Thanks for starting this conversation. I stepped into a new role this summer at our school, and with that, there likely will be some changes in the coming months and 25-26 school year. Some of which might make me the "bad guy" on campus, especially for our older girls. (We're an all girls school K-12, coed for our pre-school.)
For our our students in grades 5-6 we have 1:1 Chromebooks and all social media sites have been blocked. However, those ages aren't a problem.
Currently our students in grades 7-12 sign in via a firewall on their own devices but we don't have enough blocks in place. We are looking to revamp the firewall/access to limit usage greatly while girls are on campus. We aren't there yet but that's our plan. For example, we're looking at GoGuardian and appreciate the levels of security and limits that can be put in place.
All girls are required to check-in their phones at the start of the day, except seniors. During study hall, there are "rules" and expectations. If students don't do either of these things, we assign infractions through Blackbaud's LMS. We have various consequences once students meet infraction thresholds of 5, 7 or 9 points, such as Friday morning "detention", a meeting with the director and parents, etc.
We find that even without phones, the girls can find a way to chat via other tools online. And without stronger restrictions in place for the BYOD, the girls will go to sites that we don't want them to be on during the school day. Therefore, we're hoping to reign this in. In addition, we will enhance our online assessment tools to include Digiexam.
Our teachers are frustrated, and I hear them. While I might be very old school, I want the classroom to be like it was when I was growing up. You're there to listen to the teacher, and if it's study hall, work on your school work, it's not a time to roam the internet like the wild west. Obviously there will be exceptions.
In short, we don't have it fully figured out but are in the process of making changes. I also look forward to hear how other schools are addressing this.
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Betsy Sidebottom
Director of Information Services
Ashley Hall School
Charleston, SC
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2024 11:25 AM
From: William Stites
Subject: Middle School Social Media use, distraction, and network filtering
Please forgive the shotgun of questions around this topic, as I am trying to get a sense of things to help guide our conversations.
For those with Middle Schools, what are your policies on social media, gaming, and other "distractions" in your school?
What do you allow or filter?
How much of what you do or don't allow is guided by your classroom management or open work period guidelines?
Is this seen as a problem for technology to solve or a shared responsibility between teachers, administration, and technology?
How are infractions treated?
What other conversations are you having in this area?
#General
#TeachingandLearning
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William Stites
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair NJ
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