A Survival Guide for Digital Natives

She brings a depth and breadth of experience to her calling, and her insightful, thoughtful, skillfully delivered presentations through KL Greer Consulting are very much in demand throughout the U.S.

She has served as an intelligence analyst as well as Director of Internet Safety for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, and numerous national media outlets including CNN, USA Today and Time have featured her work and prodigious research.

 

So, considering her background, how, I wondered, could she possibly relate her message to the assemblage of Collegiate JK, Kindergarten and 1st Grade students sitting before her in Centennial Hall at 8:30 a.m. on an overcast, muggy Monday?

 
Turns out she did just fine, even after just four hours sleep after her delayed flight from Boston Sunday night finally landed in Richmond just after 1 a.m.

 

“We’ll have a really good conversation about what (devices) they’re using,” she explained shortly before the young ones filed in. “I let them drive the conversation as opposed to my other presentations where I say, ‘This is what I want you to know. This is what I’m worried about.’”

 

This is Greer’s second visit to Collegiate. This past spring, her focus was 6^th Graders and social media. In this fall’s two-day visit, her topic is Understanding Social Media at Every Age & Stage, and she’s addressing a wider audience of Lower and Middle School students and their parents and even sharing her expertise with seniors during a class meeting. She returns March 23 when she will direct her attention once again to 6^th Graders.

An astute observer, Greer has honed her presentation to the youngest Collegiate students based on her experience with her five-year-old Kindergarten daughter Rhys.

 

“I used to have a PowerPoint that I gave to Kindergarten through 2^nd Grade students,” she said. “Ever since my daughter was born, I think of her and think she wouldn’t appreciate things I’d show her or even understand. So I open it up to a casual conversation and let them tell me what they’re using and what rules they have. That’s been more effective than me telling them what I want them to know.”

 

Greer opened this morning’s session by asking who had access to a tablet or iPad. Most hands went up.

 

No surprise there.

 

“They’re digital natives,” assistant Lower School head Laura Fields told me recently. “They’re not online, not using social media, but they’re trained that technology is a positive thing in their life.”

 

Greer then asked how many in the audience have access to their parents’ cell phones to play games. A slew of hands went up.

 

She then asked if they have rules. Though the answers varied, there were common threads. I can’t buy games without parents’ permission. I’m not allowed to touch (my parents’ device) without permission. I can’t Face Time without permission. I can’t make phone calls without asking. I can use it only on Sunday and only after I’ve finished my chores.

 

Greer asked about playing games against other people over the internet. A few hands went up, and the theme remained the same: only with parental consent. She cautioned the young ones about talking to strangers online and revealing personal information and encouraged them to report to their parents any intrusion on their electronic space.

 

“The biggest take-home,” said 1st Grade teacher Susie Leahy, “is that the children have to ask their parents. The parameters are perfect.”

 

After her 20-minute conversation with Collegiate’s four-, five-, and six-year-olds, Greer was excited – and heartened – by the responses.

 

“My big pitch with parents is to set rules and expectations early,” she said. “It was really interesting to know that so many parents have rules that are clear and concise. I love that.”

                  -- Weldon Bradshaw