Response to Oregon Standards (5A, B and C)

I like the term 'digital citizenship' and plan to use it in my classroom.  Every year, before setting foot in the computer lab, we talk about appropriate use of not only the computers, but also the internet.  The students are well aware of which web sites they can visit, but there are always a few who want to 'test the water' and go to banned sites.  PPS is pretty good about using a firewall, but they are able to get to you tube and access videos.

Practicing safe, legal and responsible use of technology will be a good focus for my class.  It's so important for each student to show personal responsibility when using digital technology because part of our job, as teachers, is building strong citizens of the future.  I talk to my students about having integrity regarding plagiarism and actions to one another, but I think I'll talk to them about kindness in using social media.  At age ten many of them have facebook pages, so we talk about appropriate use of it (and that it's not okay to access at school!)

So many things we think are common sense, and common courtesy, need to be taught to our students.  We need to prepare them for the next stage of their education and give them the tools needed to be successful in our technological age.