A computer and social savvy parent night

Last night was Kindergarten parent night at our school. Let me just start off by saying: I LOVE OUR TEACHER! Ms. Stone is who I wanted for BamBam and we got her! Her excitement for kindergarten definitely puts my mind at ease.

Anyhoo...

Parent night was great. Got to know Ms. Stone more personally and of course professionally. Like many other parent nights, we went over daily schedules and what we should expect from our kindergartners. Oh and when I first walked in, I got to see BamBam's very first in school project 'sitting' in his chair. I actually forgot (meh) to take a pic of it...but I did get one when I brought it home...

BamBam and his "ME" project :-)

One of the main things Ms. Stone told us that she was doing this year that she didn't do previously was to be more computer and social savvy. Almost all forms needing to be filled out are being sent to us through Google drive (docs). I personally think this is a great leap in schools. Its a great resource for teachers and makes submitting things so much easier...no need to worry about important papers getting 'lost in transfer.' LOL if you're a parent then you KNOW what I mean.

Secondly, she is utilizing a service called remind 101. It's a one way text based reminder system. All personal information like our phone numbers are not visible to her and we cannot see her number either. No one has access to her account except for her and of course it is password protected. She uses it for quick reminders. For example, I got a text this morning reminding us today was library day and please don't forget to bring our books. 

Lastly, she created a twitter page for her class! WHAT?! SO AWESOME! She keeps her iPad on her desk all day and she says the kids love hearing the notification go off. She shows them things that she posts and always shows them if someone comments back. I think I was the only parent in the class that uses twitter...maybe. LOL. I heard some of the parents saying they had no idea what it was. But for a social media junky like me, you know I am so excited over this.

These 3 major jumps in education (in our class) just goes to show you how "social" we have all become. I know, I know, using google docs isn't really social, but it kinda is. Real life documenting in real time, being shared by more than one person to another. A group to the entire group itself. 

So how young is too young for social media? The use of iPads and computers in classrooms is becoming more widespread. BamBam's Pre-K classroom last year had 5 iMacs and an iPad. Most kids know how to operate their iPods/iPhones and other smart phones better than most grown ups. So how young is too young? My boys each have their own email address, which I of course maintain. I have thought about maybe getting them their own, PRIVATE instagram account since they LOVE taking pictures with my phone...but I'm still not so sure. I have given BamBam permission to tweet his teacher as long as I am around....

But the question still remains...how young is too young for social media? Thoughts?