Welcome, parents!
The links below include information on tech integration at MCDS; parenting tips and student expectations around technology; practical information to help you and your child manage technology at home; and resources for keyboarding, digital citizenship, media literacy, programming and more! If there's an article or resource you'd like to share more broadly with the community, email cwarner@mcds.org to initiate the review process.
MCDS RESOURCES
All Grades:- Family Media & Device Contract "Starter Kit" - Parent Tech Survey Results, October 2018 - Parent Tech Survey Results, April 2018 - Troubleshooting: I’m not receiving school emails
Lower School: - MCDS Lower School Tech Integration - Recommended iPad apps--K-4 - iPad FAQs - MCDS Lower School Tech Responsible Use Policy
Upper School: - Digital Parenting Tips - At-home Parental Controls Feature Guide - Discussion questions, hypothetical scenarios, and real-life extreme cases - Chromebook FAQs - MCDS Tech Responsible Use Policy, Grades 5-8
ARTICLES & RESEARCH
-February 2019-NYT: The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know -January 2019-QZ.com: This Parenting Approach Could Help Curb Your Child’s Tech Addiction -January 2019-NYT Opinion: Meditation will keep the digital monsters at bay - October 2018-Child Mind Institute: A Parent’s Guide to Dealing With Fortnite - September 2018 - NYT How (and When) to Limit Kids’ Screen Time - September 2018 Common Sense Media: Social Media, Social Life - June 2018: Is Screen Time Bad for Children's Mental Health? (WSJ) - June 2018: Distracted Parenting (The Atlantic) - 3/30/18 - Are today's teenagers smarter and better than we think? (Another perspective on Gen Z after the March for our Lives) - 3/8/18 - Are iPhones bad for kids? - 12/20/17 - The Surprising thing Google learned about their employees (and what it means for students) - 11/30/17 - Court Ruling re: students posting racist memes on Instagram (and its effects at an East Bay high school) - Common Sense Media: Media Use By Kids Age 0 to 8 - Common Sense Media: News & America's Kids - Common Sense Media: Plugged-in Parents of Tweens & Teens - Dan Siegel: Social Media - Lisa Guernsey: Screen Time - NYT: Laptops Are Great; Just Not During a Lecture or Meeting - The Atlantic: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? - The Atlantic: The Binge Breaker
DIGITAL PARENTING RESOURCES
- Local Digital-Parenting Support Group in San Rafael (run by LMFTs) - Apple Families - Catherine Steiner-Adair: Family Relationships in the Digital Age - Center for Humane Technology - Common Sense Media: Cell Phone Parenting - Common Sense Media: K-5 - Common Sense Media: Parent Concerns - Common Sense Media: Screen Time - Common Sense Media: Social Media - Connect Safely - Devorah Heitner: Raising Digital Natives - Digital Glossary - Family Online Safety Institute - Katie Greer: Online Safety - KidsHealth - Internet Safety - Netsmartz on Cell Phone Parenting - Ozicare: How to Keep Children Safe Online - Polly Ely / The Lab Method--"Tech Talk Deck" - Popular App Guide - SafeSmartSocial - TechTalks.Me: local Bay Area Parent Support, Consultation, and Guidance - Tuck Sleep: Smartphones & Sleep; Streaming Video & Sleep; General Tech & Sleep
ELEMENTARY RECOMMENDED APPS
- Common Sense Media "Essential Apps" - Agnitus Personal Learning Program - Endless Alphabet - Endless Reader - Letter School - Monkey Word School Adventure - Sago Mini Ocean Swimmer - Starfall Learn to Read (web tool also) - Moms with Apps (app review resource) - Parents' Choice (app review resource) - Teachers with Apps (app review resource) - Digital Storytime (app review resource)
OLDER GRADES: MEDIA LITERACY
- Common Sense Media: Sex, Gender, & Body Image - Common Sense Media: Violence in the Media - Dr. Jeanne Kilbourne - Miss Representation (a film for adolescents and older) - The Mask You Live In (a film for adolescents and older) - KQED: The Honest Truth About Fake News- News Outlet Reliability Infographic - one subjective but valuable model - WSJ: Blue Feed Red Feed - CSM Study: News And America's Kids - The News Literacy Project (NLP)