Activity 9: Digital Citizenship

Miss Starbuck decided to have her reading students use Blogger to create blog posts.  The students were really excited about the idea.  Many started to log in from home to create posts and comment on each other's work, but their posts quickly got out of hand.  One student figured out how to post photos and included dangerous details like names and locations.  Other students posted mean comments about classmates.   An angry parent complained to the principal, who was unaware that Miss Starbuck was using Blogger in the first place. 

• Discuss the possible ethical issues involved in two of the scenarios.
• There are a couple ethical issues happening in this situation.  First, I am worried about the student's safety online since students are posting their names and locations.  I also am concerned about cyber-bullying happening.  Lastly, I find it an issue that parents were not informed of the online resources that their children are using, especially if it is a program that allows commenting and posting.  
• Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy.
• I would say that the safety of the children is definitely in jeopardy, especially since they are posting their names and locations.  Anyone could read their post, and show up to the location. 
• What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario?
• The advice I would give to Miss Starbuck would be to first check the specifications of the online tool she is looking to use, being sure it is age appropriate for her students.  Next, I would advise her to teach her class about digital citizenship, and being safe on the internet.  Specifically stating in this case not to post your name and location.  Lastly, I would recommend that information be shared with parents so that they can be part of the team in keeping their child safe on the internet.  
• Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario.
• The only connection I have is in looking for resources for my students to use last year, I saw many that either needed to be 13, or needed a parent permission to use.  I was bummed at first that the resource wouldn't work, but instead found other opportunities that were a better fit for my students.  

Mrs. Janeway decided to have her middle school students create digital projects then use Snagit to create video presentations of their projects.  Mrs. Janeway discovered in the computer lab while her eighth grade students were creating their accounts that Snagit required parental permission for students under 13.  This didn't pose a problem for her eighth graders, but Mrs. Janeway panicked because the following period she planned to do the same activity with her sixth graders.

• Discuss the possible ethical issues involved in two of the scenarios.
• The ethical issue here is Mrs. Janeway did not get parental permission for all of her students to be using the online resource she wants to use in her lesson.  As of now, she hasn't broken any rules since her eighth graders are old enough, but if she disregards the policy; and lets her sixth graders use the resource, then she will have a true ethical problem. 
• Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy.
• Yes, the safety of the sixth graders is in jeopardy because they are not old enough to use the resource.  
• What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario?
• I would recommend that Mrs. Janeway fully research the resources she wants to use, and know who and how she should use the resources.  I would also recommend that Mrs. Janeway should not continue with her lesson with the sixth grade students, and do something different instead.  
• Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario.
• I have not had any incidents or connections to the technology side of this problem, however I can make a connection to my literacy class.  I teach a reading class that is above grade level, and I struggle finding texts that are age-appropriate, yet still challenging enough.  There is a lot of researching that needs to take place as a teacher, and then communication to parents as well to keep them in the loop.  

Further Reflection

• How can the Mounds View Resources help to implement high quality instructional practices with technology?
• I love that we now have the great website with the resources about apps, add-ons and extensions.  You have done some of the research for us, so that we don't become some of the teachers listed in the scenarios above.  I also think sharing ideas amongst teachers in our buildings and schools will help as students move through each grade/school to help build consistency of expectations around technology and chromebooks.  

• What is 1 procedure that you can implement in your class and what is one that you would like to implement in your whole PLC or whole building?
• One procedure I loved hearing about was the use of hand signals.  I love the idea of using the C for technical issues, and other signals for questions about the assignment.  I will be implementing that this fall for sure!
• My PLC spent time this summer talking about norms of using the Chromebooks for students.  We decided on a list of things that we plan to teach our 3rd graders.  I would love to see this spread to a school-wide system as well.