Meeting the technology needs of our students

Technology is here to stay.  We as teachers and leaders need to embrace this change and start to include it in our lessons.  The newest episode of my podcast discusses how we can incorporate technology in our classrooms. Enjoy!

Let's Be Safe

Being responsible for what one says can be tough   Being responsible for what one posts or types online can be even more difficult.  Many educators are taking the challenge of teaching students how to be safe while online.  The term digital citizenship can be know as "the norms of responsible and appropriate interaction with technology." (Preddy, 2016). Technology can be anything from conducting research to sending emails.  As technology continues to change, digital citizenship lessons will also continue to be developed.

In our school system, the library media specialists have been given the task of implementing lessons and assisting teachers with the instruction of digital citizenship lessons.  When I first started planning these lessons, I thought, there won't be much to these lessons.  I can teach them about how to research, how to send emails, cyberbullying and what it looks/sounds like, etc.  But once I started planning and digging into the curriculum, I realized there was so much more to staying safe online.  According to the text (Whitehead, p. 129) there are nine themes of digital citizenship.  They include digital access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights/responsibilities, health/wellness and security.  In an elementary setting, we may not need to go into great detail for all areas but the students do need to be familiar with all areas of how to be a safe digital citizen.  However, all students need to be aware of the dangers of cyberbullying.  The text mentions a great resource to help stress the dangers of cyberbullying to include the two websites www.stopbullying.com and the National School Boards Association website. (Whitehead, p.136) The dangers of cyberbullying are very real in all schools.  

The middle school media specialist and I decided we would use the same curriculum program to supply lessons for these topics of digital citizenship.  Thankfully, the program has an elementary and middle school age group which allows for different lessons but relaying the same message.  This helps us ensure all topics are covered but in an age appropriate manner.  

Why do we need to teach these lessons?  Shouldn't parents be the ones teaching their kids to be safe online?  These are some questions I have thought of myself as I prepare lessons.  However, just as in other areas of education, it takes everyone to ensure students are gaining the knowledge for all areas of life.  My own child is a perfect example of this.  I can sit and discuss with my daughter why or how she needs to complete her research and she will look at me like I have lost my mind.  Her teacher at school can say the same message and she believes her.  My goal as the media specialist is to give the students just one more reminder of how to conduct themselves online. If they won't listen to a parent, maybe they will hear it from me.  

There are so many curriculums available to educators now the task can be overwhelming when it comes to finding the "right" one.  We chose to use Common Sense Media. This video is an introduction to what is available through the program for parents and educators.  

 

Common Sense Media provides lessons for grades K-12, games and interactive activities, videos, posters for classroom display, ideas for families to reinforce, certification programs (who doesn't like a certificate of completion), and online professional development for teachers.  The lessons are designed to meet the interest level and needs of all age levels of students.  The videos are short but get the message across in an entertaining way.  So far, we have been pleased with the content and display of lessons.  I have already started planning to incorporate the Digital Citizenship Unit Assessment Badges and the Digital Passport components into my lessons for next year.  The Badges allow students the opportunity to achieve a badge once they successfully complete a unit of the program.  The Digital Passport provides self-led games to reinforce the unit being taught.  These will hopefully help the student fully understand why and how they need to be safe online.  

"We can't wait for problems to arise, but rather we need to be proactive and on the forefront of helping our students avoid those pitfalls and navigate the online world successfully."  (Preddy, 2016) Our goal is to keep our students as safe as possible while online.  

This is a daily task and ever changing but we are up for the challenge!


References:

Digital Citizenship I Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-      citizenship.

Preddy, L. (2016). The Critical Role of the School Librarian in Digital Citizenship Education. Knowledge Quest, 44(4), 4-
     5.

Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators, 
     technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders.