Each September, all staff and students of my division are required to sign an Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement. The agreement is vast in covering what technology is, privacy and tracing, and access to the division network. The agreement is in part to protect the division:

“Inappropriate use of the Technology may expose the school division to legal liability and/or public embarrassment. The objective of this administrative application is to balance employee and student ability to fully benefit from informative technology against the school division’s need to ensure that all use of the Technology meets the school division’s legal obligations and upholds the Division’s reputation and public image.”

https://www.rcsd.ca/Division/AdministrativeApplications/Documents1/Series%205000%20%E2%80%93%20Support%20Services/5102%20-%20Acceptable%20Use%20of%20Technology%20by%20Employees%20and%20Students.pdf

It also lays out the consequences of not using technology appropriately, including discipline in the form of loss of access to technology use, legal action, and financial responsibility.

This agreement is very consequence based. This is what we expect you to do, and if you don’t this is what can happen. It is important to note the consequences. Ultimately, the division needs to protect itself, perception wise, legally, and financially. But there is not much mention of what students should be doing. Teachers need to focus on teaching responsibility in the classroom – here is what we want you to do when using technology. Similar to the positive behavior program we use at our school, we want to catch and reward students for doing the right things.

I wonder what our division’s policy would look like if it were rewritten in a responsibility format. Does anyone have examples of what this looks like in your schools/divisions?

I am going to approach this post as it pertains to one particular area of Digital Citizenship – informational literacy.

Christine’s article, What is media literacy, and why is it important? notes that kids “take in a huge amount of information from a wide array of sources, far beyond the traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) of most parents’ youth. There are text messages, memes, viral videos, social media, video games, advertising, and more.” How students are interpreting all of this information and determining what is accurate and reliable is an important concern. Perhaps the most important part of the statement to me is the part about how different our student’s worlds are than their parents were when they were the same age.

We’re all aware of the fact that kids are often ahead of adults in their understanding and experience with technology and different apps. I think for a lot of parents you can compare their experience to doping in sports. The athletes who are doping are always one step ahead of the people who are testing. Therein lies the importance of teachers and schools. I don’t think we can ignore the role that we have to play in teaching students about informational literacy. I would be the first to say that we as teachers have a million other things that we could focus on. However, this is an important part of our students’ lives, and the reality is most students aren’t getting the skills they need to navigate this world outside of the school.

Informational literacy is the ability to identify, find, evaluate, apply, and acknowledge information. We live in a society where we want information right now, and we want to be able to share it as fast as possible. What gets lost in this speedy process is the researching and confirmation of the accuracy of the information we are reading and distributing. Fake news is definitely a thing these days.

We have to prepare our students to combat fake news and this has to be done in schools. The way to do this is to teach our students to become informationally literate. I can’t speak for all teachers and schools, but I am willing to say that most teachers can do a better job of this. I think there are many teachers who go as far as saying don’t use Wikipedia because it isn’t always accurate. This doesn’t begin to cover what needs to be covered. Students need to be taught how to identify trusted sources, perform research, understand sourcing, triangulate information, triage contested narratives and recognize the importance of where information comes from, not just what it says.

So what does the future look like? Dane Ward raises an interesting point in THE WAY I SEE IT: The future of information literacy: Transforming the world. “I see a new day when students will learn to use information skills to improve the world. It will be a day when information literacy instruction means teaching students about research while helping them to find value in the world and to participate in it.” Yes, we need to teach research skills, but we also need to make sure students find an interest in it and know why it relates to their lives. The fake news dilemma can be a great gateway to engaging kids and teaching valuable skills.

When initially thinking about digital identity, a few things come to mind:

• It is complex!
• What is my identity? Is it current/reflective of who I am today?
• How does it change over time?
• How do we help students really understand its importance and consequences for the present and future?
• What will it look like in the future when my kids grow up?

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I am a firm believer that there are lessons to be learned from everything that happens in life. How Covid-19 has altered education for the present and future is no exception. As Mme. Leah Bissonnette points out, we need to accept that there will be a new normal in education.

While some of the finer details of education change over time – curriculum, adaptations, pedagogy, assessment – many details have remained unchanged for decades. Kids go to a building, sit in a classroom, work on core subjects…rinse, wash, repeat. While there are many benefits and factors that necessitate this structure – learning of basic skills, socialization, childcare (let’s face it, this is a function of schools) – it is time for us to consider if this is the most effective structure moving forward. Our world is changing more rapidly than ever. It is time for education to take a long, hard look in the mirror to see if it is meeting these ever-changing needs.

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Hello,

This is my second class with Alec. Experiencing 831 in the fall, I excitedly signed up for this class, only to be waitlisted. Thankfully I am in! Coming from the Education Leadership world where things are paper focused, I appreciate the way Alec does things. He allows you to guide your own learning and explore areas that are useful and of interest to you. The world of technology is uncomfortable to me. We have a love-hate relationship – maybe more days of the latter! 831 pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn some new tricks. I look forward to more of the same in 832, particularly with my major project which will focus on some mental health initiatives. More to come on that…

I am in my 13th year of teaching and third full year of a vice-principalship. Covid has been a learning experience, to say it politely. At this point, I feel like I have learned enough haha. Throw in some beautiful weather, some cockroaches, and 2022 can only get better from here lol.

I am taking my 9th and 10th classes this semester. This is the first time I have taken two classes at once. I know it is going to be a busy few months, but it will be worth it. Bring on April 11th!! It is kind of surreal to be so close to being finished.

I can identify with many of you who are figuring out the blogging world for the first time. Trust me, it gets easier. Once you get everything set up, it is actually fairly easy. I look forward to learning about the projects everyone is doing. As we did in 831, I am confident we will all learn a lot from each other this semester.