It never ceases me the amount of technology that is utilized in our every day lives.
To think the first computer I ever saw didn't even have a monitor.
Or that when I left teaching to raise our family, emails were just being introduced to the world of communication.
We've come a long way.
Abbi's senior year and Jake's freshman year, the high school went to BYOD- bring your own device. Students were required to bring a laptop to school every day. That summer, we invested in three laptops. One for the each of them and one for Ben who was off to Oklahoma Baptist University. Last year, at Morrison Academy, Chrome books were introduced on a 1-to-1 basis in the middle school. This year, they have filtered down to our upper elementary. Next year, us lower elementary teachers may have the same opportunities using a tablet of some sort.
That's a lot of technology!
But, there has got to be some balance.
Thus, the creation of T.H.I.N.K.
This past week in the EMS side of the campus was our 2nd annual digital citizenship bootcamp.
Each day, a different letter was highlighted.
On Monday, I used photoshopped pictures to show students how easily information could be manipulated. Obviously, not everything on the internet is trustworthy! I think this is a lesson that many adults are still struggling with!
Tuesday was the letter H for helpful. Together we brainstormed a list of online sites and apps. My students were able to discern that some sites were helpful for communication, while others were useful for practicing or learning a new skill. Obviously, some websites are more helpful than others.
Wednesdays lesson is my favorite!
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| The front of my T.H.I.N.K. t-shirt which I wore every day this week! |
I is for inspiring which is a hard concept for not just children, but especially hard for those to whom English is a second language. I started the lesson with a deflated balloon. As is, it isn't very useful. But, it has the potential to be a great party decoration or part of a fun game. All the balloon needed was a little air. God created us all to do good things in our lives. Sometimes we just need some inspiration- something to spur us on to do good- just like the balloon just needs air to reach its full potential. Believe it or not, there are things on the internet that can achieve that goal.
At this point in the lesson, I always pull up my Facebook account and introduce them to my friend Amanda. Amanda is the founder of Psalm 139:Love. No one has used Facebook as well as Amanda to inspire others to reach out in love to those in desperate need. Her ministry is the hands and feet of Jesus to many communities in Haiti desperate for the most basic human needs: food, clean water, shelter.
Much to my disappointment, my airplay decided to go on vacation! Fortunately, we have a great tech staff who were able to do some quick repairs and got me back up and running by the next day.
The last two lessons of the week revolved around emails. Second semester the second graders are given their gmail ids and passwords. From that point on, I begin receiving lots and lots of emails!
Thursday was Necessary. The main point- don't send silly emails and messages.Use the internet for necessary communication. Students enjoyed going through a stack of my printed emails looking for unnecessary emails (created by me, of course).
Friday's lesson, while centered on the internet was much more encompassing. Kindness is important in all kinds of relationships and communication.
The week ended with a celebration chapel, which included ice cream!
Overall it was once again a good week. A tiring week, but well worth the effort.
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