at a glance lesson plans:
In this day and age, students are much more technologically inclined than they were in years past. There are so many ways that students can access the internet: computer, cell phone, tablets, even gaming devices. I look at my 19 month old son who already knows how to work my cell phone and iPad. It is important, as educators, that we teach our students to be responsible and safe when it comes to using the internet.
Congress passed the CIPA – Children’s Internet Protection Act – in 2000. It was put in place to help protect children from harmful and obscene content that is accessible on the internet. There are strict guidelines that schools must follow in order to receive funding and discounts for internet-related connections. “The E-rate provides discounts of 20% to 90% for eligible telecommunications services, depending on economic need and location…” (Ed.gov, 2008, p. 1). E-rate was built to help eligible schools obtain affordable access to internet-related connections.
Mike Ribble, the author of Digital citizenship using technology appropriately writes about the concept of REPs – Respect, Educate and Protect. These are topics that we should begin teaching in kindergarten so that students can gain an understanding of digital citizenship.
Respect Your Self/Respect Others
Not being a teacher yet, I can only imagine what kind of regulations are put in place in the schools. I am hoping to become a first grade teacher, and I know that, even at this age, I need to teach the students about being responsible online. With working with students at this age, Facebook should be out of the question, as they do not meet the age requirements to even sign up. However, I would like to be able to incorporate sites such as ABCMouse.com and Edmodo in my classroom, but I feel that I need to be able to show how these sites will be utilized and what benefit they will have for the students. If there is not an educational benefit, then I believe it is not meant for school hours.
Caroline Knorr, author of Internet safety tips for elementary school kids has some great suggestions regarding teaching elementary-age students internet safety. I feel that these ideas not only apply to parents, but to teachers as well.
Congress passed the CIPA – Children’s Internet Protection Act – in 2000. It was put in place to help protect children from harmful and obscene content that is accessible on the internet. There are strict guidelines that schools must follow in order to receive funding and discounts for internet-related connections. “The E-rate provides discounts of 20% to 90% for eligible telecommunications services, depending on economic need and location…” (Ed.gov, 2008, p. 1). E-rate was built to help eligible schools obtain affordable access to internet-related connections.
Mike Ribble, the author of Digital citizenship using technology appropriately writes about the concept of REPs – Respect, Educate and Protect. These are topics that we should begin teaching in kindergarten so that students can gain an understanding of digital citizenship.
Respect Your Self/Respect Others
- Etiquette
- Access
- Law
- Communication
- Literacy
- Commerce
- -Rights and Responsibility
- Safety (Security)
- Health and Welfare (Ribble, 2014).
Not being a teacher yet, I can only imagine what kind of regulations are put in place in the schools. I am hoping to become a first grade teacher, and I know that, even at this age, I need to teach the students about being responsible online. With working with students at this age, Facebook should be out of the question, as they do not meet the age requirements to even sign up. However, I would like to be able to incorporate sites such as ABCMouse.com and Edmodo in my classroom, but I feel that I need to be able to show how these sites will be utilized and what benefit they will have for the students. If there is not an educational benefit, then I believe it is not meant for school hours.
Caroline Knorr, author of Internet safety tips for elementary school kids has some great suggestions regarding teaching elementary-age students internet safety. I feel that these ideas not only apply to parents, but to teachers as well.
- Visit only age-appropriate sites. Check out the site before your kids visit it. Know what features and what content exist to ensure they’re good for your kids.
- Search safely. Use safe search settings for young kids or think about applying filtering software to limit inappropriate exposure.
- Avoid strangers. Explain that if someone they don’t know talks to them, they shouldn’t respond but should be sure to let you know.
- Be a good citizen online. Remind kids that they need to play nicely in the Internet playground. If they wouldn’t do something in real life, they shouldn’t do it online.
- Online cheating? It’s still cheating.
- Keep the computer in a central place. This makes it so that you can see what’s going on at all times.
- Establish expectations/limits about the amount of time your children spend online and what they do with that time.
- Be a role model. Take a look at your own habits online.
- Be involved and have fun. Show and interest in the sites they visit and the games they play and your job will be a lot easier when they start exploring these technologies more independently (Knorr, 2012).
Since I am not currently teaching or working in a school environment, I decided to consult with my mother who is a drama teacher at Moore Middle School in Jefferson County, Colorado. She was able to give me an idea of how the ISTE standards are applied at her school as well as throughout the county. These are the Jefferson County Technology Plan Objectives:
When it comes to the ISTE Standards, I feel that students at the middle school age have a relatively strong grasp of technology and are working towards mastery of each standard. I believe that they are able to utilize the first four standards on a regular basis in the schools. I think that teachers are able to utilize technology to keep students interested and engaged – while still being able to teach them effectively. Often times, I feel that students are able to teach the teachers more about technology and how different programs work. The standard that struck me the most was digital citizenship. I do not think that most students grasp this concept fully – as they often broadcast their entire lives on the internet. ISTE standard 5c states “advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology” (ISTE, 2007). I feel that middle school students do not understand that what you put out there can follow you for the rest of your life, and can find themselves in trouble now, as well as in the future. I would love to find out what students think of digital citizenship and to have them take a close look at how they behave and act on the internet. I believe this is an area that all schools and students need to focus on.
Not being in a school setting, I, myself, am not helping to ensure that ISTE standards are being taught and met. Is there a way to track schools to see if they are meeting these standards, and what standards need improvement? Does it change depending on the age of the students? How does the school address any issues that come up with meeting these standards? I would hope that teachers, administrators, and parents take an active role in ensuring that their students/children are learning how to use technology in a safe and effective way. Even though I am not implementing the standards, I was able to take a look at myself to see where I stand with the standards. It was interesting to self-reflect and see which areas I need to improve on. If I intend to teach these standards, I need to be a model for my students.
- Objective 1: Transform learning spaces and create virtual spaces to allow for the effective use of 21st Century skills and tools to improve technology proficiency and prepare all Jeffco students to be successful members of a global learning community.
- Objective 2: Achieve educational and organizational transformation that improves sustainable educational outcomes through strengthened partnerships between schools and central departments that harness the power of individual expertise throughout the organization creating individualized learning opportunities for all.
- Objective 3: Ensure the effective use of technology to facilitate communication with staff, community and students.
- Objective 4: Ensure existing systems deliver efficient service and useful information to support end- to-end business processes.
- Objective 5: Ensure technology equity for students and staff.
- Objective 6: Ensure that infrastructure technology resources are accessible, flexible and cost-effective to support the expanding needs of the educators and students (Jefferson County, 2013).
When it comes to the ISTE Standards, I feel that students at the middle school age have a relatively strong grasp of technology and are working towards mastery of each standard. I believe that they are able to utilize the first four standards on a regular basis in the schools. I think that teachers are able to utilize technology to keep students interested and engaged – while still being able to teach them effectively. Often times, I feel that students are able to teach the teachers more about technology and how different programs work. The standard that struck me the most was digital citizenship. I do not think that most students grasp this concept fully – as they often broadcast their entire lives on the internet. ISTE standard 5c states “advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology” (ISTE, 2007). I feel that middle school students do not understand that what you put out there can follow you for the rest of your life, and can find themselves in trouble now, as well as in the future. I would love to find out what students think of digital citizenship and to have them take a close look at how they behave and act on the internet. I believe this is an area that all schools and students need to focus on.
Not being in a school setting, I, myself, am not helping to ensure that ISTE standards are being taught and met. Is there a way to track schools to see if they are meeting these standards, and what standards need improvement? Does it change depending on the age of the students? How does the school address any issues that come up with meeting these standards? I would hope that teachers, administrators, and parents take an active role in ensuring that their students/children are learning how to use technology in a safe and effective way. Even though I am not implementing the standards, I was able to take a look at myself to see where I stand with the standards. It was interesting to self-reflect and see which areas I need to improve on. If I intend to teach these standards, I need to be a model for my students.
tech_policies_protocols_and_procedures_module_2_assignment.docx | |
File Size: | 944 kb |
File Type: | docx |
It is amazing the effect that cyberbullying has on students today. I believe that everyone has been impacted in some way. Stopbullying.gov states that “in many states, schools are required to address cyberbullying in their anti-bullying policy” (n.d.). I was surprised to learn that Colorado does not address off-campus bullying which can create issues within the school. Since most cyberbullying takes place outside the school, I feel that schools should be able to take action. This only strengthens my feelings towards teaching digital citizenship – and teaching it as early as possible. Students need to think before they text, post, or send. They need to think of the impact it could have, and think how they would react if they were on the other end. I would be interested to see what students today thinks qualifies as “bullying.” I don’t think that most students are aware of how their actions online can impact themselves and others.
Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin from the Cyberbullying Research Center offer up 10 tips for educators for preventing and responding to cyberbullying in the schools:
Preventing Cyberbullying:
Responding to Cyberbullying:
Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin from the Cyberbullying Research Center offer up 10 tips for educators for preventing and responding to cyberbullying in the schools:
Preventing Cyberbullying:
- Formally assess the extent and scope of the problem within your school district.
- Teach students that all forms of bullying are unacceptable.
- Specify clear rules regarding use of the internet, computers, and other electronic devices.
- Use peer mentoring.
- Consult with your school attorney before incidents occur.
- Create a comprehensive formal contract specific to cyberbullying in the school’s policy manual.
- Implement blocking/filtering software on your computer network.
- Cultivate a positive school climate.
- Educate your community.
- Designate a “cyberbullying expert” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009).
Responding to Cyberbullying:
- Thoroughly investigate all incidents.
- Enlist the support of a school liaison officer.
- Develop a response that is commensurate with the harm done.
- Work with parents to convey that cyberbullying behaviors are taken seriously.
- Instruct parents to contact an attorney.
- Contact cell phone providers if threats/explicit content are transmitted via these devices.
- Keep all evidence.
- Contact and work with any web environment where the bullying occurred.
- Solicit advice from neighboring schools or districts.
- Use creative informal response strategies (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009).
guidelines_for_digital_safety_module_3_assignment.docx | |
File Size: | 118 kb |
File Type: | docx |
It is so important for students to be able to distinguish what is useful information, and what is not. We, as teachers, need to provide students with the tools that they need in order to navigate the internet in a safe and effective manner. We can block sites in the school that we feel are not appropriate, but does that help the student outside of school? If we teach students how to identify safe, useful sites, they will be able to use that knowledge outside of school as well.
Burton and Chadwick, authors of Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of Internet and library sources make a great point: “Students who aren’t taught how to evaluate resources have to invent their own standards” (Burton and Chadwick, 2000).
I think that students look at web searches and sites that their teachers conduct as “always accurate.” They don’t question it. But I also think that students pay more attention to information that they seek out themselves. We want to make sure that the information they are finding is true and accurate. Although I am not currently teaching, I am hoping to become a first grade teacher. I do not know how often students of this age will be using web searches, but I still feel it is important to teach students how to utilize web searches in a safe and effective way. I believe that the earlier we teach students how to be effective and safe when using web searches on the internet, they will be more effective throughout their school career.
I found the “CRAAP Test” online, and thought that it was a nice, easy way for students to evaluate if a page that they have found during a web search is a reputable site that they could use. Using CRAAP, students ask the following questions:
Burton and Chadwick, authors of Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of Internet and library sources make a great point: “Students who aren’t taught how to evaluate resources have to invent their own standards” (Burton and Chadwick, 2000).
I think that students look at web searches and sites that their teachers conduct as “always accurate.” They don’t question it. But I also think that students pay more attention to information that they seek out themselves. We want to make sure that the information they are finding is true and accurate. Although I am not currently teaching, I am hoping to become a first grade teacher. I do not know how often students of this age will be using web searches, but I still feel it is important to teach students how to utilize web searches in a safe and effective way. I believe that the earlier we teach students how to be effective and safe when using web searches on the internet, they will be more effective throughout their school career.
I found the “CRAAP Test” online, and thought that it was a nice, easy way for students to evaluate if a page that they have found during a web search is a reputable site that they could use. Using CRAAP, students ask the following questions:
- Is the information current?
- Is the information relevant?
- What is the authority of the source? (Check the author’s credentials.)
- Is the information accurate?
- What is the purpose of the website? (Are they trying to sell a good or service? Do they have a political or religious affiliation?)
- See the following for information on conducting effective searches using Google Search. http://catlintucker.com/2012/04/google-search-10-questions-10-answers-to-help-you-search-smarter/ (Tucker, 2012)
- See this critical evaluation worksheet by Kathleen Schrock: http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalelem.pdf (Schrock, 1996-2009)
conducting_safe_and_effective_web_searches_module_4_assignment.docx | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | docx |
References
Burton, V. T., & Chadwick, S. A. (2000). Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of Internet and library sources. Computers and
Composition, 17 (3), 309-328.
Ed.gov. (2008, August 8). Office of innovation and improvement. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/erate.html.
Hinduja, S., and Patchin, J. (2009). Preventing cyberbullying. Top ten tips for educators. Retrieved from
http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Educators_Cyberbullying_Prevention.pdf.
Hinduja, S., and Patchin, J. (2009). Responding to cyberbullying. Top ten tips for educators. Retrieved from
http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Educators_Cyberbullying_Response.pdf.
International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE]. ISTE standards students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdsf/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PFD.pdf.
Jefferson County School District. (2013). Jefferson County public schools 2013-2015 technology plan. Retrieved from
http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/is/tech_plan_docs/Links/Jeffco_Technology_Plan_Printable.pdf.
Knorr, C. (2012, March 19). Internet safety tips for elementary school kids. Retrieved from
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/internet-safety-tips-for-elementary-school-kids.
Ribble, M. (2014). Digital citizenship using technology appropriately. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html.
Schrock, K. (1996-2009). Critical evaluation of a website elementary school level. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalelem.pdf.
Tucker, C. (2012). Google search: 10 questions & answers to help you search smarter! Retrieved from
http://catlintucker.com/2012/04/google-search-10-questions-10-answers-to-help-you-search-smarter.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Report cyberbullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-report/index.html.
Burton, V. T., & Chadwick, S. A. (2000). Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of Internet and library sources. Computers and
Composition, 17 (3), 309-328.
Ed.gov. (2008, August 8). Office of innovation and improvement. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/erate.html.
Hinduja, S., and Patchin, J. (2009). Preventing cyberbullying. Top ten tips for educators. Retrieved from
http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Educators_Cyberbullying_Prevention.pdf.
Hinduja, S., and Patchin, J. (2009). Responding to cyberbullying. Top ten tips for educators. Retrieved from
http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Educators_Cyberbullying_Response.pdf.
International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE]. ISTE standards students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdsf/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PFD.pdf.
Jefferson County School District. (2013). Jefferson County public schools 2013-2015 technology plan. Retrieved from
http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/is/tech_plan_docs/Links/Jeffco_Technology_Plan_Printable.pdf.
Knorr, C. (2012, March 19). Internet safety tips for elementary school kids. Retrieved from
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/internet-safety-tips-for-elementary-school-kids.
Ribble, M. (2014). Digital citizenship using technology appropriately. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html.
Schrock, K. (1996-2009). Critical evaluation of a website elementary school level. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalelem.pdf.
Tucker, C. (2012). Google search: 10 questions & answers to help you search smarter! Retrieved from
http://catlintucker.com/2012/04/google-search-10-questions-10-answers-to-help-you-search-smarter.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Report cyberbullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-report/index.html.