Programs and Workshops
Marje and Doug offer a variety of programs and workshops to schools, organizations, teachers, administrators, parents and students. Our unique approach, combining child and adolescent development and the latest technology information, focuses on empowering adults and students to take control of their online experience through age appropriate workshops and presentations.
Children Online offers consulting services to schools, organizations, synagogues and churches. We offer presentations to students, families, educators, administrators, professionals and parents. Our goal with students (grades 4-12) is to empower them to take control of their online world and assist them in understanding (in an age-appropriate manner) the risks they face when using technology and strategies to protect and keep them safe online. We teach children and teens why telecommunications can be a challenging way to communicate with friends and how to avoid the tricks of marketers and scammers. We encourage students to fully understand the value of their online privacy, how to reduce their risks for being targeted, how to deal with meanness, inappropriate language and content online, and how to handle online bullying and harassment.
Our goal with parents is to provide the latest technology and child development research along with workable and real-life guidelines and strategies to talk to their children and keep their home computers safe. Within a developmental framework, parents and families are offered a glimpse into the many activities, games, risks, networks and scams their children and teens face online and via cell phones. For example, increasingly, children and teenagers are using telecommunications to avoid difficult face-to-face conversations. As a result of the anonymity behind a screen, children and teenagers are saying mean and hurtful things because they "can." There are no boundaries online. Children grow and thrive best in a world where there are clear boundaries and expectations in place concerning their behavior. We help parents and schools create healthy and critical boundaries for their children's behavior online.
Our work with churches, synogogues and organizations is to provide communities with targeted and relevant information to assist in better understanding the rapidly changing technological world.
Before visiting schools or organizations, we offer an anonymous survey designed to produce a snapshot of Internet and cell phone activity. The survey, structured carefully within developmental guidelines, is a wonderful way for families, schools and organizations to better understand the challenges children, teens and adults are facing.