Ep 213. Richard Culatta: Raising Children to Thrive in an Online World

Ep 213. Richard Culatta: Raising Children to Thrive in an Online World

“We can prepare our children to thrive in digital spaces by understanding more about how the virtual world works and applying some practical strategies for teaching our kids to use technology for good in their lives.”

Ricard Culatta

Richard Culatta is author of Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World. Richard serves as CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a nonprofit serving education leaders in 127 countries. A teacher by training and innovator by inclination, Culatta works to leverage technology to reinvent learning and was appointed by President Obama as the Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education. Currently, he serves as a senior fellow at NYU’s GovLab and as a design resident for the San Francisco-based innovation and design firm IDEO.

In this episode, Stew talks with Richard about practical ideas for how we can cultivate good digital citizenship in our children by developing five essential qualities: focusing on the quality and value of specific content and not on the amount of time spent online; staying informed as a discerning consumer of online content; learning to take in alternative perspectives; engaging in the community; and staying alert and creating safe spaces for others.

Here then is an invitation for you, a challenge, after you’ve had a chance to listen to this episode. What small step can you now take to help a child in your life become a stronger citizen of the digital world? Share your reactions to this episode and your suggestions for future shows with Stew by writing to him at friedman@wharton.upenn.edu or via LinkedIn.

Listen below or on ApplePodcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify