Blog 6

Blog 6: Digital Citizenship

Cherokee County Georgia has embraced technology for the last 25 years.  They fully embraced InTech and after training initial teachers in the early 90s they then trained teachers to ‘redeliver’ InTech and fortunately, I was in that group of teachers.  We then were trained in WebTech, learning how to build webpages and then teaching teachers how to create webpages.  With the onset of LoTi  developed by Chris Moersch in 1994, Cherokee then created the Teach 21 program preparing teachers with classes, and equipment to enter into the 21^st Century with 21^st Century classrooms.  I started in that program the first year and helped design the capstone and rubric.  Tech 21 embraces project/problem based learning engaging learners with technology.

Summer of 2012, Cherokee County opened its first four STEM academies and two Fine Arts academies.  Working in a new STEM school all the media specialists were required to deliver Digital Citizenship training to the teachers and students in their schools as part of their quest to be STEM certified by the State of Georgia.  Digital Citizenship staff development covered Internet Safety & Digital Footprints, Creative Credit & Copyright, Information Literacy and Cyberbullying. The curriculum was designed for all teachers and grades 3-5 but included K-2 when appropriate.  Working with the computer lab teacher we divided up the student curriculum so that all students K-5 will receive Safety & Digital Footprint and Cyberbullying in the computer lab and Creative Credit & Copyright and Information Literacy curriculum in the media center. 

At Clark Creek, we added a parent component, ‘Chat and Chews’.  Parents were taught about the resources available in school and at home through our site licenses and how to go online to access their students’ grades.  Safe search engines and online resources were made available through attending the workshops but also through a monthly newsletter sent home with every student.  Cyberbullying, copyright, plagiarism, and Internet safety were covered in the last two sessions. This week we focused on test taking skills. 

We conduct staff development every Wednesday at our school.  Digital Citizenship is just a portion of our weekly staff development. Our regional Instructional Technology Specialist has introduced many Web 2.0 resources and other resource that specifically deal with the STEM initiative.

One thing that works well is keeping your delivery to 30 minutes.  Always give them something to take with them or follow it up with emails that include links, tools, or tips.  I like to provide coffee, water and snacks during my media training.  I also include extra information like, what is new in the media center or reviewing the pathfinders I have created.  It is also a good time to review the eResources available and allow them to share with each other the resources they have used the most.  Our last session I will be reminding them to give input on what type of books they want ordered for next year.

Common Sense Media. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence.

LoTi Framework. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from: http://www.loticonnection.com/index.php/more/frameworks