Bring IT in the Primary Classroom – LDSB Sample Letter

Date:

Dear parents/guardians:

This year we are going to be a Bring IT classroom! The Limestone District School Board is inviting students to bring theirmobile devices, with family consent, to school for learning purposes. Bring IT (Bring Information Technology) will allow students to be the center of their own learning and empower them to demonstrate learning in their own way, by bringing in their labelled personal device for educational purposes.

The Bring IT initiative will provide safe, secure, and identified access for students to the wireless network with any personal device (e.g. laptops, iPods, tablets). They may choose to bring their own device, however, if they don’t have access to one, or families choose not to send it to school, they will still have access to the technology that they need in class. No student will be left out of the instructional process.

What does this look like in a primary classroom?

During our Digital Citizenship class conversations, we discussed that students will be responsible for any equipment that he/she brings to school.You can assist with this by sending the device with a protective case, ensuring that it is charged at homeand having it clearly labelled. We suggest that it is transported in a protected bag. Once it arrives at school, students will have a designated place in the classroom to store their device safely until it is required for instructional use.

We also discussed online safety, sharing of pictures and classroom expectations. Students are aware that we will not be using these devices at recess or lunchtime unsupervised, and that they will only bring them out for learning purposes when invited by a teacher.

Please see our attached list of classroom expectations that were created in one of our Digital Citizenship class discussions.

This is an exciting time in education and we look forward to sharing our learning!

Sample: Expectations for the Bring IT Primary Classroom to be designed with the students and sent home with the permission letter.

  1. We require permission from our parents to bring our device to school.
  2. Our deviceMUST be labelled.
  3. Our device must have a case on it.
  4. Our device must stay in our backpack while travelling to school on the bus, or on the playground.
  5. We must put our device in the “Safe” bin when we come in the classroom in the morning, and pick it up and put it safely in our backpacks at the end of the day.
  6. We will use our device for learning times in the classroom and follow the teacher’s instructions.
  7. We will have clean hands!
  8. We are responsible for the device that we bring.
  9. If we do not follow the classroom expectations, we may lose our privilege to bring our device to school.
  10. We will be good digital citizens!

Sincerely,

The students of Grade _____ and ______

(teacher signature)

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Bring IT Expectations Agreement

My child ______has permission to bring their device to school. We have read and understood the expectations.

Parent/Guardian Signature- ______

Date: ______

Student Signature-______