Yesterday, I mentioned how a group of teachers at my school is working to develop a basic Technology Bill of Rights. In an effort to continue to make sure my students have a voice on the topic, I collectively brainstormed with all fuor classes yesterday around the idea.
First, we talked about the US Bill of Rights and what it means. Then, we talked about the technology available to them in our school and some ideas for increasing such opportunities in the future.
Next, we did our brainstorming for use of technology. Here is the list. You’ll notice that much of it revolves around taking care of the equipment so that everyone has equal access to it. If nothing else, our discussions reinforced in them the idea that being careful, and creative, can go hand in hand.
Obviously, this list is long and work will have to be done to winnow it down to some main elements as part of our larger discussions.
Norris School Technology Bill of Rights
- Be respectful of equipment
- Don’t change the settings (desktop, dock, etc)
- Don’t be impatient (if computer is slow)
- Put wires back in cart
- Use appropriate websites
- Make sure the laptops are plugged in when you are done
- Use two hands to carry equipment
- Make sure laptops are completely shut down before closing “the lid”
- Be mature with things you find on the Internet
- Don’t run with the computer
- Technology focus on the upper grades
- Don’t waste time (fooling around) on the computer
- Don’t delete “history” on browser
- Don’t look at (without permission) or delete files that are not yours
- Don’t print without permission
- Don’t buy anything on the Internet
- Don’t email from school
- Be grateful that we have technology at Norris
- Be serious, but also be creative and have fun
- Don’t have drinks or food when working computer
- Keep the Cart in order (ie, laptop to charging area)
- Don’t yank flashdrives/Mice/other out of USB plug
- Try to avoid touching the screen
- Don’t push and shove at the Cart
- Be respectful of computer neighbors/environment
- Try to save work on flashdrives
- Don’t bang on the keyboard
- Don’t take keys off the keyboard
- Don’t download without permission from teacher
- Be set up in a work space before you start working (no walking, standing, etc, while using laptops)
Peace (in the plan),
Kevin