Digital citizenship is a topic taken seriously at our school and we start the year off with a strong emphasis in this area. Our students are provided their district iPad within the first week of school and we don’t waste any time on teaching them the proper use and safety measures needed to be taken. By being proactive in education, technology is a necessary tool to incorporate in the classroom, but we cannot assume our students know how to use this properly. School-wide, we have used pre-created lessons through a presentation app, Nearpod, to go through the various subjects regarding Digital Citizenship. By setting a standard as an entire school, all staff and students are aware of the expectations regarding safe use, access, and copyright laws. Just as mentioned by Vicki Davis, a contributor to Edutopia.org, we cover privacy issues regarding passwords and other personal information, the ramifications of sharing personal photos, permission to use other people’s work and how to properly cite information, as well as, understanding the permanency of information provided on the internet. While many students are eager to use new technology, it is often difficult for middle school aged students to foresee the future and the effects of what they say or post online could stick with them for an extremely long time.
Due to the fact our students are allowed to take home their iPads, an ideal situation would include having a Digital Citizenship meeting for parents attend. Since the iPads are property of the school district, it would be ideal to encourage parents to enforce the same expectation of iPad use at home. At this time, I am unaware of the information passed on to parents regarding proper Digital Citizenship. Fortunately, much of the privacy issues and safe online environments were corrected after the first year iPads were implemented to ensure protection to our students by restricting a significant amount of material on the internet. This means even when students take their iPad home, we can be certain that firewalls are set in place to protect our students.
The opportunity to provide this type of technology to our students comes with a price. According to the Apple website, a 10 pack of iPads can cost over $5,700. Not to mention the cost of updating WiFi features and hiring technical support to be on standby within the district. While the cost of new technology is extremely high, there are opportunities available for financing options and event grants to help ease the bill. The benefits of technology come with not only an actual price tag, but a price tag on the safety of our students who use it. Therefore, teaching Digital Citizenship is necessary for students and staff in order to understand the same expectation when using the latest technology.
Due to the fact our students are allowed to take home their iPads, an ideal situation would include having a Digital Citizenship meeting for parents attend. Since the iPads are property of the school district, it would be ideal to encourage parents to enforce the same expectation of iPad use at home. At this time, I am unaware of the information passed on to parents regarding proper Digital Citizenship. Fortunately, much of the privacy issues and safe online environments were corrected after the first year iPads were implemented to ensure protection to our students by restricting a significant amount of material on the internet. This means even when students take their iPad home, we can be certain that firewalls are set in place to protect our students.
The opportunity to provide this type of technology to our students comes with a price. According to the Apple website, a 10 pack of iPads can cost over $5,700. Not to mention the cost of updating WiFi features and hiring technical support to be on standby within the district. While the cost of new technology is extremely high, there are opportunities available for financing options and event grants to help ease the bill. The benefits of technology come with not only an actual price tag, but a price tag on the safety of our students who use it. Therefore, teaching Digital Citizenship is necessary for students and staff in order to understand the same expectation when using the latest technology.