Digital Citizenship Survival Kit

How do these items relate to being a good 

digital citizen?

I've been asking my third through fifth grade students this question all week. I have the actual items in a Digital Citizenship Survival Kit on my bench. They've been meeting in the table groups to discern the reasons for each item.  For my students, each thing has had at least two, if not three or four, reminders relating to being a good digital citizen.  For instance the soap reminds them to have clean hands, be neat, and keep their language clean. This great idea comes from Craig at Comfortably 2.0. He has generously given permission for others to use the Digital Citizenship Survival Kit.

The interactive nature of the lesson along with the tangible and familiar household items has resulted in a more engaging and meaningful discussion around digital citizenship. The ease of using Padlet makes it an ideal tool to integrate into a thirty minute lesson. 

Fourth Graders brainstormed other familiar objects to add to a survival kit.

The fifth graders reflected on the efficacy of the survival kit (referred to as a toolkit) versus BrainPop movies and other methods of learning about Digital Citizenship.

"I think policies are the understanding of a privilege" Giving Students a Voice: Policy Versus Rule

 

After last week's lesson and discussion on the Acceptable Use Policy (I like Technology Use Policy) and the word choice of policy versus rule, the fifth graders practiced the AUP and being good digital citizens by taking to Padlet and sharing their opinions. I am incredibly impressed by their thoughtfulness as well as creativity. There are some great analogies here as well as some fairly long statements. I see where there are opportunities to talk about grammar, punctuation and formality, but these are minor items given how impressive the content of their messages are:

Check out all of their comments on this Padlet.

3rd Graders and the Acceptable Use Policy

After viewing the Animoto movie I created about our Acceptable Use Policy as well as having discussions, the third graders practiced being good digital citizens by using Padlet to share what they know about our AUP. 

Padlet is a great tool to capture student responses. It's like a virtual bulletin board upon which students add virtual post-it notes. The students can see each other's responses as they type, which I like. I want them to understand and practice synchronous learning. (The Padlet walls can be set to moderate comments, but I think that giving them the open experience builds strategies and skills.)

I am happy about the students comments and know that we have a solid foundation upon which to build digital citizenship knowledge. These opportunities are always teachable moments and I see some comments that provide the opportunity to reinforce all the aspects of digital citizenship, including punctuation and grammar.  

You can check out the whole wall here. I changed the settings to moderate comments to ensure it's only my students work, but if you want to tell them what you think or have your students collaborate, send me a Tweet!

Policy vs. Rule: Teaching and Learning about Technology Use

Over the past three years, my colleagues and I have been revising how the students learn about our district's Acceptable Use Policy. Finding the balance between the appropriate amount of information and the delivery method has been the greatest challenge. What is most important for the students to understand? What method of instruction will help them take ownership? How can we create visually engaging signage with a clear message?

I have an issue with the title of the policy and the language. I don't like "Acceptable Use" because it feels passive and it feels limiting. Two years ago, I began creating a video. wrote of calling it a "Responsible Use Policy." I liked this better because I I think it is more flexible in its interpretation and puts the onus on the students to make good decisions when using school technology. This is also my issue with the word rule versus policy. According to my handy Scholastic Children's Dictionary, a policy is, "a general plan or principle that people use to help them make decisions or take action." This feels right to me. I want it to be a general plan. I want the students to feel that they can be creative and make choices. This year I am talking about a Technology Use Policy that relies on the students being responsible and respectful users of technology.  We'll need to come to consensus as a department, a consensus on the language and on the delivery methods. I am excited though because I think we are getting close. One colleague has created a Google Presentation and another has created an infographic. I created this Animoto video:

We're all contributing products along with feedback and suggestions. I like that we are moving toward a more engaging, authentic, and inclusive curriculum. I like that we have the same message begin delivered in multiple formats.

After this, we'll be moving onto Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship. One person found this great idea for a digital citizenship survival kit: filling a sandwich bag with a small tube of toothpaste, a lock, a key,  a permanent marker, and a bar of soap. With this activity the students have been meeting in small groups to guess how the objects relate to Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship. This is all making the teaching and learning of this important area feel more engaging and memorable for the students. We'll see how it goes.  

How do you teach your students or children about these topics?

Helping students take ownership for Responsible Community Technology Use

Acceptable Use Policy

We all teach it, but what do students learn?

We began our conversations about the AUP today by referencing our work building community character traits. We talked about having the courage to be the people we want to be. Talking about a policy about using computers acceptably seems to go against this work we've done. I wish the name were different. I would much prefer to have a Responsible Community Technology Use. It's a funny distinction, but I think it puts the onus on the students to have the courage to be the technology users they know they can and should be as opposed to thinking that they have to operate within restrictions placed by a teacher.  

I am not saying that there are not important aspects of our AUP that I think the students need to hear and need to understand. My job is to ensure that they are safe, responsible, respectful and kind users of and with technology. I am pretty firm on having the students understand that our technology is a shared resource and that they should think about the next person who might be using a device, app, or Website and ensuring that that student's learning experience is everything it should be.  

As part of this first lesson, the students signed these letters as a symbol that they understood the AUP.  I think the students get it, but I am not sure they own it, so for the next few weeks as we delve into Internet Safety and being digital citizens, I'm hoping to find ways to help them take ownership.

Using new ways to learn about the AUP and practicing constructive feedback.

Acceptable Use Policy

We all teach it, but what do students learn?

I have spent the last few years teaching from this poster:

I think the students get it, but I don't think they own it.

This year, I decided to try a different tact.  I created an Animoto video.  

It is still a work in progress, but from initial feedback from students and informal assessments, I think I am on the right track. The engagement was higher and the discussions were better and more dynamic.  I am hoping they have learned more about and and taken more ownership of our AUP. They are signing this pledge now as well:

About that initial feedback? It was powerful.  There was some hesitation at the start, but after some coaxing on my part, the students became thoughtful and constructive viewers and learners. "I am interested in what you have to say," I told them. They were empowered and took their role seriously. 

Here are some of their comments:

"I liked the way you made it positive."

"There were too many pictures"

"You repeated the phrase 'respect all learners' many times"

"You should add a few 'please don't' statements"

"You might want to include the consequences."

"It would be good to show how students know the difference between what to do and what not to do."

"The words in the background are distracting."

"I think you should define what the AUP is."

"Spell out the term AUP."

"It was too fast."

I took all these comments, as well as the others, into consideration and edited the movie.  What you see above is the latest iteration.

Check it out and share your feedback.  I am interested in what you have to say.