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?

"I learned about how the internet can affect you and how it helps and doesn't help people."

"I learned how to work in a group"

After learning about Internet Safety, this fifth grade class planned and created an Animoto video (setting scenes, taking pictures, typing in the text, choosing themes, choosing music, and editing) and presented their Internet Safety videos. As I said with the poster project, I always learn much during the process, but the students' reflections after the project has finished give me insight and concrete data that helps inform future projects. We are all learners!

You can read about the project and see the posters on this blog post: Stay Safe Online By Watching These Videos.

If someone were to ask you what you learned from this project, what would you say?

I learned about Internet safety
I learned how to work in a group
I learned that you should be safe on computers
I learned that you should be safe on computers
I learned how to work in a group
I learned how to draw on Google Docs
I learned about how the Internet can affect you and how it helps and doesn't help people.
I do not know what I learned.
I learned about how to treat computers
I learned all about the AUP
I learned how to be safe on the Internet

What was your favorite part?

Coming up with the music
Taking pictures
Picking themes and music
Drawing the frowning face in Google Docs.
When we made the video and danced to the music and how the music worked with the video
Choosing the music
making it with others and making something that we all liked
Watching them after we made them
getting the pictures and working together also watching how it turned out!

After watching the video, what would you change?

"I liked decorating the poster and helping the little kids learn about how to be safe on line."

"I learned about teamwork."

After designing, creating, and presenting their Internet Safety Posters, the fifth grade students reflected on their experience. I always learn a lot during the process, but the students' reflections give me insight and concrete data that helps inform future projects. We are all learners!

You can read about the project and see the posters on this blog post: If you follow these rules, you will be happy and safe.

If someone were to ask you what you learned, what would you tell them?

Internet safety

nothing

to listen to your group members, and their ideas

teamwork is important

I learned about teamwork

I learned how hard it is for everyone to have a part.

not a lot

teamwork

group work and Internet safety

"team work"

don't go onto any ads

teamwork

I would say it helped me learn about people getting bullied online and how to help people stop it and that i know i will never bully online or in real life.

I learned group work and that it's a lot easier to have everyone contribute (I did all the work in my group and it took a lot of effort. 

I really felt like my teammates were not sharing their ideas as much as they could have. 

don't know

I learned that lots of people get bullied online every day so I will never bully online 

I learned about Internet safety

how to present

Which part of the project was your favorite?

I love that their are many active verbs in their responses - designing, making, decorating, and presenting. I hope to see even more of this in future reflections!

Here are their actual responses:

drawing

making the poster

designing the poster

designing the poster

coloring the poster

making the poster

contributing ideas

presenting

designing poster and decorating pictures

reading your part of the poster and letting my buddies learn 

nothing 

teamwork

I liked decorating the poster and helping the little kids learn about      how to be safe on line.

designing the poster and coming up with ideas for my group.

none

working on the poster

making the poster

presenting

It's good stuff, right? Onward and upward!