DIGITAL CITIZENS: Whitko observes best practices on internet | The Post & Mail

"September 11 through 15th is not only Homecoming Week for Whitko Community Schools, it is also a celebration designed to launch an ongoing effort to teach students how to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions in the digital world" inform Staff Writer at The Post & Mail.

5th Grade students, Noah Robinson (front) and Addison Baxter (back) use their new Google Chromebooks for a research paper.
Photo: Staff Writer at The Post & Mail

In other words, how to safely navigate through apps, websites, and more using any device that connects them to the internet – the worldwide web.
 
Whitko provides these opportunities through student training and their digital citizenship program.
Additionally, Whitko’s elementary schools (Pierceton Elementary School and South Whitley ElementarySchool) have both achieved Common Sense Digital Certification status.
 
As a result of the ongoing efforts and training through the technology staff, as well as the teaching staff, students safely understand the impact of their digital footprint in a digital world.
 
The Indiana State Governor’s Office along with the Department of Education released a statement saying: “We recognize that our students are members of an increasingly connected digital society; and more than 750,000 of Indiana’s 1.1 million K-12 students use an internet-connected device in their classrooms while over 97 percent of Indiana schools have wireless internet deployed; and in our state’s digital school corporations, the majority of learning content is now digital and accessed through a variety of online learning platforms that transform the way our students explore, create, connect and learn…”
 
“I think we are off to a great start and I see more students and staff taking ownership of digital learning,” said Brittany Hamm, Technology Advocate for Whitko Community Schools.
 
A quick summary of some of the initiatives Whitko has coordinated throughout the corporation for Digital Citizenship Week include:

• All buildings have sent home a newsletter with each student. The newsletters describe student involvement with Common Sense Media including a parent tip sheet and family media agreement to give them an idea of the resources found on Whitko’s website. 
• At WHS the media specialist is developing a digital literacy curriculum to put in place for all freshmen and sophomores. Additionally, they are creating bookmarks for each student taking a Social Studies class. The bookmark includes 5 Ways to Detect Fake News. They will also be using the Common Sense Media Digital Bytes program with all students once a month during CATS Pride (a special time set aside for student meetings). 
• WMS homerooms are finishing up the annual training on devices and digital responsibilities through a document submitted in Google Classroom. They are also utilizing the Common Sense Media program paired with Nearpod for classes. WMS is taking another proactive step by creating monthly lessons for the staff to continue with students in homeroom.

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Source: The Post & Mail