Policy with Purpose: Refresher on #DigCitLA Resources

By Vanessa Monterosa, Ed.D.

October is an important month for learning in the digital age. Aside from Halloween festivities, October is also designated as Cyberbullying Awareness Month and encompasses Digital Citizenship Week (October 15-19). Both topics focus on ways to productively engage online to enhance the learning experience, support one another, and positively impact one’s community. Tackling these subjects can be quite spooky and scary, but L.A. Unified has developed policies to help you navigate these topics and conversations.

For the month of October, the Instructional Technology Initiative (ITI) invites you to revisit the following policies to support your Cyberbullying Awareness Month efforts and Digital Citizenship Week celebrations:

Responsible Use Policy (BUL-999.12): This policy was collaboratively revamped and revised by the Information Technology Division (ITD) and the Division of Instruction (DOI). Through its many iterations, the Responsible Use Policy (RUP) was also reviewed by students, teachers, and principals, incorporating their voices into the policy redesign to ensure its language was accessible by all. For this reason, the RUP is written in first-person statements and incorporates definitions of digital citizenship practices to help school leaders have productive conversations around digital citizenship.
Social Media Policy for Students (BUL-6399.1): This policy was first introduced in 2015 as a result of a Social Media Task Force that was convened by the Board of Education. The policy’s purpose is to shed light on the reality of students’ daily digital lives and how they might be leveraged for instructional purposes. While the utility of social media for learning remains a hot topic, the policy highlights potential opportunities to meet students where they are in their digital lives.
Social Media Policy for Employees (BUL-5688.2): This policy was revised in 2016 to incorporate instructional guidance on leveraging social media to support students in developing authentic digital footprints. Using social media as an instructional tool can support students learning as well as help prepare them to be college and career ready.

Building digital citizenship coherence across a large system remains a challenge for schools throughout the nation, but in order to develop a shared depth of understanding and purpose across our schools, LA Unified’s first step was to update and create district policies to serve as the foundation for digital citizenship efforts.

As more classrooms become outfitted with digital tools and resources, the conversation has extended beyond how to maintain devices to how to leverage them with a purpose. The District is committed to cultivating a culture of digital citizenship across the instructional program to help staff and students thrive in an increasingly digital world. For resources to celebrate Cyberbullying Awareness Month and Digital Citizenship Week, please visit the Instructional Technology Initiative’s website: https://www.lausd.org/digcit

Are you planning to celebrate Digital Citizenship Week October 14-18, 2019? If so, let us know about your #DigCitLA efforts at http://bit.ly/DigCitLAHighlights