Connect[ED] Teacher Training Module

Helping students learn how to make safe and healthy

choices online!

What is Connect[ED]?

• Web- based resource (also available as a DVD),www.reallifeonline.ca, Ophea’ s HPE Curriculum Resource Support

• Video episodes, for each of Grades 4,5 and 6, combining animation with exciting and informative live action

• Teacher lesson plans directly linked to HPE and Media Literacy

• Take home lessons for students to complete with their parent/guardian

• Teacher resource section• Parent resource section• Additional online tools to support learning – child/parent

Internet safety agreement, teacher training tools, parent module

Connect[ED] Curriculum Connections

Health and Physical Education (H&PE)• Connect[ED] is linked to Personal Safety and Injury

Prevention, which helps students recognize, assess and control potentially dangerous situations in order to reduce risk of injury.

• Connect[ED] reinforces living skills such as:― self-advocacy ― conflict resolution ― anger management ― decision making ― assertiveness ― resistance ― refusal techniques

Connect[ED] Curriculum Connections

Language – Media Literacy• To develop media literacy skills, students need

opportunities to view, analyze and discuss a wide variety of media texts. Connect[ED] provides allows students to reflect on the messages portrayed in the videos and examine whether they are a useful form of media to deliver credible information about Internet Safety.

Character Education• Connect[ED] integrates character education through an

understanding and application of online ethics. One of the key areas of focus of this resource is on “netiquette” - communicating respectfully online.

Goals of Connect[ED]

• Educate students about Internet safety and cyber ethics• Facilitate the development of critical and creative thinking

skills, such as problem solving and decision making skills, that will enable students to make informed decisions online in a way that replicates the decisions they would make in real life

• Support educators as they strengthen their knowledge and comfort level in teaching Internet safety

• Support parents as they increase their knowledge of, and comfort with, the online world and begin to engage in productive discussions with their children about appropriate online behavior

• Support the sharing of Internet safety information between parents, students, educators and other community members

Guiding Principles of Connect[ED]

• Build critical and creative thinking skills• Effectively engage students• Focus on current technologies• Employ a cross-curricular approach to learning –

connections to HPE, Language (Media Literacy), character education, Catholic graduate expectations and Fully Alive

• Available in a variety of formats• Focus on a Healthy School approach• Focus on a harm reduction approach• Highlight additional resources and community partners• Support teachers and parents

Exploring Connect[ED] – www.reallilfeonline.ca

Connect[ED] Homepage

Before You Get Started

Grade Specific Pages

Sample Lesson Plan

Teacher Resource Section

Teacher Training Tools

Parent/Guardian Section

Internet Safety Agreements

About Section

Using the Connect[ED] DVD

Connect[ED] DVD - Cautionary Note

Connect[ED] DVD – Main Menu

Connect[ED] DVD - Before You Get Started Section – Page 1

Connect[ED] DVD - Before You Get Started Section – Page 2

Connect[ED] DVD - Before You Get Started Section – Page 3

Connect[ED] DVD - Before You Get Started Section – Page 4

Connect[ED] DVD - Grade 4: Being Safer and Smarter Online

Connect[ED] DVD - Teacher Resources

Connect[ED] DVD – Grade 5: Your Life Online – Making Good Decisions

Connect[ED] DVD – Grade 6: Creating a Safer Online Community

Implementation of Connect[ED] - Equipment Choice• DVD Player/ TV or computer with DVD player and LCD

projectorOr

• Computer with Internet• www.reallifeonline.ca

Implementation of Connect[ED] - Parent/Guardian Letter

• The parent/guardian letter helps to generate dialogue between child, parent and teacher, and should be sent home one to two weeks prior to the unit.

• School letter head should be added• Consider requesting parent or guardian signature to

ensure that the letter is received and read

Implementation of Connect[ED] - Grade 4 – Sample Letter to Parent/GuardianDear Parent or Guardian:

In the near future, we will begin the Connect[ED] unit (available online at www.reallifeonline.ca) on Internet Safety that addresses the Healthy Living strand of the Health and Physical Education curriculum. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the topics that will be covered as well as the Parent Section of the resource.

This unit will cover the following curriculum expectations:• Identify risks associated with communications technology (e.g., Internet and cell phone use, including participation in gamingand online communities and the use of text messaging), and describe precautions and strategies for using these technologiessafely• Describe various types of bullying and abuse (e.g., social, physical, verbal), including bullying using technology (e.g., viae-mail, text messaging, chat rooms, websites), and identify appropriate ways of responding• Communicate effectively, using verbal or non-verbal means, as appropriate, and interpret information accurately as theyacquire knowledge and skills related to healthy living• Use a range of critical and creative thinking processes to assist them in making connections, planning and setting goals,analyzing and solving problems, making decisions, and evaluating their choices in connection with learning in health

It is our belief that you as parents/guardians play the most significant role in the formation of your child’s values and behaviours. Recognizing the challenge that parents face becoming familiar with, and keeping up with the ever-changing world of technology, the website, www.reallifeonline.ca, includes a Parent Section. This section includes age specific information, chat lingo, suggestions for opening a dialogue with your child, how to recognize safe and reliable websites as well as a directory on where to go for more information on related topics. A parent lesson is also included in this unit which will offer the opportunity to open up a dialogue with your child about important issues related to the Internet that were discussed in class and strategies you may want to consider while using the Internet at home. Watch for your child to bring this home in the coming weeks.

Should you have any concerns, or if you would like further information about this unit, I can be reached at:____________________

Implementation of Connect[ED] - Possible Disclosure and Bill 212

• During the presentation of Connect[ED], students may disclose personal experiences of an abusive nature related to cyberbullying or other potentially dangerous online experiences. 

• New legislation, Bill 212 and Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act, recognizes cyberbullying as an offense for which a student can be suspended or expelled and requires educators to report incidents.

• The Bill further extends the right of educators to discipline students for actions occurring off school property and outside school activities, where the incident has an impact on school climate.

Implementation of Connect[ED] - Connections for Safe School Team Bill 144

SCHOOL-LEVEL PLANS • School boards must require that all their schools revise their existing school-

wide bullying prevention and intervention plans as part of their School Improvement Plan. Components of these plans must include the following: ― the definition of bullying ― prevention and awareness-raising strategies ― intervention and support strategies, including plans to protect victims ― reporting requirements ― training strategies for members of the school community ― communication and outreach strategies ― monitoring and review processes

SAFE SCHOOLS TEAMS • Each school must have in place a safe schools team responsible for school safety that is

composed of at least one student (where appropriate), one parent, one teacher, one non-teaching staff member, one community partner, and the principal. An existing school committee (e.g., the healthy schools committee) can assume this role. The chair of this team must be a staff member.

Let’s Take a Look!

Connect[ED] Lesson Format

• Learning Goals• Facility and Materials• Minds On• Action with Assessment• Consolidation with Assessment• Ideas for Extension• Notes to Teacher• Additional Resources and

Websites

Sample Lesson Learning Goals

By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

• describe appropriate netiquette and Internet safety

behaviour and will describe different types of bullying with

a focus on cyberbullying.

• apply a decision making model and use problem solving

skills to address risks and dangers to their own personal

safety and the safety of others in a variety of on-line

situations.

Sample Key Questions

• Am I able to describe appropriate behaviour online and recognize when cyberbullying is occurring?

• Can I make decisions and solve problems to address threats to my personal safety and injury prevention?

• Can I apply personal and interpersonal skills to help promote positive interactions with my peers?

• How will my choices and actions online (both negative and positive) affect and impact others?

• Can I interpret and analyze a variety of media forms and recognize the impact they have upon me and others?

Grade 4 Lesson 1 Sample Minds On

What do you Know about Cyber Safety?

1. The Internet always gives you accurate information if you are doing research.True - Pogo Jump False – March

2. There are ways to make sure you are always safe and your information is private on the Internet.True - Pogo Jump False - March.

Grade 5 Lesson 1Sample Action

• Teacher prompt: “As you can see from the Connect[ED] video, cyberbullying is on the rise, and just like the characters in the video, students like you, are frequently being cyberbullied or are observers of cyberbullying and are being forced to make difficult decisions. Most students aren’t sure what to do, or who or where to turn to for help. In the Connect[ED] video there are several characters who are faced with a variety of cyberbullying issues. Using a decision making model, we are going to help the characters make good decisions by analyzing the problem.”

Grade 6 Lesson 1 Sample Consolidation

• In a large class discussion, discuss with students their responses to the Student Resource 1: Managing Conflict.

• Remind the students that at the beginning of the lesson you asked them to think about the impact of the media text (video). In large class discussion, ask the students if they thought that the video was an effective media form in sharing the message of “creating safer online communities for Grade six students”.

• Would it have been more effective if the message were presented in a magazine article, song or a blog? Why/why not?

• Refer back to the Learning Goals and have students self assess their understanding of the lesson Learning Goals using the Thumbs Up Strategy.

Tools for Assessment and Evaluation

•The following tools for assessment and evaluation are included throughout the lessons in this resource. The results of all assessments gathered using these tools are measured against the levels and qualifiers outlined in the Achievement Chart.

• Rubrics• Checklists• Anecdotal Recording Charts

Support

• Teacher Training Tools – Teacher Training Module, Parent Module, Training Wiki, FAQs

• connectED@ophea.net