Digital Citizenship Week & New Media Contest

It's digital citizenship week! In a 1:1 classroom environment and a technology-driven world, we must not only raise good digital citizens, we should be cultivating digital leaders. Teaching digital citizenship shouldn't be a box that we check off of our list of things to do every year. Even though we do have many Common Sense Digital Citizenship lessons available to all teachers. Digital Citizenship is taught when we model proper use of technology and when we show students that we use search tools and the Creative Commons to give credit to creators of images and media that we use in the classroom. 

Have you ever had a student come across an inappropriate image while completing an assignment?

What would you do in this situation?

Although our district has Safe Search turned on, our filters will not catch every inappropriate image when doing a search. If this ever happens in your classroom, use it as a great teachable moment. Start a conversation with your class. Have them come up with a solution in a way that doesn't draw attention to the inappropriate image. Here are some possible answers:

1. Don't draw attention by laughing, pointing or calling friends over to see the image.
2. Click out of the screen and tell an adult. 
• The adult can warn the tech department and can quickly address the class, if needed.
3. Students won't get in trouble if they follow this safe digital practice in the classroom.

How could you avoid this situation?

It is understandable that nothing is 100% predictable when it comes searching the Internet for images. If you are doing something like a vocabulary lesson with your students, before starting the lesson, preview the vocabulary words while keeping in mind multiple meanings that may cause an inappropriate image or topic to come up. 

Click HERE for working links.

Digital Citizenship Digital Media Contest

In the spirit of Digital Citizenship week, here is a Digital Citizenship HyperDoc full of all kinds of projects and activities that your students can try. Last year we had a contest where students submitted their video projects. This year we have created a contest with 3 categories:

1. Digital Graphics
2. Digital Writing
3. Digital Recording

Hopefully we've included at least 1 project that every classroom can try. If you need any ideas or help getting started with a digital lesson, please contact Mary Fran, Sandy or Genevieve. We would love to help out!

Projects are due Friday, November 18, 2016 and students can submit their work by filling out the Official Entry Form.

If you are looking for resources to share with parents, here are ones that we recommend:

• Common Sense Media Parent Concerns
• My Digital Tat2 Resources  

Click HERE for working links.

Thanksgiving Themed Activities Inspired by Video

Do you use video in your classroom to inspire thinking? 

Last month I attended Fall CUE up in the Napa Valley and ever since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Lisa Highfill's session titled YouTube Lessons That Will Leave You Thinking.

I was truly inspired, and after searching through the Highfill Crew YouTube playlists, I came across the video WWII vet forms unlikely friendship with toddler. That video sparked an idea about creating a Google Sites HyperDoc that could be used across grade levels. I decided that this was a great video about friendship, which seemed to tie in nicely with Thanksgiving. This led me to create a website with tabs for different Thanksgiving themes that teachers can explore with their classes, or have students explore on their own.

USD Learns: Thanksgiving HyperDoc

I invite you to check out the USD Learns Thanksgiving Hyperdoc to see if there is anything that might inspire you and students the week before Thanksgiving. There are some interactive pieces where students can share their thoughts or turn in links to their work.

Please be aware that any Padlet on this Thanksgiving site is a shared learning space where students can freely post their thoughts. Before trying it with your students, please have a conversation about digital citizenship and ask them only to post ideas and content that they want other students and teachers to see.

Want your students to be a part of our USD is Thankful Video?

What if we could capture video clips about what USD students are thankful for? Kid President's 20 Things We Should Say More Often reminds us that we shouldn't just say thank you on Thanksgiving, but we do have to start somewhere. This idea was inspired by the video Kid History Shorts: "Thanksgiving" (The Roberts).  If this video is too silly for your class, check out this school who captured clips about what they are thankful for: Happy Thanksgiving from Kingsway College School. This is a closer example of the vision that we have for our USD is Thankful video.

If you would like to participate, you can find more information about how to create class videos on the Gratitude page.

I am thankful to be working in such an amazing school district with such creative and innovative teachers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your students, friends, and families!

4 Easy Low-Tech Digital Citizenship Projects

Don't forget that the November 13th Digital Citizenship Video Contest deadline is quickly approaching. The good news is that it's not too late to encourage your students to participate. We've come up with 4 simple low-tech project ideas with suggestions about how to turn those creations into videos:

1. Write a poem
2. Create a poster
3. Write a song or rap
4. Create a comic

Here's a Digital Citizenship HyperDoc with examples and how-to videos that can help get you started. You'd be surprised how easy it is to turn these projects into short videos.

Once you have your students complete a project, you may like help creating videos. The Tech ToSAs are available! Please fill out the 2 question Digital Citizenship Video Lesson Sign-Up and one of us will contact you to coordinate the lesson.

If you have any questions, you can always email any one of us: Genevieve, Nicole, or Mary Fran. 

Don't forget to turn the videos into the Official Entry Form by November 13th. We can't wait so see all of your students' creative digital citizenship projects!

*If you are having your students create their own videos for the contest, here are some digital story video templates to help them plan a script before creating the video.