IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Summer 2017 | Page 80

Brentwood
Borough
School
District
Brentwood Borough School District
Recognized as a Common Sense
Certified District
By: Lindsay Klousnitzer
Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and
technology, has recognized Brentwood Borough School District as a Common Sense Certified District in Digital Citizenship.
Brentwood has demonstrated its commitment to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create,
connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.
“We applaud the faculty and staff of Brentwood for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students’ education,” said
Jessica Lindl, Head of Common Sense Education. “Brentwood deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need
to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large.”
Brentwood has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were
created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources
teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy,
managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources are currently used in more than 90,000 classrooms
nationwide.
By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them unlimited opportunities to maximize and
personalize their learning. For more information about Common Sense Education learning tools and resources to use at home, please
visit www.commonsensemedia.org.
TECHNOLOGY
How Much Screen Time Should Your Child Have?
By: Mrs. Melissa Fulmer
Today, screens and media are everywhere. From the car to the house, children have access to a wide range of media and screen time. As
a result of this, controlling screen time can become a difficult task for parents. So, how do you manage your child’s screen time?
The American Academy of Pediatrics have set guidelines in place to help parents aid in their child’s media use each day. The guidelines
widely discourages media use, except for use of video chat, by children younger than 18 to 24 months. Introducing media at the 18 – 24
months age group, should include high quality apps and videos that are educational. For
children in the 2 -5 years age group, screen time should be limited to an hour a day with
high quality educational apps and videos. For children that are 6 years of age and older,
parents should place consistent limits on how much screen time they are allowed per day.
Parents should ensure that kids do not use digital media at the expense of being involved
in activities, sleep patterns, or exercise. Excessive screen time can lead to obesity, irregular
sleep schedules, behavioral problems, loss of social skills, violence, and less time for activity.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that parents should talk to their
kids about online behavior and safety in an online environment. Recommendations have
also been made for parents to be selective about what types of apps and programs that
they allow their children to use. Parents being educated or understanding types of apps that
are on child’s device, could prevent bullying and situations from happening. Experts suggest that the quality of the media children are
exposed to is more important than the platform or the amount of time spent on a device.
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