Winter is tough for me here around the tech lab. We have a pretty awesome winter sports program here at Billings, but that takes away from some of my classroom time. Additionally, we seem to have a lot of days off here and there, for holidays, conferences, prep days, and so I feel like I haven’t seen my kids enough to write anything about what we’re doing. Now that we have Fridays back, and I’ve gained some momentum with my classes, I can spend some time here.

Both the 7th and 8th grade have been spending time thinking, writing, and researching about Cyberbullying and Cyber-rights. In line with their work in  American History, 7th Graders are working on presentations on Cyber-rights and the constitution. Primarily, they are focusing their work on a court case that involves a student and a perceived violation of rights. 8th graders are using their knowledge of cyberbullying to create presentations for younger students on different types of cyberbullying and harassment. Central to their presentations is how to prevent harassment from occurring and how to stand up for others who are experiencing harassment.

Last night the Parents Association hosted a Parent Education night called “Parenting Digital Communication”. Ted Kalmus (Head of School) and I spoke about all things adolescent and digital, including gaming, texting, screen time limits and social networking.  Here is a link to our presentation (made with Haiku Deck)

We had about 40 parents attend and we had some great conversations about digital communication and teenagers. These parents are enthusiastic and ready to learn. I left feeling energized!