Digital Responsibility

What Is Digital Responsibility?

By Shontae Hamilton

Teaching digital citizenship, or digital responsibility, involves helping students think beyond themselves in order to understand their responsibilities to others and how they can improve their communities. We teach children how to be good citizens of the United States by exploring topics like voting and community service and how to be good global citizens by exploring topics like multiculturalism and diversity. We also need to teach them how to be good digital citizens by interacting with social media and technology in a way that helps rather than harms.

It is also important for us to educate parents about digital citizenship. At Alice Contreras Elementary, administrators Kimberly Benavides & Brenda Fouse see the importance of this, as well. They hosted Coffee with the Principal to share digital citizenship strategies and tips to encourage their children to practice good digital citizenship at home. Mrs. Benavides explained that “students are digital natives and must be engaged, but with technology comes the responsibility of making sure students are being safe. This is why our teachers are trained in digital citizenship to ensure those safe practices.”

For more information on educating parents on digital citizenship, please visit: Common Sense Media for Parents.



Do you have any creative ideas for teaching digital responsibility to students?

We would love to hear from you!

(Pssst...you might even be featured in an upcoming post.)

Just click on the Flipgrid image, and log in with your Google or Microsoft credentials.

Digital Integration

Tips for Success

By Angela Conn

Technology integration is a phrase that can spur feelings of excitement and anticipation or fear and anxiety. What if the technology doesn’t work? What if it’s too complicated? We naturally want to retain some form of control in our classes, and it’s often a scary proposition when we are asked to step into unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory. Embracing new ideas requires a willingness to release a little control and embrace the outcome, ultimately allowing ourselves to grow as educators. While this may seem scary, there are a few tips that can create a path to success.

  • Start small.

Don’t overwhelm yourself. Instead of trying to revamp an entire lesson or unit with as much technology usage as possible, focus your efforts on enhancing a strategy, process, or type of formative assessment used regularly in your classroom. Allow yourself and your students to become familiar and comfortable with one tech tool before introducing another. Using Kahoot for an exit ticket or Padlet as a parking lot will serve as a good stepping stone.

  • Choose wisely.

Keep your ultimate purpose in mind. What specifically do you want to enhance/improve in your curriculum and your students’ learning, and which tool will be the most effective aid in accomplishing these goals? Rather than choosing a tool because it’s the cool, new option, choose the tool that will best help you achieve your students’ learning goals.

  • Get to know your chosen tool/technique.

Don’t be afraid to play around with the tool to see what it can do. You need to be familiar with the steps and processes involved, so that the first experience in the classroom is relatively smooth for both you and your students. Getting to know your chosen tool will allow you to easily answer student questions and anticipate obstacles.

  • Anticipate obstacles.

Before introducing the tool, it’s important to take the time to anticipate any obstacles that might be encountered. Putting in the effort to identify where students may have questions will allow you to develop a plan for addressing those questions in class. The more you plan, the smoother the experience will be for everyone.

  • Have a back-up plan.

Unfortunately, something can always go wrong. You may have technical issues. Students may not respond well to your lesson. It’s best to always have a back-up plan ready to go.

  • Reach out to your campus Academic Technologist.

We are here to help! We can co-plan, co-teach, and collaborate with you to support literacy and instruction. Set up a time to meet with your campus Academic Technologist to discuss your technology integration needs and goals.


Share Your Thoughts


Spotlight

November 19, 2019

By Rose Irungu

Jaclyn Santili is an ELA teacher at Mid Level Learning center (MLLC). Ms. Santili is deeply passionate about creating a positive experience and learning environment for students placed at MLLC. She works alongside the rest of the staff, led by Principal Aundra Bohanon, to create meaningful learning for her students.

As she prepares for changes in her own life, Ms. Santili seeks to create processes to maintain continuity and progress while she is away. By creating these processes, she is helping students to walk their individual learning paths and providing leadership to other educators attempting to do the same.

When asked to share a little about her goals, Jaclyn expressed the following:

I want to flip my classroom to prepare for maternity leave and keep up with the changing enrollment of students. I want to structure the class so that no matter when students join the class, they will be on track with our goals.

One of my goals is for each student to have twelve quality grades, no matter how long he or she has been here. Google Classroom gives me the flexibility to create a self-paced environment. Students can work on their own assignments when they get here. In many settings, a student cannot go back to a project after the due date, but I have streamlined the classroom so that they can go back and work on a project at any time.

The data provided in Google Classroom is the proof in the pudding. That data allows the home campus teacher to see the student’s progress while at MLLC. It takes a little time to set up communication or collaboration with the home campus teacher, but the student can also show their progress to their teacher when they return to their campus.

Another goal I have is for them to learn about themselves and what triggers their behavior and put that in writing. We are currently learning about love languages. Students can click the link in their Google Classroom and complete the love language quizzes privately. The students can be honest and open, knowing that I am the only one that will see their results. I hope that the students recognize that when some needs are not met, it can trigger some behaviors, and once they are aware, they can control those behaviors.

Students leaving MLLC usually write a letter to their home campus advocating for themselves. These letters are housed in my Google Classroom. They ask that their teachers and fellow classmates not judge them; they are changing and have grown during their time at MLLC. They are asking to be loved. If you would like to see a letter from one of your students, contact me at Jaclyn.Santili@fwisd.org.