Tech Check Out System

This week I finally feel like I'm getting back into the flow of things at school. I spent a lot of time after school this week trying to figure out how I wanted students to check out the iPads and computers in my classroom. In the first week of school students had to fill out an application for Digital Citizenship in our classroom. This week I created Digital Citizenship Licenses that students signed, recognizing that they will follow the rules for being an exceptional digital citizen. I used Apple's "Pages" program to create the licenses.

Here is my sample:

Once students filled out their licenses I laminated them, in hindsight, I wish I had put the licenses on a heavier paper...I'm not sure that they will last a year with fourth graders. 

Next, I created my check out system. One poster holds all of the licenses on it. The licenses are affixed to the poster with velcro. A second poster has the names of the devices that can be checked out and a spot for students to move their license to so that I know who is using each device. There is a spot for each of our ten iPads, the four computers in my room, and the four computers in the other fourth grade room. 

Lastly, I made a poster with all of our Rules for Being an Exceptional Digital Citizen. Some of the rules I pulled from Pinterest, while other rules were ones that I came up with on my own. 

It's probably difficult to read the actual rules from this photo so here is the list below.

1. I will respect the device as if it were my own. 

2. I will properly sign out the device that I would like to use.

3. I will stay at my desk with my device and will not distract others while I am using it.

4. I will let the teacher know if there is an issue with my device at an appropriate time.

5. I will keep food and drinks off of my desk while I am using a device. 

6. I will not change any settings or notifications on my devices unless directed to do so.

7. I will stay on task and will only use proper netiquette.

8. I will close out of any apps or programs on my device when I am finished.

9. I will replace my device carefully and if needed, make sure that it is plugged back in.

10. If I break any of these rules for being an exceptional digital citizen I will lose the privilege of technology for one or more weeks.

Then, at the bottom it says:

Digital Citizenship is: Respecting yourself and others, educating yourself and connecting with others, protecting yourself and others. Be safe, learn, and have fun!

I'm hoping that this will all set the precedent for my expectations for technology in the classroom this year! We'll see how it goes!

Digital Citizenship

I cannot believe that the first week of school is finally over! This has been such an amazing week but it was exhausting! So exhausting, that I woke up this morning with literally no voice. I guess my body has forgotten what it is like to talk all day long. Lucky for me we have the day off today so it's a four day weekend with Labor Day!

So I haven't posted in a while because, like every other teacher in America, I have been frantically running around trying to get my classroom up and running! This year I had to move classrooms so I was starting with a brand new canvas. I'll do a blog post later about what I did this year with my room, at the moment the room is in shambles after 21 fourth graders had their first week with it!

One thing I wanted to share is a lesson I did this week on Digital Citizenship. I wanted to make sure that my students truly understood what it means to respect our devices and respect the internet. There is so much out there right now on Digital Citizenship that I was able to pick and choose what I would discuss with them since they are only 9. I hadn't even heard the term Digital Citizenship until this summer when I went to the ISTE conference that I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm so glad that I did learn about DC because I think it is of the utmost importance to teach kids how to protect themselves on the internet, to respect the internet and others on it, and how to educate themselves with the internet.

I was on Pinterest the other night and was lead to this blog posting about Digital Citizenship on mattbgomez.com. I like that he is teaching this in Kindergarten. It is so important to start young since kids today are digital natives. They don't know what it's like to not have iPads, iPhones, computers and all of the millions of other forms of technology that we have today. I especially like that he has this quote at the top of his posting, "Our kids are growing up on a digital playground and no one is on recess duty"(@kevinhoneycutt)....I apologize, I should probably figure it out, but I'm not sure how to cite a tweet that you find on Pinterest that leads you to a blog that someone else has posted the tweet on.

Anyway, so I had a big discussion with my fourth graders about what it means to be a citizen and also what it means to be a digital citizen. We came up with a list for each, citizen and digital citizen. I was pretty pleased with their results!

For homework that night, I asked students to complete a digital citizenship application. Before completing the application, students had to watch a Brainpop.com video on Internet Safety with their parents. I wanted them to watch this video and make themselves, as well as their parents, aware of the dangers of the internet. Students then had to post a comment using Linoit.com with a virtual sticky explaining one thing they learned from the video. I learned about Linoit.com from ISTE and I think it may be my new obsession for a quick assessment of student knowledge. After watching the video and posting their sticky, students completed their application by writing 4-6 sentences on how they can be an exceptional digital citizen. I was very impressed with their answers! Students had to sign their application and have parents sign the application as well. On the back side of the paper was our classroom technology rules so that parents are aware of the rules and consequences as well. Later next week students will receive their "Digital Citizenship License" which is my new way for having them check out the different devices in our classroom. Stay tuned for that blog post! 

I think this was a successful lesson and I was able to accomplish my first lesson in my year of ISTE! Check out Linoit.com to see how you can create a canvas and have your students post their own stickies! 

 *The task is written on the yellow sticky along with the link to the Brainpop video. Students had to choose a different color sticky to comment so that students could tell that yellow was the teacher color.