to announce the launch of Tech Tips for Parents on the district’s website. This monthly resource, developed by Technology Coordinator for Educational Programs Veronica Rinehart, is designed to help adults gain a better understanding of today’s technology that children are using daily.
As a one-to-one school district, Galion teachers and staff do their best to teach students how to responsibly use technology both inside and outside the classroom. This resource is focused on helping parents learn new ways to help keep their children safe in the digital world.
“Our world is much different than when we grew up,” Rinehart said. “As a district, if we can help parents in our community be ‘in the know’, then I am proud to do so.”
In developing the program, Rinehart looked to reputable resources to gather interesting information, some of which came directly from the descriptions used to promote certain apps. This page on the district website has been viewed by over 750 people since its release March 31, 2016.
“I was surprised to find out how many apps are available to ‘hide’ photos and documents,” Rinehart said. “The most disturbing thing I’ve found is that there are a large number of social media sites designed to create an emotional intimacy among its users, and I would hate to see any of our young people fall prey to this.”
This new program is just one of many that the district has implemented to build a stronger relationship with parents and the community. The district will host nationally recognized Internet Safety expert Jesse Weinberger, will bring her parent-specific seminar about internet safety to the Galion community Tuesday, May 17. This seminar is an adult only presentation, and is free and open to all parents and adults in the Galion community.
“We can talk about internet safety with our students, but we need to help the parents learn how to talk to their kids about this important issue and how to identify different apps and social media sites that might compromise their child’s safety,” Galion Superintendent Jim Grubbs said. “This new program, along with Jesse Weinberger’s seminar May 17, are just two ways we can help build a stronger relationship with our parents and work together on this very important issue.”
Tech Tips for Parents can be found on the district website through this link: http://www.galionschools.org/ParentResources.aspx. Contact Veronica Rinehart for questions or more information at 419-468-3134 or email [email protected].
