CHVE Technology
Lately, many conversations are abound regarding cyber safety concerns with elementary students using GoogleDrive. Specifically, the sharing features of documents.
Google Drive affords classrooms to collaborate and build content anywhere. Students are also granted free access to sharing their work. We are a K-12 district where Google Drive is used sporadically from the Elementary level through High School. This potentially lends itself to some challenging issues:
We were working on a project that involved a sharing feature in Google Drive. One student pulled up her account and noticed in her gDrive a document she did not create (she was in the "shared with me" files). She opened the doc up and saw a paragraph written with a bunch of mumbo-jumbo phrases. At the very end was the word, F***
She was mortified (4th Grader). She felt awful, was a little embarrassed, and was quick to defend her innocence. I proceeded to console, and made sure she "deleted" the document (which doesn't really delete…but elementary kids don't know that). I proceeded to have a great chat with the class. We covered several points:
1. Just because you have the power to do so, should you (Google makes it incredibly easy to "share" docs, but is that always appropriate)? With great power comes great responsibility (No good preach should be without Spider Man lines). Kids don't realize that by sharing a document, they no longer have full control over that document…it's important to think carefully about what you choose to share.
Even if permissions are set to restrict editing, nothing can stop a kid from making a copy…I don't tell them that little nugget though.
2. Good news for the student: Anything created in the Drive is permanent and has a trail. If you are worried about being accused of something inappropriate, we can almost always figure out who created documents and when. We can even figure out down to the minute when an offensive word was written. In the case of the f-bomb, we discovered the recipient of this word was intended to be an older sibling at a Middle school. The older sibling had a friend who created this document. The friend thought he was sharing it with his buddy, but accidentally selected his buddy's younger sibling instead. I immediately let our principal know and she called the middle school right then. I handed her printed evidence and she went rolling. Because of the time-stamp we could help the middle-school counselor determine what period the student was in and therefore the teacher. Consequences were taken and parents were immediately notified and made aware of actions. I then shared this story with every 4th and 5th grader at our school. We didn't have a single incident for the rest of the year. I think it's so important for these issues to happen at the elementary level so that tragedy is avoided later; case in point (I shared this with every 4th-5th when it was relevant…takes about a month with our tech rotation):
A friend of mine had a daughter in High School who posted something she thought was silly on YouTube. Turns out it bordered on being racist. A college she applied to found her YouTube posting and denied her admission to that school. She was mortified, more embarrassed than anything else as she was an A student. The lesson: EVERYTHING YOU CREATE, CAN AND WILL BE FOUND. I am constantly asking them, is it worth not being accepted to a school or program you are excited about just because you thought something you posted would be hilarious? I also frequently remind them, if your parents were standing right behind you, would they be pleased with what you were doing? I let them know that everything they create here at this school will be found by potential programs they are interested in later.
This year we had another issue. Minor, but still…we use it as a great opportunity to discuss ramifications and the impact on the local community. I met with about 90 parents and discussed all of these events and all of it's surrounding issues. We preach loudly and often about how this is the time to learn about these issues so they don't later make a costly decision later. We have an amazing principal who is very proactive with parents and continues to preach this message. We have been very transparent. Whenever there is an issue, parents, kids, and teachers all know about it. Parents are very supportive. One of the keys to success in this building is that no student is ever sent to work on laptops independently. There is ALWAYS a teacher/adult checking for on-task behaviors. If kids know their decisions have ramifications, it makes a huge difference.
I've worked in several different types of schools ranging from affluent to high free & reduced lunch ratios. Regardless of the environment, the mentality is always the same: immediate consequences, transparency, communication to students and parents about the ramifications, and teacher attentiveness. At one school, I was fortunate enough to get an ex-elementary student who was then in middle school. She came back and talked to many of my tech groups about an incident she was involved in. She was part of group working on a tech project. The group faced a suspension hearing for decisions 1 group member made. It was so impactful, that as she talked you could hear a pin drop. The elementary students were amazed after listening to an all powerful middle-schooler. I will continue to find brave souls from middle and high schools interested in coming to talk to our elementary kiddos about ramifications they've experienced in light of being thoughtless with Technology.
Every year there is always an issue. Which is GOOD, elementary school is the time to explore. But it's important to remain vigilant in being loud and transparent. Kids feel it differently when someone they know has experienced a negative impact. The lesson becomes tangible, relevant.
I think the biggest mistake we can make as Elementary Educators is to take the easy road by simply denying access. This Is The Time to Work It Out. Later is too late. If we don't start now, we are performing a disservice. Yes, it's a more challenging road, and it can be uncomfortable, and for that matter, we are not paid to pursue it…but it's the right road to travel.
Most importantly, by keeping kids from the Drive, they miss out on amazing learning experiences. Kids have so much fun learning! They build collaboratively, learn to use the
side-bar chat box as a learning tool, and are never limited to where they can learn and be productive. The world is a playground, why not take advantage with proper guidance? Their going to get out there anyway, why not try to show them what to watch out for?
