In thinking about digital communication for 5 and 6 year old students, it is important to note that whether or not they are of the age that is participating in the use of Facebook, Instagram, writing emails... they will be soon enough and the front loading of this information is critical to ensure their safety. I appreciated the video clip within the Creative Commerce Digital Citizenship site that spoke to the case that children should begin young, so that it becomes good habit forming. Also, that much of the lessons of digital communication are already woven throughout our Social Emotional Curriculum. The idea that digital/social media is integrated throughout the child's culture, means there is no need to distinguish separate rules for it outside of their 'native' experience. Students in kindergarten are taught the 'Be Rules;' be safe, responsible and respectful. These same rules are to be applied to digital use. Other rules that young students are familiar with are to stay where you are suppose to, do not talk to strangers, be kind, and ask permission. It is not a stretch to ask young students to apply these same rules to their technology use.
Examples of personalizing digital communication for kinder students: 1. I would begin by doing the stand up/sit down survey to get an idea of what types of digital communication that the students were aware of or using. We would discuss how we talk to one another and if that should be different if we are writing to one another on paper or on the computer. This includes kindness and whether they should communicate with strangers. Perhaps to solidify the message we could write kind notes to one another and respond to them. While I would rather have them write digitally, I am not sure how that could happen at this time. 2. I would show the 'Going Places Safely/ My Online Neighborhood" video that talks about safely communicating on line. We could 'think,pair, share' (TPS) about what are things we need permission to do and why, where we can go and why, who we talk to and why, also, how we talk to people and why. 3. The class could create a reference chart that records student ideas of what digital safety looks like; getting permission, no strangers, and sticking to places just right for you. Discussions include why we follow rules in every aspect of our lives-the bottom line is safety.
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AuthorJennifer Wade ArchivesCategories |