Use of Technology at Maple Grove

We believe strongly in the use of technology at Maple Grove. Your student will have the opportunity to use technology in a variety of ways to support their learning. This includes using more traditional technology such as chromebooks and iPads, as well as new technologies such as green screens, ozobots, dash, dot and makey-makey! However, we do have some important rules in place to ensure a positive learning environment and to keep everyone safe. Please see below for our policy on the use of technology in our school.

ACCEPTABLE USE OF PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY AT MAPLE GROVE

We know that there are benefits and drawbacks to our connection to technology. Technology connects us with people around the world; it supports collaborative problem solving; it helps us to see the effects of our actions a world away; and it helps us to learn from each other. On the other hand, many studies show that it is addictive; it can create barriers between people as we reduce actual face time; and it makes it easy for us to say hurtful, thoughtless, or in-the-moment things that we instantly regret...but can’t take back.

At Maple Grove, we believe that the answer to these problems are education about digital citizenship, and the development of self-regulation and personal awareness. To this end, we have created very clear expectations about the use of personal devices here at Maple Grove for students, educators, and parents so that our students can focus on their academic growth.

GRADES FDK-2

Students in FDK-Grade 2 do not require personal electronic devices at school. With the high level of access to technology for our Primary students, and the early stages of their digital literacy, we respectfully request that all devices be left at home. If you have questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

GRADES 3-6

Students in Grades 3-5 do not require personal devices at school. Should you feel that your child requires a cell phone for before/after school, these devices should remain in their backpack throughout the day. If your child in Grades 3-6 has a personal chromebook/laptop, you may choose to allow them to bring this technology to school. All students in Grades 3-6 who bring a personal chromebook/laptop to school are expected to follow the guidelines below. If you have questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

GRADES 7-8

Students in Grades 7 and 8 do not require personal electronic devices at school. However, they may bring personal devices to school providing that they follow the guidelines below. If you have questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

GUIDELINES FOR PERSONAL USE OF DEVICES

Students shall have their devices (cell phones, chromebooks, laptops) turned off and in their backpacks at all times, unless given permission by their teacher to use the device in class to enhance their learning experience
Personal devices are only ever to be used for educational purposes, and may not be used at lunch time or at recess
Never, at any time, should a student take pictures, video, or audio recordings of students or staff during the school day unless prior approval has been set up as part of an assignment that is being supervised
Students will be expected to understand that personal devices brought to school are their own responsibility. Teachers and Administration will attempt to solve the problem of lost, broken, or stolen phones; however, replacement costs are the responsibility of the student who owns it
Students should not check personal messages during the day. They may check for messages from their parent/guardian(s) after the school bell rings at 3;35 at the end of the day.
We understand that many students do not have personal devices. We will ensure that all students have appropriate access to the technology needed in order to complete any assignments

PARENT SUPPORT

Parents, you can help us by supporting and modelling appropriate use of technology in order to encourage your child to focus on academics in school. Parents are requested to:

Refrain from texting your children throughout the day. Please call the office for emergency messages to be relayed.
If your child texts you during class time, please respond with, “Please speak to your teacher and ask to go to the office, talk to an adult there and use the office phones.”
Buy a calculator for your child to use in Math class
Make after school arrangements with your children in advance
Remind your child of the appropriate uses of technology and social media, while reviewing and monitoring their online activity outside of school hours
Encourage your child to keep their personal device secure in their pocket/backpack throughout the day
Counsel your child that devices brought to school are their responsibility. If items are lost, broken, or stolen, the school will try to help solve the problem, but in the end, the replacement cost rests with the student who owns it.

PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE

At Maple Grove we follow a progressive discipline model which encourages teaching and learning as the basis for changing behaviour. Consequences for not following expectations around the use of personal devices could include:

The teacher will direct that the device be put away
The teacher will engage the student in a Collaborative Problem Solving discussion regarding the use of technology
The teacher will email home to indicate that device use in the classroom is becoming a problem
The teacher will call home to indicate that device use in the classroom is becoming a problem
The teacher will recommend that the device not return to school for a period of time of 1 week, 2 weeks or a month

GENERAL POLICY ABOUT TECHNOLOGY USE FOR ALL STUDENTS

From the moment students enter our school, we will be building their digital citizenship skills. Teachers, administrators, and parents need to be involved in and responsible for helping our students to understand and be aware of the challenges of working with technology. To that end, all of us together will teach students to:

not engage in plagiarism or downloading illegal content
represent their online identity truthfully and only access account(s), information and systems for which they are authorized.
safeguard their passwords, account information, personal equipment and personal information from unauthorized users
not post, publish or knowingly download any inappropriate content (e.g., illegal, dishonest, offensive, swearing, racially offensive, sexual, threatening material or content that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person) in the form of text, video, images or music
not use any device to record audio or to take images or video of staff, students or any person during school hours (including nutrition breaks)
not engage in social texting or use of social media apps / websites during the school day to connect with peers and/or family using any device

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Check out our school board’s site - Technology and You.

THANK YOU

Thank you for your support in creating our expectations around technology, and we look forward to working with you in creating responsible digital citizens at our school.