Technology and Kindness Agreement Assessment

The “Technology & Kindness Agreement” was designed as a concise, student-facing tool that aligns district technology expectations, ISTE Student Standards, and Gary Howard’s Seven Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching to guide my 5th graders’ behavior in digital spaces (Howard, n.d.; International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 2016; Lewis-Palmer School District 38 (LPSD), n.d.). LPSD emphasizes harnessing technology “to engage, empower, and inspire lifelong learners as local, national, and global citizens,” which situates device use as an extension of the district’s broader 21st‑century learning goals rather than as an add‑on or privilege (LPSD, n.d.). The ten rules translate this vision into language children can understand and act on, while preserving clear expectations for safety, responsibility, and academic focus both in and out of school (LPSD, n.d.).

Several expectations explicitly support digital citizenship and data privacy, in line with district guidance on the safe use of digital tools and protection of student information (LPSD, n.d.). Statements such as “Protect your passwords and personal info, yours and others” and “Think before you click, post, or share” directly nurture the ISTE Digital Citizen standard, which calls for students to recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living and learning in an interconnected digital world and to act in safe, legal, and ethical ways online (ISTE, 2016). These rules help students understand that the same norms apply at home and at school, echoing district home–school technology-use agreements that expect students to follow teacher directions, use approved resources, and care for school‑issued devices regardless of location (LPSD, n.d.).

The agreement also intentionally weaves in the ISTE Empowered Learner and Creative Communicator standards by asking students to “use tech to learn first,” “choose tools and strategies that work for how you learn,” and “use tech to show who you are in positive ways” (ISTE, 2016). Empowered Learners take an active role in choosing and using technology to meet their goals, and Creative Communicators select appropriate digital tools and media to express ideas clearly to various audiences (ISTE, 2016). By inviting students to adjust tools (accessibility features, formats, and media) to match their learning strengths, the agreement supports district commitments to rigorous, relevant, and personalized learning experiences that prepare students for college, career, and citizenship (LPSD, n.d.). This framing positions students not just as compliant users of devices but as thoughtful decision‑makers in how technology can best serve their learning (ISTE, 2016; LPSD, n.d.).

Equally important, the chart is grounded in Howard’s (n.d.) Seven Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, ensuring that technology expectations affirm student identities and relationships rather than simply control behavior. Rules about kindness, inclusion, and collaboration (“Talk and type to others with respect,” “Include others online like you would on the playground,” “Help classmates with tech in ways that build them up, not show off”) echo Howard’s emphasis on classrooms that are personally and culturally inviting, managed with firm, consistent, and loving controls, and that “stress collectivity as well as individuality” (Howard, n.d.). By explicitly encouraging students to use technology to share their culture, language, and interests in positive ways, the agreement affirms students in their cultural connections so that “kids get it that we get them” and that “school looks like me…diversity lives here and is honored” (Howard, n.d.).

Finally, the consistent expectation that students demonstrate these behaviors “everywhere” (at home, at school, and in any digital space) reflects both ISTE’s vision of students as empowered learners, digital citizens, and global collaborators and the district’s emphasis on effective relationships, communication, and citizenship as core outcomes for all learners (ISTE, 2016; LPSD, n.d.). Framing the list as a class “promise,” with student signatures and mine, further enacts Howard’s idea that respect “begins with the teacher” but is owned by the whole community, connecting historically marginalized students to a school culture in which their safety, voice, and academic success are central, even and especially when technology is involved (Howard, n.d.).

References:

Howard, G. R. (n.d.). The seven principles for culturally responsive teaching (PDF).

JCPSEmployee. (2012, September 13). Seven principles for culturally responsive teaching and learning (Video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptefRjN4DY

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). ISTE standards for students. https://www.iste.org/standards/students

Lewis-Palmer School District 38. (n.d.). Technology services. https://www.lewispalmer.org/page/technology