In today’s increasingly connected world, families and caregivers face a number of challenging and nuanced decisions: When are children ready for a device? What can we do to ensure screen readiness? How can we encourage healthy digital habits?
And with schoolwork increasingly requiring students to connect to the internet, balancing how and when children use technology is no small task.
To better prepare and empower our youth to use technology safely and responsibly, we’re teaming up with expert organizations and creating resources to help families make informed technology decisions. One of these collaborations is with National PTA – the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America – to create the “Ready, Tech, Go!” workshop series.
Through Ready, Tech, Go!, local PTAs across the country are hosting free educational workshops for parents and caregivers at elementary schools in underserved communities. The workshops feature curated resources and content from AT&T ScreenReady® and are designed to help parents and caregivers:
- Identify and reflect on aspects of screen readiness;
- Become familiar with screen readiness and digital life tools and resources; and
- Gain new ideas to help create a healthy digital home.
Ready, Tech, Go! also includes a free tool from National PTA – The Smart Talk – a resource to help caregivers and kids (ages 5-17) have proactive technology conversations and set healthy digital limits together.
The AT&T ScreenReady® shares tips and tools to help families manage their online experience, practice healthy digital habits and fully participate in today’s connected world. The initiative includes the PhoneReady Quiz, Family Media Plan, cybersecurity tips for parents and caregivers, parental controls guides and more.
Already, we’re seeing how families are empowered and positively impacted by these workshops, including through recent events in Champaign, IL, Roswell, GA and Laurel, MD.
Champaign, IL
At Booker T. Washington STEM Academy, educators pride themselves on creating an environment where each child has the ability to look at the world for themselves and make their own decisions. And as a STEM academy, technology is an especially big part of these students’ lives.
As part of the Academy’s goal, our Ready, Tech, Go! event allowed parents to learn alongside their kids about technology limits and what may be appropriate for their children, exploring questions like “what rules should my child follow when they’re online?” and “when is my child ready for their first device?”
Roswell, GA
Hembree Springs Elementary School’s workshop event emphasized how healthy digital habits start at home. The event featured speakers offering tips for digital safety, including the importance of family conversations about screen time.
One parent noted that the workshop helped open their eyes to having an open dialogue about the appropriate use of devices. Another was grateful for the clarity these discussions gave them, saying “With the tools that AT&T has, I was able to really help to manage the screen time, manage the content that they have, and to have conversations about a balance between playing outside and watching devices.”
Laurel, MD
Forest Ridge Elementary School’s parents also shared about the impact of these workshops on their families, with one sharing, “I went through it with my daughter… it was a really good conversation with her because it spurred us to talking about how she was going to use her tablet over the summer.”
The big picture: Through efforts like the Ready, Tech, Go! workshop series, AT&T ScreenReady® and AT&T Connected Learning℠, we’re committed to expanding access to connectivity and digital learning solutions for communities across the country. The goal of these initiatives is always to invest in communities and families, beyond just our networks and phone plans.
We’ve seen the impact digital preparedness can have on a parent or caregiver’s peace of mind as they navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, and we look forward to seeing children not only tackle but thrive in our digital world.
