Mapping Your Future: New guide aims to help parents understand and engage with digital learning

Newsroom

New guide aims to help parents understand and engage with digital learning

By Catherine Mueller

October 27, 2020

Just as the experience grows with digital learning, so may be some of the frustration for students and parents.

To help smooth the acceptance of digital learning tools, the U.S. Department of Education recently released a released a new Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide. The guide is a resource to help parents and guardians understand how digital tools can provide tailored learning opportunities, engage students with course materials, encourage creative expression, and enrich the educational experience.

According to a press release from the Department of Education, the Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide includes guidance and best practices for caregivers around topics including:

  • How to leverage flexibilities and innovations provided by technology and digital tools
  • Simple steps parents can take to keep their children safe online and foster safe online behavior
  • How a competency-based learning approach, which measures a student's knowledge of a subject rather than time spent on the subject, can harness technology for the benefit of students
  • Easy-to-understand primers on major federal laws governing student privacy and safety

The Department of Education said the guide is the first in a series that will provide digital learning knowledge and resources to educators and school leaders in addition to parents and students.