Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

Digital Safety Digital Citizenship Week takes place in October. Although every teacher in every grade in every subject should be weaving in conversations about responsible online practices this is nevertheless a good time to teach some specific lessons on the topic.  Following are the resources I'm exposing K-6 learners to when they visit the computer lab this month. Kindergarten-2nd Grade Common Sense Media has a fantastic scope and sequence of lessons that have already been created to use with students. To make the lessons a bit more engaging for our little learners I have created presentations around two of the concepts featured in the scope and sequence, embedded and linked below.  I've also created review Kahoots for 1st and 2nd grade that are free to duplicate. Direct Link:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_lUc3CzlYXpozgLyoRVX-Kk0Gse5-wOS9CaxQLO5ElE/edit?usp=sharing Direct Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12GC8bjh3Trdau7xkI66orS...

This week I began rolling out iPads to our students in grades 3-8. Before students use these devices I go into each classroom and conduct an online safety presentation.  We talk about staying safe online and the students have a contract that needs to be signed by them, their parents and the administration of the school; all pledging to be safe online. The presentation for the younger students (found here ) is definitely applicable to the middle school students but they need something more; something that relates a little bit more to social media use online and deals with what students can and cannot do legally.  Recently in my classes at Dominican and National Louis Universities I spoke with my undergraduate students about “digital tattoos”. We completed an exercise on data-mining strangers (which I will post about soon).   Whether at the middle school level or pre-service teacher level all students need to be aware of their digital image!  J...

http://goo.gl/nKrrLL Chicago Public Schools has asked teachers to discuss Internet Safety with their students and have them sign a "Computer Safety Pledge" after doing so.  This is a great idea.  As the Technology Specialist at my school I was asked to oversee this.  I presented each teacher with a copy of the pledge for their classroom as well as a blank pledge form that all students can sign and display in their classroom. Along with this I felt it was important to provide teachers with additional resources if they would like to make this an on-going activity.  I gathered some resources for them and created the Prezi below as a way for them to extend the conversation.  I hope to be able to add some photos of classroom displays. Additional Resources: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/cyberbullying/for_educators.html  is a fantastic site filled with resources, word searches, coloring sheets and more.  The Prezi I create...