Fair Use Contract Creation

Over the last few weeks, in groups, we worked to design a fair use technology contract and letter home as if we were beginning a 1:1 initiative within a hypothetical school. A copy of the letter and contract can be viewed here. When creating the fair use contract, we pulled on our individual experiences with 1:1initiatives and collectively believed that stressing the importance of digital safety of students was our number one priority. We were also concerned with possible classroom disruptions, so we included, as our first bullet, that students will only use the device when appropriate. After designing the contract we wrote a letter addressed to parents to explain the reason for the initiative and acknowledge potential concerns that parents may have. We also offered contact information for the Director of Technology, who welcomes any questions or concerns parents may have.

The activity of creating the fair use contract and letter to parents demonstrates Performance Criterion 10.1: "Candidates are prepared to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure student learning," as well as both Creative and Integrative Educators and Collaborative and Knowledgeable Instructional Leaders which are both pillars of the Saint Michael's College Mission Statement. All three of these descriptors are centered around collaborating with colleagues, students, and families to ensure and enhance the learning of students. As our letter states, students will gain access to a variety of Databases and learning resources to support student knowledge and understanding. In creating the contract and letter, we were able to learn how to better work with colleagues and mold our individual ideas to create a product that we all agree upon and feel confident in sharing it with our hypothetical (and possibly future) students and parents. Naturally, the student and parent collaboration would come in the form of working together to ensure proper use of technology by students as well as answering any and all questions from parents and students about the technology.

This activity as well as my personal experiences have created some anxiety for me about my future in relation to teaching with technology. My main concerns are student use and abuse, as in students using inappropriate sites and not caring for the device as is expected of them. However, I believe my anxiety can be quieted through professional development related to the technology, for example, how to use it effectively, appropriate applications to use with students, and knowing more about what students enjoy about the technology (both in relation to learning at school and personal free time) so I can best implement the technology in an engaging and helpful way for students. I believe that being  involved in the 1:1 initiative at Saint Michael's College, which began in the Spring of 2016, will be helpful in building  my confidence in using technology in the classroom because we have the opportunity to explore the devices now in many low stakes, and some high stakes, opportunities where, as future educators, we are all aware of the learning curve that comes with anything new and are quick to offer a helping hand to a struggling colleague.