MacBookAir student laptops: |
Students' personal devices: |
School-owned technology
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Smartphones, iPods, tablets, etc.
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Technology has become an important learning tool in our schools. Teachers and students rely on many sites and online programs to support learning on Team Bradbury. However, we must remember that it is one only one tool of many.
Info Specifically for Parents: Each AMS student is assigned a MacBookAir at the beginning of their 7th grade year. Parents are required to attend an informational meeting at the beginning of each school year. The schedule will be on the AMS website. Parents are highly encouraged to purchase insurance for the laptop for $__ per year. Parents who opt out of purchasing laptop insurance are financially liable for damage to their child's assigned laptop. A replacement laptop in the event of a total loss costs $899 without insurance. Additional insurance information can be found here. Tech Support: There is a technology support staff person at AMS available on most school days to attend to the occasional glitches and other technical difficulties. Laptop Use: Students will learn to use sites like Google Classroom, Moby Max, Khan Academy, Padlet, Powerschool, and Empower in their classes. Responsible use of laptops is required of all students. MLTI Student Rules can be found here. In addition, Bradbury students are discouraged from downloading games without academically appropriate educational value on their school laptops. Internet Safety: There are district-wide protections in place that prohibit students from visiting websites that have adult content. While using the Auburn network, students are not able to access social media sites using school laptops. Of course, with new information being added online every day, there is some risk that those protections may not always catch everything we'd like them to. For that reason it's important for parents and teachers to be vigilant about monitoring students' internet usage and online safety. Regular conversations about internet and computer usage are encouraged. Using The Laptop At Home: Parents may also give permission for their student to take the laptop home in the evenings. A student's permission to take their laptop home may be revoked at any time by either parents or teachers. When at home, it is recommended that parents require students to use laptops in shared areas of the home such as the living room or kitchen, rather than in the child's bedroom. Using The Laptop In The Summer: All laptops, chargers, and cords will be collected in June and stored on school property over the summer. Students who participate in summer math or other academic programs over the summer may keep their MLTI laptops over the summer. |
We will be a "phone-free" team in 2019-20.
By implementing a "phone-free" policy on Team Bradbury, we hope to:
Cell Phone SOP (procedures):
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Please read below for more information about why we've made this choice for our team:
It's all boils down to safety and wellness. Students at this age need boundaries and guidance, even when they would rather not have them. We want every child to grow up happy and healthy, and it's only logical to do what we can to support that outcome. We also aim to reduce the likelihood that cyberbullying and unnecessary use of technology may take place on our team during school hours.
Upon entering middle school, we see that many of our students have their own cell phones. Many students have Instagram and Snapchat accounts, among others, and access those sites during school hours. Some students can become visibly anxious when their cell phone is out of arm's reach. Some students spend a considerable amount of class time texting friends, parents, and/or relatives.
Research tells us that our students are not yet developmentally ready for social media. Most social media sites have recommend or require that users are age 13 or older. Even so, many of our students come to us with social media accounts. We also know that some students have figured out how to circumvent the school department's firewall with a smart phone, so it's possible for students to gain access to websites or apps that are not approved for use by the school department.
These trends are concerning to us as educators on Team Bradbury.
We recognize that other AMS teams may have different policies regarding technology use on team. However, as a Bradbury teaching team, we feel that this approach is best for our students and we have obtained the support of AMS administrators.