The One is Us

Over the next couple of weeks, I am preparing to present at a statewide foster care conference in Nashville. My topic is "Teens and the Web" and I have the responsibility of presenting the most critical Web-related information and insights that I can to a group of parents who foster children who have been taken into state custody due to family neglect or abuse. I have a prepared presentation that I created years ago and try to keep updated as technology develops and it focuses mainly on safety issues. I highlight potential danger and equip parents with tools to prevent it. Last year, I presented to over 100 parents who were all eager to learn and ran out of time during my 90 minute presentation. This year, I get three hours and two chances to make my pitch. I've been wondering how to fill the second 90 minutes (assuming I give the poor souls a break for a sip of water and a trip to the restroom!) and what is the most valuable information I can impart to them.

I've decided that I want to present to them the positive, exhilarating aspects of the Web and why it's so important to ensure access and literacy/fluency NOW while teens are in the care of adults with the resources to provide them. There is no group of youth at greater risk of falling into the chasm of the Digital Divide nor in greater need of the empowerment of technology than these children who face transitioning into adulthood and out of the care of family. I can't imagine being 20 years old in this day and age and not knowing how to manage online banking and billpay, locating resources for housing, food and utilities, educational opportunity and general connectedness to the society which has been taken over by Internet technology. How do I impart to them the urgency of this need?

For starters, I'm going to show this video from TED.com by Kevin Kelly which talks about the first 5,000 days of the Web and forecasts the changes in the next 5,000 days. It's critical viewing for anyone who plans on living at least another ten or fifteen years. Imagine being 20 and having a probable 50 years in which one must become educated, make a living, raise a family without the technological resources many of us take for granted today. I want these parents--many of whom will be perpetual parents (of course, all parents are, but you know what I mean) since they will refresh their households with children as those they have now will mature into adulthood--to not just know the importance of connection for these children, but to have the tools and inspiration to connect them at home. I want to replace their fear of the Web with passion and inspiration that they can instill in their children for learning, growth and development in the exciting world of academic technology. And to do that, I will give them a magical mystery tour of the best sites I know on the Web for teens and young adults.

I would love to have any suggestions from readers and welcome them either in the comments section or by email to digiTenn@gmail.com.