One would think that after 22 years in the classroom, 25 years in education and with a Masters degree in Educational Technology that I’d have the whole parenting a digital student thing figured out. I’m here to tell you that this is not the case!! I have spent the past 12 months navigating online learning for my middle-schooler, and I have certainly found myself up against all the challenges of playing this role!

Late assignments, missed assignments, half-hearted effort, oversleeping, procrastination – I’ve seen them all in the past twelve months!!

I am fortunate to be married to an educational psychologist (also my child’s father, we are not a blended family) and so we parent together with significant knowledge, training, experience, and understanding of the brain development of children.  Brain development is our biggest philosophy in terms of parenting choices. 

In late February 2021, I hosted an evening session for parents of online students in my school jurisdiction. It was an excellent exercise to put myself through the process of thinking about my own experience as a parent of a virtual student, and to put my experience and knowledge into a cohesive presentation.

I also created a companion booklet with a couple of printable workbook pages at the back for parents to use to cover the topics I spoke about in my evening presentation. 

So, parents, here is a recording of the presentation, and you are most welcome to print the above-linked booklet should you wish to have a copy.