When we decided to adopt iPads, we knew that we had to be very deliberate about teaching students to be good digital citizens. In my second year of a one-to-one environment, I am constantly realizing other 21st century skills that I will need to add to the curriculum. The academic world is so different than it was 10 years ago. It will look different every year from now on. It is truly awe-inspiring how constantly evolving educational technology it.That is why it is vital to teach students the skills to live safely in this ever changing world.
Most of the content in the school’s curriculum is taken from Common Sense Media which has a PLETHORA of information/lessons for all grade bands. Edmodo came out with a curriculum plan right after I complied ours. Of course! 🙂
As a faculty, we felt it was important for all content teachers to talk about digital citizenship in some way. In doing this, we felt that students would see that we are a united front. To accomplish this goal, I divided lessons that I felt applied to each content area teacher.
As a Language Arts teacher, I will be more deliberate about teaching some of the previously mentioned emerging 21st century skills. Students have had a really hard time understanding the importance of using academic language in our Edmodo forums. I do think that they grasp the importance of not expecting immediate answers from teachers on Edmodo/email on the weekend (which took awhile), but they still are quick to answer in “texting language.” They are also quick to blame auto-correct, if they have something spelled incorrectly. This happens specifically in Edmodo fill-in the blank assessments, when misspelled answers will automatically get marked incorrect. I have had discussions with them about the change from students worrying about handwriting and spelling to being able to type and check spelling easily. This was something that has changed for the better, with that comes the need to proof auto-correct features.
Another example, is using e-texts. Students have had to adjust to using e-textbooks rather than hard copies. I have always thought that it is important to be deliberate when teaching students to use the features, i.e. highlighting, notes, bookmarking, and searching, that come with these. This is similar to teaching students how to read non-fiction texts.
I am sure that as we move forward we will see a lot of improvements that come with challenges like this of which students need to be aware . CKS Digital Citizen Curriculum Common Sense Media
Journey to a Paperless Classroom 