W.O. Mitchell School and the CBE are committed to helping students develop strong digital citizenship, with an emphasis on both safety and ethical behaviour. This is a key component of helping CBE students leverage digital technologies available to reach their full potential as a student within the CBE and beyond. Students and parents are required to sign an ‘Acceptable Use of Technology’ agreement which outlines our digital citizenship strategy in greater detail.
Digital Citizenship at W.O. Mitchell School
Teachers at W.O. Mitchell School will have ongoing conversations with students, the rights and responsibilities they have around Digital Citizenship and the use of technology at the school throughout the year.
Acceptable Use Policy
At W.O. Mitchell School, students will use digital technology for learning.
This means that we use technology to:
- Find and think about information
- Share our ideas and understandings
- Learn from others
- Construct personal knowledge and meaning
- Collaborate during inquiry
Behaviours such as the following are not acceptable:
- Playing games that are not teacher approved
- Visiting online sites that are not teacher approved (such as gaming sites, violent sites, and sites that are intended for adults only)
- Visiting chat sites that are not teacher directed
- Downloading software of restricted files
- Sharing personal information about oneself or others without teacher consent
- Intentionally damaging digital equipment of the network
- Using cellphones during instructional hours
At W.O. Mitchell School, students will use digital technology to communicate with others in a kind and respectful way. This means that:
- We use good manners when interacting with each other online
- We respect each other’s privacy and the work of others
Behaviours such as the following are not acceptable:
- Using inappropriate and/or obscene language when communicating online
- Harassing, insulting, threatening or attacking others
- Sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures
- Taking photos without teacher supervision and approval
- Taking someone’s photo and / or posting someone’s photo online without their permission
- Using someone else’s folders, work, or files and allowing others to use your folders, work, or files
- Destroying other people’s work
W.O. Mitchell School Digital Citizenship Plan
This plan is one component of the Calgary Board of Education and W.O. Mitchell School Digital Citizenship Process, ensuring our school’s compliance with the CBE Administrative Regulation 1062 – Responsible Use of Electronic Information Resources.
- Student Safety
Outcomes for student online safety include:
At W.O. Mitchell School, the following provisions ensure student safety:
- W.O. Mitchell School has developed and communicated the Acceptable Use Policy to all students.
- Teachers/staff will teach and periodically review, W.O. Mitchell School’s Acceptable Use Policy with students.
- Teachers will provide direct instruction on identifying appropriate and useful information when using the internet as well as what to do if a student should come across something deemed inappropriate.
- Classroom teachers will focus on on-line safety procedures by modelling effective practices for students.
- Teachers/staff will supervise students while they are using any computer or device that accesses the internet. Students accessing the internet will know that laptop and computer screens must be in full view of the supervising staff member.
Consequences for inappropriate use are determined on a case by case basis. School administration, IT and parents will be in consultation regarding consequences of student inappropriate behaviour. The consequences have been communicated to students and parents and are as follows:
- 1st Incident - The student will be reminded of the Acceptable Use Policy and how his or her behaviour was not appropriate. Removal of digital technology privileges for the remainder of the day or the next day. Parents will be informed of the incident of inappropriate use by the classroom teacher and teachers will notify administration. Teachers will keep a record of the incident.
- 2nd Incident - Removal of digital technology privileges for a week. Parents will be informed of the incident of inappropriate use by the classroom teacher and teachers will notify administration. The Acceptable Use Policy will be reviewed and the student will make an action plan on how they will attend to ensuring that he or she will follow the guidelines of the policy.
- 3rd Incident - Student will lose open access and will be fully monitored when using digital technology. Parents and the student will be involved in creating a plan for ensuring appropriate use at school.
2. Student-Owned Devices
It is important to note that students require the direct permission from their parents, as well as their teachers, when bringing electronics to school for educational purposes. For security purposes we ask that students give the electronic device(s) to the teacher upon entering the classroom at the start of the day. The teacher will keep the device in a safe place and give it to the student when required. It is the student’s responsibility to ask for the device back at the end of the school day.
Students will not be permitted to use digital devices for entertainment during school hours, including lunch and recess breaks. As with any personal belonging that a student brings to school, the school cannot be responsible for electronic devices that are lost, stolen or damaged.
No photos, videos or audio recordings are to be made at school without the express consent of the classroom teacher.
3. Student Learning
At W.O. Mitchell School there is not set computer time in a lab as teachers and students access technology when and where it is needed with our wireless network. Students will have access to computers through logging into their account and will not have an assigned computer. The expanding infusion of technology into the instructional day truly enhances the learning environment within W.O. Mitchell School. Students are much more engaged and learning is much more personalized when technology is accessed when it is needed and when it connects to learning. The term “digital citizenship” is used to define the important elements of the use of technology by everyone. As a CBE school, W.O. Mitchell School is committed to the education and modeling of this practice for all users.
4. Staff Professional Development
Staff Professional Development Outcomes include:
- Teachers are aware of issues relating to student online safety;
- Teachers are aware of the potential impact of digital technologies on student learning;
- Teachers are aware of professional development resources related to digital citizenship.
- Teachers are aware of the Three-Year Education Plan
At W.O. Mitchell School the following provisions ensure staff professional development outcomes:
- Establishment of a collaborative learning environment where all participants, teachers and students have the opportunity to act as learners and teachers.
- Ongoing formal and informal sessions that educate staff on the use of specified technology in the classroom through new teacher meetings and grade group meetings to support teachers in planning and designing assessment tasks. There is a common team planning time for teachers to collaborate and plan. Collaboration with learning specialists from the CBE will embed technology within the learning and inquiries teacher teams are developing.
- Teachers will work closely to build their capacity around infusing technology in a way that enhances an understanding of digital citizenship for students.
- Participation in external professional development opportunities.
- Participation in internal professional development opportunities, such as lunch and learn sessions about a variety of technology topics. Subject coordinators will send out emails and provide updates regarding new professional development opportunities.
- Teachers will be a part of the process for assessing the potential impact of digital technologies on student learning.
- Teachers will work collaboratively to build their capacity around infusing technology in a way that enhances an understanding of digital citizenship for students.
5. Parent Communication
Outcomes relating to Parent Communication include:
The school has communicated information about the school's digital citizenship plan to parents through formal letters explaining the Digital Citizenship Acceptable Usage and Student-owned devices.
The school has informed parents of issues relating to student-owned devices in school including:
- Staff and student rights and responsibilities;
- Student readiness criteria;
- Liability in case of theft, damage, or loss;
- Impact on student learning.
At W. O. Mitchell School, the following provisions ensure effective parent communication:
- Parents have been sent a letter outlining the regulations around students using their own devices in the school, including that the school is not responsible for any damage or loss.
- Parent information will be provided on the W.O. Mitchell website listing useful websites regarding digital citizenship.
- Ongoing communication with teachers regarding learning opportunities will be sent via teacher agenda notifications, email and parent letters.
