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How to protect your child while they learn virtually

Posted at 4:28 PM, Aug 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-11 23:01:46-04

According to the Corpus Christi Independent School District, there are currently over 26,000 students registered for distance learning.

This means there will be thousands of kids stuck near a computer for hours once school begins.

Luckily many school districts that have offered devices or programs to students, have also installed filters and firewalls to protect students from outside inappropriate activity.

However, predators can still reach your child and there are ways to prevent that.

Public Information Officer, Lt. Michael Pena of the Corpus Christi Police Department gave his tips on how parents should monitor their children during distance learning.

"One, you want to educate your child about the dangers, about not giving out your personal information," Pena said.

He reiterates how important it is that children understand what could happen on all technology devices, not just computers. Even when not distance learning, children need to be aware of the dangers that can pop up on a computer screen.

Next, "you want to set those boundaries for the children also when they’re on the internet."

Pena said to set ground rules. Whether it's accessing the internet at certain times of the day or only when an adult is around.

It is also important to know what daily assignments your child is working on. If they should be working on a math assignment but their computer screen says otherwise, than that's when ground rules become the most important.

Pena's most important rule, is to have a chaperone on hand, if possible.

"Hopefully there is a parent that can be close. One of the things I would also suggest is putting that computer in a central location, not just in the bedroom, put it in the living room."

KRIS 6 also reached out to CCISD to see how they are protecting students. CCISD said that Zoom classes will be monitored by teachers and there are Robust Firewall and other filters on devices that will block general sites and searches that are not appropriate for classroom settings.