Raising children in a tech age: Oberoi International School conducts workshop on 'Digital Citizenship'

Today, children have unprecedented exposure to the internet, media, and mobile technologies. While enjoying the possibilities of this cyber age, it’s exceedingly crucial to use technology appropriately.

Oberoi International School conducted a workshop on September 25 and 26 on ‘Digital Citizenship’ at two of its schools, with the primary objective of raising digitally responsible future citizens. The workshop was conducted by Allison Ochs from Amsterdam and was open to parents and students.

Ochs is an expert in topics like screen time, cyber bullying, inappropriate websites, gaming, texting, etc.


With IT advancements, it becomes extremely important to make all parties involved aware of the emerging consequences of technology abuse. “We do the best we can during the 14.9 per cent of a child’s time that is spent in school, but parents are responsible for the other 85.1 per cent,” said Neil McWilliam, head of school, Oberoi International School , Goregaon campus. “If we are serious about preparing our children for the future, we must teach them to use these devices effectively and responsibly.”


Stephen Augeri, head of school, JVLR campus, believes digital literacy and wellness are the need of the hour. “We, as educators, know about the curriculum and the science of pedagogy, but each parent knows more about their own child,” he said. “By exchanging our knowledge with each other, we can achieve the common goal of student development. This session was one of our attempts to equip our parents with professional advice on the effective use of technology.”

Ochs said, “It ’s vital to have a link between the school, students, and parents. This is a wonderful initiative taken by Oberoi International School to educate them all, about this rapidly growing technological world.”

Echoing the school’s belief in digital ethics, Bindu Oberoi, chair of board, Oberoi International School, said, “In a digital learning environment, we empower our children with resources and opportunities to move forward. And as we encourage our students to explore their boundaries, we also educate them to respect and recognise them. This approach will result in citizens who are smart, creative and most importantly, digitally responsible.”