{"id":6027,"date":"2017-02-03T10:20:53","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T15:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=6027"},"modified":"2017-02-16T08:17:51","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T13:17:51","slug":"students-encouraged-t-h-n-k-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/students-encouraged-t-h-n-k-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Students encouraged to T.H.I.N.K. before they post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Their mission was clear: A cyber crook has stolen the key to good digital citizenship and locked it away in these boxes. Work together with your group to unlock each puzzle and you will be rewarded.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Digital citizenship?<\/p>\n

The fifth-graders weren\u2019t entirely sure what that meant, but they were about to find out.<\/p>\n

Trantwood Elementary School counselor Lisa Lee had been looking for a lesson that would emphasize the monthly themes of kindness and anti-bullying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really wanted to talk about respectful social media presence and digital citizenship,\u201d she said before visiting Macy Henry\u2019s fifth-grade class to issue the cyber crook challenge.<\/p>\n

A lesson on digital citizenship, explained Lee, \u201cfits in perfect with our kindness challenge because the type of behavior you have online is also representative of who you are and how you treat people.\u201d<\/p>\n

How you treat people face-to-face is equally important, which is why Lee asked students to remind her of how to best work in groups before she turned them loose on the breakout box challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be a hog or a log,\u201d responded one student before clarifying, \u201cA hog is someone who takes over. A log just sits there and is not helping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another student said, \u201cIf we have conflict you try to work it out, and if you can\u2019t, then you can mix the ideas together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompromise,\u201d affirmed Lee. \u201cVery good; putting the ideas together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other students added: Be kind to each other. Be fair and share with others. Take turns.<\/em><\/p>\n

True to their own words, the fifth-graders worked together respectfully to solve tasks and open a series of locks standing between them and their prize in the toolbox.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Each group started by watching a video on an iPad about online activities. The answer to this question unlocked the first lock: How many minutes per week does the typical person spend online?<\/em><\/p>\n

Students twisted the four number spools on the lock to 3206 and removed the lock. They also remarked that 3,206 minutes is a lot of time.<\/p>\n

The answer for the next lock, a directional lock, was found by unscrambling words related to a digital citizenship poster they reviewed. Students rearranged select letters from the words safe, protect, balance, private, information<\/em> to spell \u201crespect\u201d and helped to crack the code for the second lock.<\/p>\n

For the final lock, students watched a video about cyberbullying and answered a true\/false quiz. Each group that answered the quiz correctly received its last clue with help from Lee and the black light flashlight she carried. The light Lee shined on the quiz paper highlighted four letters \u2013 S, O, P, T \u2013 that had to be rearranged to spell a word related to the day\u2019s lesson.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Students reviewed the letters to identify the winning word.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018STOP,\u2019\u201d said three girls who twisted the letters on the lock and spelled it out loud together. S-T-O-P.<\/p>\n

They would have to try again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about POTS?\u201d suggested one group member.<\/p>\n

Not the winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh! It\u2019s POST!\u201d said a student looking at the digital citizenship poster they received with their mission challenge.<\/p>\n

They spun the letters to P-O-S-T, removed the final lock and opened toolbox to find\u2026another <\/em>locked box and a bag of puzzle pieces.<\/p>\n

Lee promised each group that the puzzle was truly the last step.<\/p>\n

Group members huddled around their puzzle pieces, working quickly to reveal the final and most important message.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cIt spells \u2018THINK,\u2019\u201d one group exclaimed to Lee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does THINK stand for?\u201d Lee asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?\u201d one student read from the completed puzzle.<\/p>\n

With those magic words, Lee used a key hanging around her neck to unlock the box, which contained bookmarks with the T.H.I.N.K. acronym.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Students used their brains to think through clues of the breakout box activity, and now Lee wanted them to T.H.I.N.K. about their activities online.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bookmark reminds you to think before you speak and before you post,\u201d reflected one student in the closing discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d said Lee. \u201cSometimes we post out of anger or out of sadness or when our emotions are high, and later on we wish we could take it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut even if you delete something it doesn\u2019t always go away,\u201d Lee cautioned. \u201cYou have what\u2019s called a digital footprint. You leave it behind. Just like we leave a footprint in the sand, so be careful what you post.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Topolski got the message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned about being a digital citizen,\u201d she said, \u201cis that you have to be kind, show respect, fairness and think before you post things and think before you write comments. Being a cyberbully is really not necessary and it\u2019s mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her group member Joey Savino added, \u201cTreat others the way you want to be treated \u2013 the golden rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, being respectful online is important,\u201d stressed Lee, \u201cand remember, what you do at home, can that impact you at school?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d responded the fifth-graders.<\/p>\n

Lee shared a story of unnamed former students who mocked a classmate in a video they made at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t think they were doing anything wrong, and they sent it to someone. They didn\u2019t think that girl would ever see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl did see it, as did others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next day she came to school and guess what,\u201d said Lee. \u201cShe was pretty upset. Do you think she was able to learn that day?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the class responded quietly.<\/p>\n

When Lee asked the fifth-grader to guess what happened, they knew the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, they got in trouble,\u201d Lee affirmed, \u201ceven though it happened at home. They were being unkind and it affected a student, and she wasn\u2019t able to learn. So be careful what you do at home because it affects not only how people feel but it can affect your futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if the students themselves are subject to cyberbullying or see it happening, should they respond?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, get an adult,\u201d responded the class.<\/p>\n

The digital citizenship lessons learned by Trantwood fifth-graders are also the focus of the school division\u2019s awareness campaign Be Social. Be Smart. Be Safe. <\/em>The goal is to reinforce the important role everyone has in using technology and social media wisely and the value in maintaining a positive digital footprint.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

One of Henry\u2019s fifth-graders invoked advice from his father to sum up Lee\u2019s T.H.I.N.K. lesson for the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt reminds me of what my dad says a lot,\u201d said the student. \u201cEvery time before you do something mean to each other, he says to think before you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the division\u2019s Be Social. Be Smart. Be Safe. <\/em>awareness campaign, visit www.vbschools.com\/BeSocial.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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