Don't Miss This Month's Parent Tech Night - Social Media And Our Children

Social Media and Our Children

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Marshall Simonds Middle School Learning Commons

7-8 PM 

As a parent of three, I am amazed at the role social media plays in the lives of my three children. While doing my best to keep tabs on my son Timothy who is a 9th grader and recently started a Facebook account and my daughter Bryn, a 7th grader who is an Instagram lover, I wonder sometimes whether I am doing enough to guide them in the appropriate use of these communication tools.  It can certainly be overwhelming! I can't even imagine what is coming down the road for my first-grader (pictured above) who is taking it all in

With this in mind, we invite parents to the February topic in our Technology Series For Parents - Social Media And Our Children.  Please join Burlington Public Schools Director of Instructional Technology and me as we discuss some of the most popular Social Media sources of our students. We will discuss how parents can keep tabs on their children and share best practices in appropriate use of these resources.

We will also spend a little time discussing School Connect, a wonderful communication tool that the school district will be launching in March. 

Finally, time during every Parent Tech Night session is also dedicated to technology related questions and support. All are welcome, so please feel free to bring a friend!

Related articles

• Are You Sure Your Child Isn't Using Social Media? (patrickmlarkin.com)

Day 51 - Dennis Villano, BPS Director of Technology Integration

Gmail – Creating Student Contact Groups

Burlington Public Schools is a Google Apps for Education district. All students and staff have Google accounts. One of the most powerful aspects of this consistent integration is the ability to communicate and collaborate in an organized system.

The BPS EdTech Team recommends setting up class groups or blocks for better distribution of digital content and communication to students. This process is appropriate even for beginners but does take some time initially. The time saved throughout a semester or school year after completing the set up can be a great benefit to teachers. The best part is that these groups can be used to send emails and share documents from Google Drive.

The process can be completed in a few steps that is duplicated for each student in your class or block. Check out this walkthrough video guide from BHS Student HelpDesk member Sidd Chhayani to complete the process:


Once you create a group you can use it as a recipient for emails and shared documents.
In Gmail – simply click the Compose button and start typing the name of a group in the To box. Click on the group that you want to use:



In Google Drive – click on the Share button in a document and start typing the name of a group in the Add People box (make sure to change the sharing and editing options appropriate for the document you are sending):



Gmail Contact Groups are a powerful tool for distributing digital content to students, staff, and community members. Organized distribution methods like this are a critical part of a 1:1 classroom.
Please check out the BHS Student HelpDesk for more technology guides and support.