As school is winding down your student may be asked to reflect or write a report on a subject, idea, person, or place in which they studied over the course of the year.  When writing your student is cautioned about copyright laws.  Copyright is a difficult concept to wrap a mind around for students; however you can support the teachers by enforcing this concept at home.  One of the best ways is to start your child thinking as an author.  You can tell them that whenever they write a poem or story or even a paper for their class, or a drawing or other artwork, they automatically own the copyright to it.
Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works. What that means is that, as the author of the work, they alone have the right to do any of the following or to let others do any of the following:
make copies of their work;
distribute copies of their work;
perform your their publicly;
display their work publicly;
make “derivative works” (including making modifications, adaptations or other
new uses of a work, or translating the work to another media).

By getting a child to recognize they have the same rights as does some of the well known authors, musicians, etc they read or listen to will help them understand why copyright is so important for us all. 

Kids seem to jump on the latest digital gadgets and apps so quickly it's hard for parents to keep up. VEA is now making a video available to parents to help them keep their kids safe in the rapidly changing environment. "Keeping Your Child Safe Online" is a short video with commonsense tips to navigate these challenging waters.

You can check out the webpage at http://www.veanea.org/home/584.htm and access the video directly at https://vimeo.com/59735672. 

See you in cyberspace!

February 6th is Digital Learning Day (http://www.digitallearningday.org/).  This is a great day to sit down with your student and surf the net. As you browse the net consider signing up for a Pininterest account with your student.  Pininterest (http://pinterest.com/) is an online scrapbook.  As you browse through the web you can use the service's "pinning" feature to save sites or images to a "board".  Each member of the family can have their own board under your account.  By keeping all boards under one account you can safely allow your student the opportunity to collect clippings from things that interest them and you may get to know your student a little bit better in the process.  See  you in Cyberspace!

Happy New Year!  It's that time where folks make promises to themselves or loved ones in an attempt to grow or make something better.  One resolution you can make is to be a better informed parent when it comes to the internet.  Jump in and learn the basics of the Internet—read articles, take a class, talk to other parents and of course, chat with your child's ITRT (ME!). A good place to start with some basics is www.LearnTheNet.com. A good place to stay current with the latest in online technology is mashable.com. You don’t have to be an expert to have a handle on your child’s online world.  See you in cyberspace!

During this season you may be thinking about that perfect technology toy for your child.  The options you have are mind-blowing!  Should you get them a laptop, an IPod/IPad, an Android tablet, or would the traditional desktop be best.  Wasn't it easier when a Barbie or G I Joe was the gift of the day?  Whatever you decide to give remember that with ths technology your child is able to explore the world and much of the world is not safe for your elementary child.  This may be the time to sit down with your child and together complete a family media agreement.  At school students have to sign an acceptable use policy before being allowed on the net.  You can do something similar at home with your child.  Let your child come up with some of the rules the family will follow.  You also want to make sure that included in these rules is one that gives you as the parent the right to review and see any site or app the child may be using. 

Parents,
 
We are coming up on my favorite time of  the year, Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving is the perfect time to sit down with your  student and use the internet together for something other than gaming.  Why  don't you think about starting a family blog?  Two free, and easy to  use websites are Google Blogs and Weebly.com.  Beginning in November, your  family can set aside some time each week to compose a post together on things  for
which you are thankful.  By building a blog together you will spend quality time with your child in "world" they are very familiar with.  They can probably teach you someting!  Plus you will have the perfect opportunity to talk about online behaviors and your expectations.  If you do create your own family blog, please share it with me at: mlewis@amherst.k12.va.us.  See you in cyberspace!

Hello Parents!
My name is Mrs. Melanie Lewis and I am the  ITRT in your student's building.  Throughout the school year I work with various  teachers and students in many different capacities so that the technology is  used in the best way possible to support learning.  Feel free to email me at any  time if you have a question about how to help  your student at home online, how  one of our computer programs or tools is used, or even with a personal computer  question.  I can be reached at mlewis@amherst.k12.va.us   Looking forward to meeting you in cyberspace!