As part of my district's technology classes, we use a site called Learning.com to complete several internet and technology safety lessons with the students. These lessons cover things such as text and cell phone safety, identify theft, and cyber bullying. This technology curriculum is a requirement for every grade level within our district.
My classes have finished many of the online lessons involved with this course, and this past week we were working on one of the class discussion lessons that does not require the internet or computers. Normally these class discussion lessons are dull and the students lose interest in just talking about texting safety. To help alleviate this monotony, I created an awareness week poster assignment that students can create to teach other grades about texting safety. The first day of the lesson, however, is simply going through lists of safety guidelines and precautionary measures to take. I have always thought this first part seemed a little dull, despite it's necessity. In the middle of this first lesson, one of the students stopped me.
"Wow, Miss Kopec, you're making this a lot of fun!" he said. At first I thought he was being sarcastic, which was a surprise, as sarcasm goes over many of my students' heads.
"Really? What makes this so much fun?" I asked.
"Yeah, it is. I don't know. You're just making it fun."
Wow. He couldn't explain exactly why this lesson was so much fun, but he very much meant it when he said it. It made me feel good to know that I succeeded in making a potentially boring lesson more interesting for the students. I thought about this a lot the rest of that day, and since. We were talking about cell phones, texting, and all the different apps one could have. I think they liked it because it was something they interact with every day. They wanted to talk about what they knew, and they already knew a lot. They wanted to share with me experiences they had with scams or fake texts that they had handled well. Sharing these real-world experiences and lessons was what made it fun for them. It had a deep meaning to them.
My classes have finished many of the online lessons involved with this course, and this past week we were working on one of the class discussion lessons that does not require the internet or computers. Normally these class discussion lessons are dull and the students lose interest in just talking about texting safety. To help alleviate this monotony, I created an awareness week poster assignment that students can create to teach other grades about texting safety. The first day of the lesson, however, is simply going through lists of safety guidelines and precautionary measures to take. I have always thought this first part seemed a little dull, despite it's necessity. In the middle of this first lesson, one of the students stopped me.
"Wow, Miss Kopec, you're making this a lot of fun!" he said. At first I thought he was being sarcastic, which was a surprise, as sarcasm goes over many of my students' heads.
"Really? What makes this so much fun?" I asked.
"Yeah, it is. I don't know. You're just making it fun."
Wow. He couldn't explain exactly why this lesson was so much fun, but he very much meant it when he said it. It made me feel good to know that I succeeded in making a potentially boring lesson more interesting for the students. I thought about this a lot the rest of that day, and since. We were talking about cell phones, texting, and all the different apps one could have. I think they liked it because it was something they interact with every day. They wanted to talk about what they knew, and they already knew a lot. They wanted to share with me experiences they had with scams or fake texts that they had handled well. Sharing these real-world experiences and lessons was what made it fun for them. It had a deep meaning to them.
This is an issue I've been thinking a lot about it - and I'm glad you're able to find ways to make it fun, useful, and relevant. That's the heart of it all, isn't it? Love those precious class moments - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love expanding students' minds. For my class the similar conversation has them all counting down for the day they are 13 and can legally be using those apps!
ReplyDeleteAll that can be boring, but it's so important to talk about with students! Your lesson was relevant to them and they had some background knowledge to build upon. I'm glad the lesson was a success!
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