Tuesday, September 1, 2020
October 2020 will mark the fourth annual Keeping Kids Safe Online Month in Wisconsin. Preparing for this year’s campaign carries more weight in the era of COVID-19 and remote learning, bringing awareness to the importance of making safe and healthy choices while navigating digital tools.
With a large number of districts relying on full-time remote learning or a hybrid approach with remote learning included, it is crucial to involve parents and the community in understanding and modeling safe online behaviors. To help with this, the DPI and the Wisconsin Department of Justice have created two interactive e-courses called Interact. These courses (available in English and Spanish) bring families together to talk about what to do when faced with questionable situations online, how to be a digital leader, and how to create a family media plan specific for your family.
The DPI has also been working with the Department of Justice over the last four years to create and maintain a website with numerous resources from organizations and experts around the world about online safety and digital citizenship.
The DPI has collaborated with agency experts in social and emotional learning, special education, family engagement, and others, to ensure we are helping to prepare the whole child for safe online learning experiences. We utilize October to highlight the need for safe and responsible use of digital tools and resources for schools, communities, and families.
With such a crucial topic in our “always-on” society, the discussions and modeling cannot start and stop in October. As we prepare for a different type of learning this fall, it is important to know the resources and tools to integrate, teach, and model safe and healthy online choices in all educational environments and at home. This is a team effort and, together, we can all become digital leaders!
For more information:
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How to Teach Online/Blended Learning - Grab & Go tools and resources
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Institute for Personalized Learning - Multimodal Professional Learning for Wisconsin Educators
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Supporting Digital Citizenship During Remote Learning
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How Schools are Taking SEL and Mental Health Online
Subscriber Submission: DPI Assistant Director Teaching & Learning- Digital Learning, Janice Mertes; DPI Digital Learning Consultant, Chad Kliefoth