Educators have an enormous responsibility to teach students about appropriate use and safety about technology. It is a huge undertaking, often fraught with big obstacles -time, support, appropriate resources, parental understanding and support. But, it is imperative that our teaching helps prepare students for its use.
As an educator we are provided with curriculum that outlines what safety concepts should be taught when. Look both ways before crossing the street, don't talk to strangers, wear a helmet are only a few of the common rules we insist on for our students and our own kids. The rise of social media and technology in schools requires us to be just as thorough in our teaching of responsible behaviours.
For some school boards, this is something they have worked to embed and promote in their schools. Tanya Arvith, an educational consultant with the Lester B Pearson School board was part of a team that created and now oversees a comprehensive digital citizenship program that begins in Kindergarten! (LBPSB Curriculum -link was broken at the time of posting) The school board prioritized professional development and support for teachers using technology to ensure everything they needed was at hand!
Technology is not something that only appears in junior classrooms! More and more classrooms are using social media and technology to share and communicate what is happening in the moment -so why not take the opportunity to teach our children what it looks like to use it responsibly. There is no reason a Kindergarten student can't choose what picture to share or ask another student if it would be alright to take a picture, or that grade 2 students can't make sure that they log out of their account to protect their work!
This is where I feel my school board and my school has really fallen behind! We are often considered to be a progressive board, ahead of the curve but in this area -we are not. It feels like schools are individually left to decide how to address digital citizenship and the responsible use of technology with their students. It is 'embedded' into curriculum expectations, but teachers often fail to take the time to teach it. Professional support at the board level has been generalized -so those at the board level may have one area of specialty (math, language etc.) but must promote, support and address all initiatives -and that is not conducive to strong professional growth and classroom teaching.
At our school, we are attempting to begin to address this gap, by engaging intermediate students in an online, gamified program sponsored by the NHL, through Everfi called "Ignition." Its something. We meet a lot of resistance from staff -'if I don't have to report on it, why would I do it" and our hope is that the Ministry of Education will recognize the importance of Digital Citizenship, come through with their 'rumoured' mandate and we will see all the right pieces fall into place -until then, teachers need to do what they can to promote, model and teach safe, online use of technology.
--->It is 'embedded' into curriculum expectations, but teachers often fail to take the time to teach it. Professional support at the board level has been generalized ...
ReplyDeleteI would say that this starts right from teacher training. Still, many educators coming into the field are unsure how to manage the digital worlds that students are faced with. Even in my Junior ABQ course, many educators have stated they are opposed to the use of technologies in the classroom which worries me..as I wonder then, who will guide our learners and direct them in using it properly? In my preservice Social Studies class, I find that I am spending just as much time guiding them in the online world of blogging, proper use of social media, as I am teaching Social Studies content/curriculum. Over and over I remind these new teachers that it is their responsibilities to model this for the younger generation. This is something that teachers before them were not charged with.
Myself, I am not keen on the gamified approach, but understand how and why it is used. Perhaps, right now it is necessary. You bring up some good questions Nicole and your concerns come through strong. If we approached the use of media and digital citizenship as a system then it would no longer be a "choice" but a responsibility and requirement for educators and leaders.
I totally agree. As we had stated before, technology is here to stay! I too am aware of the disconnect when it comes to using technology in the classroom. Adult Education seems to be farther behind that the "regular schools " in our board. We only received training on Markbook last spring. Some teachers in our department are refusing to adopt even Marbook ---shame on them!
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe a universal system is the way we need to go, otherwise we will not be all working on the same page--so to speak!
Zoe... I cannot believe you must remind NEW teachers about role modelling? They, among all others, need to be aware of the importance of technology and how it will fit into the future.