Introduction

The purpose of this project is to increase my knowledge on useful math technology resources and how they can enhance my classroom instruction. I am also going to reflect and set goals I want to accomplish. I am going to continue investigating resources I have used, Khan Academy, Desmos, etc., but I am also researching new resources I have uncovered this year. Through my PLN, I have learned about GeoGebra, which I will dive into deeper, and my mentor utilizes the online book in a unique way during her lessons. I am focusing my project on the following course question:

How might we use technology to enhance real world, collaborative, learner centered education?

I chose this question because math classes tend to be boring and lecture focused. However, if I can find useful resources and engaging activities from technology I am sure my students will enjoy the class and want to be engaged far more than sitting and listening to me lecture. I have recently chosen to use technology in my classroom during my professor observations from the University. My mentor, professor, and students all gave positive feedback during those lessons. I even had many students asking me to implement Desmos and other resources into my lessons regularly. The confidence I have gained from utilizing technology from this course makes me want to keep pushing my comfort zone even more by finding newer resources that can enhance my lessons and focus on student collaboration to allow them to be more in charge of their learning.

Goals

• Find new technology resources that can be accessed on multiple technology platforms (laptop, iPad, phone, etc.).
• Find engaging and visually friendly resources that display shapes, objects, grpahs, etc.
• Learn why technology should be incorporated into the classroom, how to incorporate it, and what resources are the most effective for student growth.
• Reflect on what I have learned from this project. Specifically, how I can modify my teaching philosophy and integrate technology into more of my lessons.

Scholarly Articles

Using mobile technologies for mathematics: effects on student attitudes and achievement by Barron et al (2018).

This article was about a study on how mobile apps can affect student achievement and attitude towards math. The study investigated how students could use mobile technology to interact and learn material individually and collaboratively. The survey proved that students had positive interaction and achievement results with the use of mobile devices to aid in their learning. This article relates to my inquiry because it got me thinking about how students can use mobile devices as a math resource. There are math apps, discussion platforms, and activities that students can use to practice their basic skills and concepts. I have found mobile apps for IXL, XtraMath, Geogebra, and many more resources that can enhance student learning.

Fabian, K., Topping, K.J. & Barron, I.G. Education Tech Research Dev (2018) 66: 1119. https://doi-org.prxy4.ursus.maine.edu/10.1007/s11423-018-9580-3

The Impact of a Flipped Classroom Model of Learning on a Large Undergraduate Statistics Class by Bean et al (2018).

This article reviewed how students learned and reacted to a flipped classroom learning environment. The study compared two professors where one taught a flipped classroom and the other taught a lecture style classroom. They took into consideration grades and student feedback to decide which method is most effective for students to learn. For me, the results were surprising as it showed students favored a flipped classroom setting as they were able to succeed and have a positive attitude towads math to a higher degree than the lecture classroom. I have experienced the flip classroom setting as a student and teacher and did not enjoy either as I retained information better when interacting with the student/teacher. However, this study has shown that implementing flipped classroom lessons by utilizing screencast-o-matic or Khan Academy could be beneficial for my students. While this is a college age study, I feel it can influence the way high school minds learn. By creating variety in my classroom between lecture based and flipped classroom I can reach more than one type of learner. This teaching style will also allow students to have the lessons at their disposal which will allow them to watch the lesson multiple times and at their own pace. I am not comfortable being video taped, but I would like to implement more screencast videos for my students and have that be the backbone to my flipped classroom lessons.

Nielsen, P. L., Bean, N. W., & Larson, R. A. (2018, May). THE IMPACT OF A FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL OF LEARNING ON A LARGE UNDERGRADUATE STATISTICS CLASS. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from http://go.galegroup.com.prxy4.ursus.maine. edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=maine_orono&id=GALE|A541103811&v=2.1&it=r&sid= summon

Improving mastery of fractions by blending video games into the Math classroom by Corcoran et al (2017).

This article is about implementing video games into the math classroom. The idea is to take a concept that is difficult to teach and is difficult for students to learn and make an interactive video game. The study focused on 5 classes, three of which had the games and the lesson on fractions and two classes who just had the class lesson. The reults showed higher achievement from the classes that used the video game as an addition to the fraction lesson. The study focused on three computer games that had students working with fractions to solve puzzles. All of the games were set at a difficulty level that was compatible to student level to measure growth and to lower stress. I have wanted to try something similar with my students which is why I selected this article. What student doesn’t want to learn math, sometimes unknowingly, by playing a video game? However, finding the correct games are vital as there can be backlash from parents and students can become distracted easily in class. Desmos has many activities that are similar to video games that I have used in the past. My mentor also uses math games that students are allowed to play when they are finished with their classwork. The purpose of the games is to have students gain a positive attitude towards math and pratice their basic skills.

Masek, M., Boston, J., Liam, C., & Corcoran, S. (2017, September 06). Improving mastery of fractions by blending video games into the Math classroom. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.prxy4.ursus.maine.edu/doi/full/ 10.1111/jcal.12194

PLN Interaction

I have enjoyed the interactions with my classmates. I have learned about some communication resources and how teachers can use technology to interact with each other. The most important aspect from the PLN interaction for me was the resources, ideas, and feedback my team gave me. I was able to easily review their project and have a better sense of what my project should look like. The cons were very small as the only problem we faced occured at the beginning of the PLN assignment when some of the group members were not added to the correct document. I believe there was an error with emails, but it was eventually fixed and everyone was able to communicate. While I did enjoy learning about new resources, I do think email could have been easier and more efficient than using Backchannel because the group didn’t share anything besides links and feedback. I do feel I have grown and feel more comfortable using technology to communicate with colleagues. I tend to struggle with learning new things and changing how I communicate with people which is why I was nervous about the PLN interaction. I have enjoyed growing my knowledge of technology resources, interacting with my classmates, and stretching my comfort zone, but understand I am still improving.

Four Resources

I have looked at quite a few different resources from mobile apps, articles, videos, and math programs like Desmos and IXL and I have found these to be the most helpful.

Online Book: Math in Focus

This is a resource I never thought about using until I started this project and thought about how my mentor teaches her classroom. All you have to do to access the book is create an account, which I have from my mentor. She uses a projection of the book so the students can interact with the examples, use whiteboards, and collaborate together. To me, this is a simple yet very effective way to have students work with the material and technology. Many times students get excited when they are asked to get out of their chair and show the class how they solved their problem. They enjoy being able to interact with the book and their classmates in a way other than sitting with a book in their hands.

Ziteboard

This is an online whiteboard that allows students and teachers to connect at any time. The teacher can include video, audio, images, and other resources the students may need. I have explored Ziteboard during this project and solved a common problem I do with my students in the classroom. I enjoy how easy it is to navigate and the access it allows me to have with my students. Being able to easily explain something to them instead of having to wait unitl the the next class is essential for students who wish to do well. The collaboration between teacher and student is essential with this resource. It is basically a live screencast, but I will also get the interaction with the student instead of just recording a generic video.

XtraMath

This resource is for students who needs additional practice on their basic math skills. While it can be used to practice the current material, I have found through conversation with a mentor of mine that she uses it to reinforce the basic math skills, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, etc. I particularly enjoy this resource because it complements IXL, another resource I advocate for in every math classroom. Anytime I see a program that can be accessed through multiple platforms of technology, laptop, phone, tablet, etc. and reinforces basic math skills is one that I want to use in my classroom. XtraMath has activities for students, both group and individual, has resources for parents, students, and teachers. Lastly, it provides progress reports that show where students are growing. This is a resource I want to start implementing immediately, especially for students who need that extra practice that I am unable to give them. Many times my students are able to understand the concept that we are working on, but because their basic math skills are low they struggle to get to the correct answer. XtraMath will be a great resource to have them practice their basic skills and allow them to focus on the more complicated concepts.

GeoGebra

GeoGebra is very similar to Desmos as it is an online graphing calculator that students can access through multiple forms of technology. However, GeoGebra lacks the activities Desmos has, but it has the ability to make shapes, lines, and tracing options that Desmos does not allow. I would use GeoGebra as a complement to Desmos since one can be more activity based and the other can focus on presenting the material. While navigating through GeoGebra, I noticed the terminology is front and center for students and there is emphasis on geometry. This is important for me as a math teacher who struggles with teaching geometry. I can use GeoGebra to create perfect visuals of the problem and have students work along side those problems with their laptops or tablets. Overall, it is a fun way to teach a typically boring concepts that rely on visual presentations. Students will also be able to check their work, create projects, and collaborate with each other on GeoGebra. I am excited to introduce this to my mentor and class to show them another resource they can use that will help grow their math skills.

Evidence of my Work

Throughout this project I took multiple screenshots, screencasts, and pictures of students interacting with the resources I mentioned above.

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In the two pictures above, I taught a lesson on rotations and generally this subject is very difficult to draw and visualize. However, using the proection of the online textbook, students were able to engage in the material, work through the problems together, and reflect on their work. Once they thought they found the reflection points and plotted them, they were able to check their answer visually and felt more confident about their answer. I now teach every lesson that requires visualization using the online text book. The students get excited when they get to come to the whiteboards and explain their work to their classmates. Many times it is hard to stop them from coming to the whiteboard, which is always a great problem to have.

The image above is a screenshot of my Ziteboard lesson. I was able to easily create and solve a problem by stating the equation and showing the steps. I also noticed a neat sticky note function which I used to show a reminder of a common error students make. The hotkeys make for a neat presentation and I can have my students focus on the important takeaways from the lesson by squaring, circling or drawing arrows. I particularly want students to remember the equation for slope, which is why I created a rectangle around it. I am looking forward to trying this with my students once vacation is over and see what they think of it, as well as the video/audio options.

The video above is a screencast I found on youtube to shows how to enroll to XtraMath and reviews the race the teacher option. This tutorial does a great job explaining the enrollment process and helps guide teachers on ways to communicate with their parents.

The video above describes the purpose of the XtraMath activites and why they help students improve their basic math skills. The presenter makes a great point about only having ten minutes of practice a day so the students aren’t overwhelmed with the amount of math they are working on. She also mentions the activities require quick responses to help students react quickly which shows strong understanding. I enjoyed researching this resource and hope to incorporate it into my math classroom to improve my students’ basic math skills which will allow us to focus on new concepts.

GeoGebra Screencast

Above is the link to my screencast on GeoGebra. I had fun exploring all the tools and functions GeoGebra has to offer. I can see myself using GeoGebra and Desmos in my classroom and focusing on creating projects students can use with GeoGebra. Once again, thank you Arthur for recommending GeoGebra as a great resource.

Two Course Outcomes

Demonstrate fluency with new educational tools, and articulate the affordances and constraints of such tools to support educational practice

I believe my project has completed the goal mentioned above. I have a deeper understanding of how vital technology is when learning math and how important multiple platforms can be for resources. Xtramath, GeoGebra, Ziteboard, the online book, and the other resources I have mentioned and used before are ways to enhance my classroom. Since I now understand how to use and have created accounts for these educational tools, I can now start to generate lessons specifically utilizing these resources. I used little technology in my past lessons while student teaching, but challenged myself during this class and this project to think of creative ways and the best units to incorporate technology correctly. When I showed my students the Desmos lesson and the online book resource, they immediately became more engaged. When I discussed IXL, Khan Academy, and XtraMath with my mentor we reviewed the positives and negatives of incorporating it into my lessons. We agreed that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages where the only constraint to incorporating more technology is the responsibility and distractions students may face. I understand that technology will not always be appropriate and monitoring the amount I use in my lessons is important. Many times students will not be able to access technology during a test and I do not want to handicap their abilities because they are relying on the technology resources. The goal is for them to use the resources to support and reinforce the concepts and skills from the lesson.

Through various modalities engage in reflective practice and goal setting

I decided to set goals for this project and believe I managed to successfully meet my goals. I found multiple articles and learned about the importance of technology in my classroom. I created accounts and explored different and new resources that focus on various skills that a student needs to succeed. Lastly, after each article and resource I found I wrote a reflection specifying the positives, negatives, and how I can incorporate it into my lessons. I mentioned most of these points under their descriptions, but explain in more depth in my reflection below. I was pleasantly surprised that I could not find negatives on majority of the resources I found. Overall, I learned how important it is to think deeply about the resources and ways I can implement technology. If done correctly and timely, students will become engaged, motivated, and eager to learn. If done incorrectly, students can become distracted and reliant on the technology and cause them to miss important material. I understand that I was not incorporating enough technology into my lessons because I struggled with finding the correct balance and new resources that will keep students interested. Now that I have found multiple new resources and have a specific resource for each type of math student (low, medium, high), I am confident enough to change my lessons to allow more technology.

Reflection

The inquiry question I picked helped me generate an outline for what I wanted to accomplish with my project. I knew that I wanted to read research articles about what a technology enriched math classroom looked like, what platforms they used, and how they used it. The articles I chose provided evidence that increased my confidence and encouraged me to continue my professional growth by including a study on how achievement and attitude increased in various grade levels and activities. Once I understood how technology could increase collaboration, create a student-centered learning environment, and focus on real-world applications, I was able to start searching for new resources. I was already familiar with Desmos, Khan Academy, and IXL, but wanted to find new resources that I could use to complement the ones I have already found. My main goal was to find a resource that allowed me to connect with my students at any time and work a problem with them in real time. That is when I stumbled upon Ziteboard. This resource was by far the most valuable for me. I was able to find a collaborative resource that allows students to connect to myself and their peers to solve a problem anywhere they have an internet connection. The collaboration piece for all of my resources is the most important aspect for me because of the skills they can learn from it besides math concepts. XtraMath was the next resource I found. This resource allows students to practice any skill they wish, whether it be basic skills, current concepts, or real-world problems. In order for students to succeed in math they must understand how to solve word problems. This is the most difficult and time consuming part of every unit and by finding a resource like XtraMath, they are able to practice world problems at any time. Lastly, I needed to find ways to visually represent the information that can also excite student engagement. The online math book and GeoGebra provided that opportunity for me. Students are now able to visualize transformations, graphs, shapes, etc. perfectly without having to struggle with scaling and spacing. I don’t know how I am ever going to go back to teaching the visual lessons without projecting the book or using GeoGebra. I am excited to share my learning with my mentor and see how far I have grown professionally when I start implementing more of these resources into my lessons.

Whats Next?

The next steps for my inquiry is to continue learning about the resources i have found, find more resources, implement lesson plans with these resources, and reflect upon the lessons. I have always relied on students and colleagues to provide feedback after each of my lessons. I am learning just as they are and their feedback allows me to perfect each lesson and make the information as easy as possible to learn. The best feedback I have received has been on the lessons where I utilized technology. I never had the resources or confidence to regularly use technology, but between the feedback my professors, mentors, and students gave me, along with the new confidence I have gained from this project I am excited to modify more of my lessons. My last step is to share my learning with my mentor and fellow math teachers. They have provided me with many resources and guidance over this past year that I want to leave them with resources as well.

What is something you learned on your own recently?

I have learned through my students teaching placements how important classroom management skills are. Having clear rules, routines, behavior expectations, and guidelines students can see and follow are critical for creating a strong learning environment. I have experienced in one placement a classroom with a clear set of expectations and what happens when those expectations are broken. The students seemed to thrive in that classroom. They were respectful, hard working, but still had fun. Where as, in my current placement the classroom management is not as defined. The students are freer, tend to be off task, and generally disrespectful. Their work shows this as well and causes disconnects to the material. Overall, this has been extremely eye opening for me. I have learned how I want my class to be run and the importance of clear expectations.

What elements of your own learning experience would you connect to the readings?

I personally enjoyed reading Type 1 for organizations: Thirteen ways to improve your company, office, or group by Pink. It gave me some ideas about how I can incorporate non-commissioned work into my classroom. Students are extremely stressed with classwork, extra-curriculars, home life, social life, etc. that they sometimes need a free day or block to be productive. I am interested in implementing the “20 percent time with training wheels” (Pink, 2011, pg. 164) in my first block math class. This group of students are generally productive and I can see this as being motivation moving forward to have some free time to explore any math concept they may find interesting. I also found using non-controlling language (Pink, 2011, pg. 170) to be important with my classroom management skills. I don’t want to sound like a dictator, but I also want them to understand the weight of what I am asking. By phrasing my instructions in a friendlier, less bossy way, students will still feel the freedom from the 20 percent time and will hopefully feel more respected.

Pink, D. H. (2011). Type 1 for organizations: Thirteen ways to improve your company, office, or group. In Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us (pp. 162–177). New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

How do you interact with other professionals? How do you find inspiration to continue your own growth? 

I try to always listen, provide feedback, and receive feedback whenever I interact with other professionals. I have a mindset of whenever I am discussing teaching with another colleague that I can learn from their experiences and they might be able to learn from mine. I also try to collaborate as much as possible with my co-workers. If I have students with special needs in my room, I collaborate and communicate with the special education teacher. If I have a student who struggles with reading, I talk with the reading specialist, and so on. Collaboration is a big part of my teaching style because I am not an expert on everything, and it is important to hear what the expert has to say. My inspiration to continue growing is there is always something I have left to learn. Whether it be new classroom management skills, teaching methods, discipline strategies, etc. someone will always be more knowledgeable about a certain topic than I will be, and I strive to learn from them.

What is a specific idea you hope to take forward from the readings into your work with other adults?

I think the biggest take away from the readings is the idea of motivation and continually wanting to learn. Throughout the readings, I found a similar theme of continually motivating and learning by not focusing on the negatives. Instead, we should focus more on the positives that rise to the surface, which is difficult in a school classroom. Teachers, myself included, tend to only have a radar for the negatives and discipline. While this is unsettling, it is the truth, and my goal is to learn from other teachers in my building how they build upon the positives. So, the readings really changed my thinking about how I should approach each day. I should collaborate more with adults and find ways to enhance my classroom from the experiences I am learning from.

Description:

This end of the unit project asks grade eight students to think of an everyday object or item they use in their lives or a real-world problem. I give them some examples:

phone and battery life

which cell phone company to go with

Creating a grocery store scenario figuring out how much you can buy with a fixed amount

As long as the math is feasible, they get complete freedom. Their task is to create a systems of linear equations that represent two possible trends for the item. For example, battery life of their cell phone versus the battery life of their computer. They then have to solve the systems of linear equations by choosing three of the four methods we learned:

table method

elimination method

substitution method

graphical method

Once they notice all three methods produce the same answer, they must explain which method they prefer and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method, paying close attention to math vocabulary. I provide the students with many resources, but will generally not help them with any calculations. Relying on their problem solving skills is a strong component of this project. The last piece is a presentation of their work and project. Students will be asked to describe their scenario and defend their methods choice in front of the class. Showing their work, using graphs, and relating their answer back to the scenario will show their true understanding.

Questions of Inquiry:

How can we use systems of linear equations to solve real world problems?

Why is it important to understand how to solve a problem using multiple methods?

What is a big advantage of using the graphical method is a job setting?

Open Inquiry:

All students have the ability to pick their own project topic. Students will use the same methods to solve the systems of equations, however how they apply and present the information will vary from student to student. Some may use a video, oral presentation with visuals, and some may choose to simply provide a handout. However they decide to present the material will help them gain knowledge moving forward in the workforce. They learn effective presentation skills as well as problem solving skills from this project. No two students will have the same end result, which provides many learning opportunities during the presentation phase.

Standards Being Assessed:

8.EE.8: Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations

8.EE.8a: Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.

8.EE.8b: Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection.

8.EE.8c: Solve real-world and mathematical problems leading to two linear equations in two variables

Rubric:

The school I was student teaching at follows proficiency based grading and uses the Exceeds (E), Meets (M), Partially Meets (P), and Does Not Meet (D) system. I decided to use a rubric with a similar structure.

Teacher Resources:

• Desmos Demonstration

I chose my Desmos screencast-o-matic tutorial because it would be a great resource for teachers to show their students when solving the systems of equations by graphing. The resource is interactive and allows students to check their work, or provide a great presentation opportunity. This could also be a great resource for students.

• Real-World Problem Examples

I chose to provide educators with examples of how students should approach real-world problems. Students find these problems tricky as their is not an algorithm that works perfectly for every problem. By teachers researching and exploring how to effectively solve word problems they will be able to explain the process much easier.

• Defining Inquiry

I chose to provide educators with information on inquiry. This project I would find to be most successful with structured inquiry, but can also be successful with many methods of inquiry. Allowing educators to research which inquiry method is best for them and provide examples of the different methods, teachers can find what works best for their classroom and this project.

• Teaching Strategies
• Guided Note Sheet Example

There are many ways to teach systems of linear equations, but I find it difficult to find creative and fun ways to introduce the methods of solving systems of linear equations. This resource recommends what teachers can do to create fun activities and how supplements guide student understanding. I create a guided notes sheet with every lesson I teach and have found them to be very successful. The guided note sheet I provided above follows the book’s guided practice so students will be able to follow along easily during my lesson and when they study.

Student Reference Tools:

• Khan Academy

Khan Academy is my go-to resource for students to use to practice a concept. The link I provided brings students to a full unit of videos on the multiple methods of solving systems of equations, as well as extra practice. They can use this tool to practice and learn how to apply their answer to the problem before they work on their project.

• Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is a free online calculator that shows the answer in many different forms. It shows all the possible forms, e.g. graphical, numerical, etc. Students can use this resource to check their work. There is also a step-by-step solution option that is available if they decide to upgrade to pro, which has a fee.

• Example Problems with Solutions

This resource provides definitions and step-by-step solutions for solving systems of linear equations. If students forget or are unsure of what step to do next, this resource should help them work through the problem. The math vocabulary in this resource will also help them when explaining their method choices.

Student Technology Tools:

• Prezi Presentation

Prezi is a great presentation tool that allows students to make an interactive presentation. They will be able to upload videos, graphs, their work easily and make the presentation more engaging. Part of the assignment is to learn effective presentation skills, and learning how to use Prezi effectively will accomplish that goal. Math is generally one-dimensional, and encouraging students to use Prezi for their presentation fits the redefinition phase of the SAMR model.

• Google Sites

Google sites is another presentation option for students. Google sites is an easy to use resource that can elevate any presentation, especially since math presentations can generally become mundane to listen to. Google sites would also fall under the redefinition phase of the SAMR model by creating a more visual presentation of student work.

• Screencast-o-matic

Some students have anxiety about presenting in front of a live audience. Utilizing screencast-o-matic by recording and editing videos of them explaining their steps and solution will be a good option for them. Students have the option to hide the video and can narrate instead. The presentation will still be elevated and would fit under the redefinition phase in the SAMR model.

Discussion:

Provide a reflection about how you have planned for real-world, collaborative and learner-centered experience

My project encompasses real-world problems and experiences stemming from the essential questions stated above. My project involves collaboration by asking students to share their project topic with me, where we can discuss how feasible the topic is and how they plan to solve the problem. This project is also very learner-centered where I will not be offering any help after they select a topic. They will need to use their classwork, notes, and resources I provide to solve the problem on their own. They will also have to decide which presentation method is best for their project.

What barriers might you, or learners face in this experience? How might you address them?

I will be facing instances where I want to help the students through their project. It is my first instinct to help anyone I see struggling, but I have to remember this is an inquiry project and they have all the tools they need to succeed. I think many students will struggle on the presentation side of the project. Creating an organized presentation is difficult and many students are afraid of public speaking. I am hopeful that the presentation resources I have provided will address this problem and students will be able to find the perfect platform for themselves.

What are you most excited about with the plan you’ve created?

This project has me excited about many things. I am most excited for the presentations. I want to see how well the students understand the material, how well they problem solve, and how creative they are with their presentations. I am also excited to see the look of accomplishment on many of my students’ faces. My classroom is not generally inquiry centered. I generally like to guide my students throughout class addressing problems instantly. Instead, students are going to be asked to answer their questions on their own. I am excited to see how well they persevere!

Share your thoughts on the teaching or training of digital citizenship / etiquette / rules in your classroom/work environment.  Is it embedded in the curriculum, its own unit, or something that you do not formally teach/train? Explain why you follow this path.

I do not teach digital citizenship since I am a math teacher. The school I am student teaching in now has a tech teacher who works with students on technology and how to use it appropriately. Since the students are provided iPads, it is our job as teachers to teach them some of the digital etiquette. Students need to understand how to appropriately use the technology resources, how to conduct themselves online, and how to protect themselves online. This is what I believe my job is in regards to digital citizenship.

Should digital citizenship / etiquette / rules be a part of the school wide (work environment) curriculum?

I am not sure how successful we would be in requiring students to take a digital citizenship class as part of the curriculum, but I definitely think it needs to be addressed. Many students are misusing or unsure of the consequences of what they do online. There are also many students who will not be exposed to technology until they are in the workforce. While many schools have opportunities for students to have a laptop or iPad, it seems there should be a digital citizenship class that comes with it to teach them all aspects of technology.

Who should teach it / train learners/employees? How? 

I believe everyone in the student’s life should be teaching digital citizenship. Teachers, administrators, peers, and parents should all be teaching digital citizenship. Many times teachers are the ones who have to take on more topics to teach besides their own. While I agree teachers, especially ones who incorporate technology in their class, should teach digital citizenship, it is not their job alone. Many schools have faculty who are experts on the subjects and they should be the ones to teach the students the bulk of the curriculum, if it were to ever be instated.

Hello,

My name is Hayden Ciomei and I am getting my MAT in secondary education through the University of Maine. I have lived in Stonington, Maine all my life and have worked as a lobsterman since I was eight. I am currently student teaching in a middle school working with four seventh and eighth grade classes. The classroom environment is an inclusive one where special education students are able to actively participate. Students are given an iPad for educational use, which has become quite a distraction from my observations. Check out my video to hear more about my classroom!