PROBLEM - Is Gmail being used for educational purposes....and how do we ensure that educators have support?
Scenario - A parent discovers that his/her child has GMAIL account. After discussion with the teacher, the parent realizes that the email is not being used in the classroom to support curriculum. The parent want the benefits of Portal but does not want the child to have access to individuals/groups that are negative or harmful.
Solution(s) - To safeguard students online (inside and outside of school) certain precautiosn have to be made.
-Students have to be taught digital citizenship
-teachers have to model appropriate digital skills
-restrict the domain that students can have access to (can this be done by school/grade level/teacher)
-call Jim Davies, Darwin, Glenn, Terry, Lea Bekken, Jamie Pallett and be aware of teacher expectations and responsibilities
Other Questions that arise
-What mechanism is there for the teacher voice to be heard (Technology Teacher Advisory Group)
-Teacher support - If gmail is an ‘all or nothing’ feature..if teachers are confronted with requests by parents to remove the feature what then? If misuse of gmail (cyberbullying) leads to a loss of gmail privelege, why can’t a parent/teacher/school not request this function to be removed? What is the policy for informing parents about issues that arise from using the gmail? Is it the students intellectual property or do teachers have the right to alter settings of account?
-What happens if students/parents do NOT complete a school’s “Acceptable Use of Technology Form”?
-Should students have the ability to use the “call phone”? The students have access to outside sources
-Can schools change/alter their online use policy? Does someone downtown in the legal department need to be contacted
-Can a formal process be created to be submitted by parents to inform district on interests regarding the use of gmail?
Scenario - A parent discovers that his/her child has GMAIL account. After discussion with the teacher, the parent realizes that the email is not being used in the classroom to support curriculum. The parent want the benefits of Portal but does not want the child to have access to individuals/groups that are negative or harmful.
Solution(s) - To safeguard students online (inside and outside of school) certain precautiosn have to be made.
-Students have to be taught digital citizenship
-teachers have to model appropriate digital skills
-restrict the domain that students can have access to (can this be done by school/grade level/teacher)
-call Jim Davies, Darwin, Glenn, Terry, Lea Bekken, Jamie Pallett and be aware of teacher expectations and responsibilities
Other Questions that arise
-What mechanism is there for the teacher voice to be heard (Technology Teacher Advisory Group)
-Teacher support - If gmail is an ‘all or nothing’ feature..if teachers are confronted with requests by parents to remove the feature what then? If misuse of gmail (cyberbullying) leads to a loss of gmail privelege, why can’t a parent/teacher/school not request this function to be removed? What is the policy for informing parents about issues that arise from using the gmail? Is it the students intellectual property or do teachers have the right to alter settings of account?
-What happens if students/parents do NOT complete a school’s “Acceptable Use of Technology Form”?
-Should students have the ability to use the “call phone”? The students have access to outside sources
-Can schools change/alter their online use policy? Does someone downtown in the legal department need to be contacted
-Can a formal process be created to be submitted by parents to inform district on interests regarding the use of gmail?
Email has been used as a writing tool in the Div 1 classes at our school. It would be a pity to see this engaging form of student communication removed or disabled.
ReplyDeleteThere are some potential liability issues here that the district should pro-actively address. Some grey areas need to be clarified and defined such as the issues mentioned with the "Acceptable Use of Technology" form. Are there actions we can take now to foresee and prevent potential problems in the future?
ReplyDeleteAre all parents informed about the benefits? There is a large number of parents who are not comfortable with technology,therefor that will create uncertainty with share.
ReplyDeleteEverything that is done within the Portal can be tracked through Edmonton Public. Seems that is much safer than having a Hotmail account or other "outside" email.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting issues that are presented. I agree in the case of email if we as a district remove email for div 1 that may alleviate some of the concerns however this could cost potentially large amounts of $ due to monitoring costs of the district and also isn't this what the digital citizenship component is supposed to be used for?
ReplyDeleteAt the root of this issue is the idea of control. On the one hand we need to minimize the risk to students as they explore these tools, but on the other hand students need the freedom to use these tools to explore and learn.
ReplyDeleteOur responsibility is to ensure that we've taken appropriate steps to minimize as much of the risk as we can, and educate other stakeholders as to their roles in this, but in reality there is no way to fully "kid-proof" the internet. Some negative things cannot be fully avoided, but students could be better armed with the knowledge and experience to make responsible choices in all aspects of their life, not just at school or not just online.
Good points. I think clear boundaries need to be set starting from the district level and moving on down. The lines in the sand need to be backed up with follow through and accountability. A teacher needs to know they are supported and should receive full backing from their admin and district if they have clear guidelines set from the start.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, the district could move to an admin model for individual schools and give each school the ability to start or stop services. That would alleviate many of the issues - however, I can see the administrative and logistical nightmares involved with this scenario (moving grade levels, schools and accounts from school to school and grade level to grade level).
Ultimately, it is the schools responsibility to monitor the usage in the classroom and the parents responsibility to monitor usage outside of the school environment. I do not believe restricting access is the solution, rather, educating the parents and children is the key to using the tools responsibly.