Set Up for Success: Elementary Edition

September in an elementary classroom is a whirlwind to welcome students, adjust to a physical classroom, build community, teach and review procedures and protocols, distribute technology and this year, complete new assessments (physical and digital). Teachers and students have accomplished so much in just a month! Way to go! For the month of October, some teachers have began to wrap their heads around procedures for using laptops/computers for more than just assessment pieces. Creating and practicing procedures for laptop/computer care and digital citizenship will aid in an effective and appropriate use of technology for students.

Digital Citizenship

Each year we encourage teachers to spend time teaching the important aspects of digital citizenship. With students becoming more and more savvy, this year is no exception. Common sense media is a wealth of resources when it comes to digital citizenship pre-made lessons. They have interactive lessons, videos, and activities for all grade levels covering topics such as privacy and security, media balance, communication, cyberbullying and so much more. Many of these lessons could be a quick extension to introducing procedures in the classroom and using laptops outside of assessments for the first time. For intermediate students, there are even lessons surrounding copyright and reading news online that could be use later in the year when researching for writing begins. Check out the lessons CLICK HERE.

Laptop Procedures

Procedures for laptop care, retrieving laptops, and properly shutting down are essential as we use district laptops in a physical setting for whole group, small group or rotations. Consider having a procedures poster with short words, phrases and images for K-1 and even 2^nd grade. Walk students through each step of the procedure and practice daily/weekly. Grade 3-5 would also benefit from having a procedures poster and practice as well, these posters could be more in depth and a little wordier.  

Tip: For K-2, create log in cards that have their username and password on the front and Clever badge on the back that are easily accessible.

For 3-5, log in cards with Clever log in and Office 365 (extra @issaquah.wednet.edu piece on the username) or any other app log in/class code (separate from Clever) would be helpful for students.

If using laptop carts or classroom devices, assign students a computer to use each time for smooth log in process.  

For posters featured in this article, use this link to find Christin Bird’s Ed Tech Canva>select 3 dots ….> Make a copy, to use or adjust for the needs of your classroom.

Computer Basics

Last year, students walked away with a wealth of knowledge in a remote setting. However, those skills and knowledge may not always be within your classroom or the district’s expectations. It is a good idea to cover the basics when students are in person such as keyboarding skills (two hands), right and left mouse click, how to save documents, even down to how to appropriately use certain platforms such as Seesaw, Brainpop, Office 365, or Adobe Spark. Depending on the need of your classroom (consider-age, maturity, etc.) you don’t need to spend a whole lesson teaching these smaller things, they could be little tips or reminders as you work on computers weekly. You might even keep a “Tips and Tricks for Tech” poster in which you post sticky notes with those reminders.

For kindergarten teachers and students, like many things in the kindergarten classroom, using a computer/laptop/touch screen device properly may be a new concept. It is important to to teach even our youngest learners how to properly care for devices and how to use them correctly. iReady created some great Digital readiness lessons that you can use with your students. Some of the lessons even come with an interactive piece that students can practice their skills. Check out the lessons HERE.

We continue to be so impressed with student and teacher flexibility and willingness to continue to move forward with skills. Keep in mind as you are thinking about Digital Citizenship, Procedures, and Digital Readiness (Computer Basics) that your Ed Tech TOSAs are here to help. We would love to formulate lessons with you, co-pilot, implement and practice with you and your students. Not sure who your Ed Tech TOSA is CLICK HERE.

Good Luck with your Successful Set ups!