Ipads in class? LAWN, Digital Citizenship and Ever-Greening

My oldest daughter came leaping through the door after her first day of school and placed her open agenda in my hands while pointing to a section titled, LAWN. She had a lovely little smile on her face as she grabbed my cell phone and said, "Mom you need to read that section, it means that we can bring cell phones and ipads to school and use them in class". I was a little confused and told her that she must have misunderstood the information. As I started to read about LAWN (Learner accessible wireless network) and this new term, Digital Citizenship, the confusion grew. I chatted with a few friends and teachers and realized that schools, teachers and parents each had their own interpretation of what LAWN meant.

As CAPSC Executive members we take turns attending CBE Trustee meetings; I was fortunate to attend the September 7th meeting at which, Brant Parker and Cathy Faber from Innovation and Learning Technology, presented on LAWN and Digital Citizenship. I left feeling encouraged because it is the first time that I am really seeing the results of Inspiring Education and Inspiring Action really impacting the way our kids learn. The use of digital devices in our schools is working toward the CBE Ends and the Inspiring Education vision of the Educated Albertan 20 years from now. Out of Inspiring Education Albertans agree that the Educated Albertan will be; an engaged learner; an ethical citizen and will have an entrepreneurial Spirit. I think most of us agree that the use of Digital Devices is something that our children (and hesitantly for some of us) must be able to use in our learning and our work. In fact Mr.Parker said that 96% of future learning requires some form of digital devices.

The problem is of course in HOW we implement this new way of learning. There is a lot of confusion and some genuine concerns from parents, staff, Trustees and students.

Mr.Parker explained that the first concern is of course safety and that teachers must help students learn HOW to conduct themselves appropriately both at school and at home when using digital technologies. There are on-line modules that teacher can access for training and materials that can be used for Professional Development Days. There is already a system of 'content filtering' in place which allows for 4 levels of access, 1 being very restrictive and the 4th being very open. This would apply to any wireless device used in the school both personal and CBE devices. At this point the Principal determines which level is appropriate for their school.

There are references to 'Ever-greening' and possibly moving to a system where instead of just replacing current desktops we replace them with a digital device that students can take home.

Concerns, questions? Join us at the September 15th CAPSC meeting where Mr.Parker will present information on LAWN and Digital Citizenship and answer your questions. He is genuinely interested in feedback from parents. Don't miss this opportunity!

For more information on Digital Citizenship visit, http://www.innovativelearning.ca

Posted by: Eryn Kelly (CAPSC Executive Member)