Freebie: Technology Contracts for School and Home

Problem: Kids are fearless with technology. That alone should strike fear in the hearts of teachers and parents alike! As much as we try to monitor their usage, often they are doing things we have never heard of...both good and bad. Often our children are navigating a "smart" new world without concrete guidelines, oversight (they hide stuff!) or a healthy skepticism.

In the classroom, kids may treat equipment carelessly, engage in too-casual communication for academics and even "surf" in dangerous waters.

At home the pitfalls are more extreme. From illegal downloading, to falling for scams, inviting viruses and sharing private information publically, the list grows with technology advances.

Solution: We developed two simple contracts for kids -one for home and one for school. Each point is meant to stimulate discussion. The typical response of "I didn’t know!" will no longer cut it.

For teachers we have also created a "Digital Citizenship I Have...Who Has? Game. This fast paced review covers:
 

Netiquette
Privacy
Copyright
Password Safety
Viruses
Cyber Bullying
Safety Tips
And More!

You can find this game at our Teachers Pay Teachers Store:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Digital-Citizenship-I-HaveWho-Has-Game-1197682

Result: Classroom tech time is much smoother! You are fulfilling a federal guideline for all districts that receive e-rates for internet, which is pretty much everyone, that teachers teach digital citizenship and at home you could prevent some serious problems by having this conversation.