Digital Citizenship

Our Definition Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical (ISTE 1.2).  

Digital Citizenship: Responsible Use of Technology

We are responsible users of technology.

Acceptable Use Policy
As stated in our student handbook, students in Eastern Carver County Schools agree to follow our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) when using technology. The AUP tells us about proper technology and internet use, as well as guidance on digital citizenship. Our AUP helps our students use Chromebooks and the internet responsibly. Students, teachers, and parents can work together to make sure we are following the guidelines of the Acceptable Use Policy.

Think Before You Post
As part of our digital citizenship curriculum, we encourage our students to always ‘Think Before You Post’ using these questions: Is it TRUE? Is it HELPFUL? Is it INSPIRING? Is it NECESSARY? Is it KIND? Reviewing these questions before posting helps make good decisions while using social media and other technology tools.

Parents Tips for Balancing Media Lives
One of the best things parents can do at home is to help their kids balance their media lives. With so many devices, kids can easily access shows, games, and information and it is easy to overdo it. Families can be mindful of media and tech by following a few simple practices:

  • Establish clear family rules and model the behavior you want to see
  • Create screen-free times and zones
  • Try parental controls (K-5) / Explore built-in digital well-being tools (6-12)
  • Watch and play together (K-5) / Understand how tech companies make money (6-12)
  • Help kids identify healthy behaviors
Common Sense has six core Digital Citizenship Skills: media balance and well-being; privacy and security; relationships and communication; news and media literacy; digital footprint and identity; cyberbullying, digital drama, and hate speech

These core values are part of the skills students need in order to be be good Digital Citizens. We use grade level appropriate lessons around these six core values to help students learn about Digital Citizenship.

Our Acceptable Use Policy provides guidance on proper technology use in the classroom.  

Ways ECCS Keeps Students Safe

  • Digital Citizenship Lessons: Teach students how to be good Digital Citizens using grade level appropriate lessons around our Acceptable Use Policy and the 6 Common Sense core values.
  • Securly: Monitors/Filters internet traffic on district-provided Chromebooks regardless of where the device connects to the internet.
  • Google SafeSearch: Enabled on district-provided Chromebooks to protect students from seeing inappropriate Google search results. 
  • YouTube Restricted Mode: Access to YouTube is restricted on district-provided Chromebooks. Restricted mode is on for students in order to protect students from seeing inappropriate content. 
  • Student District Google Accounts: Blocked from sending/receiving any external email and sharing of Google files within Grades K-8.
  • Ensuring Online Data Privacy: Following guidance from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and Minnesota State Law (HF 2354) ECCS reviews digital/online tools that support student learning and ensure that your child's data privacy is protected.  The digital/online tools inventory is posted at this link.

 

 

A roadmap for using generative AI is presented with three sections: %22Stop, Do Not Proceed%22 in red, %22Travel with Caution%22 in yellow, and %22Travel Wisely%22 in green.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly evolves and becomes more embedded into technology tools we use daily, ECCS is committed to focusing on responsible and ethical use.  Therefore, we have developed staff and student roadmaps to provide guidance as we continue to explore leveraging AI to support teaching and learning.   

 

 

Tips for Parents

One of the best things that parents can do at home is to help their kids balance their media lives.  With so many devices that kids can easily access shows, games, and information it is easy to overdo it.  Families can keep media and tech use in check by following a few simple practices:

  1. Create screen-free times and zones.
  2. Try parental controls (K-5) / Explore built-in digital well-being tools (6-12).
  3. Establish clear family rules and model the behavior you want to see.
  4. Watch and play together (K-5) / Understand how tech companies make money (6-12).
  5. Help kids identify healthy behaviors.

Common Sense Family Tips: K-5 Family Tips | 6-12 Family Tips