Digital Citizenship Requires a Positive Attitude

As I reviewed the ISTE Standards, there was one standard under Digital Citizenship that stuck out to me as something I want my students to learn.

Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

This sticks out to me for a couple of reasons. First, in my own experience, a positive attitude towards technology has greatly benefited me my entire life.  Secondly, I'm a strong believer in the power of a positive attitude to make anything better.

What I like about this standard is that it is one best taught through modeling, practice, and reinforcement. In my classroom I use a myriad of technologies to make my classroom function smoothly. My students get to see me use all these technologies to enhance their classroom experiences. They enjoy when they see me pull out my smartphone to document a positive behavior in ClassDojo. Surprisingly, they even enjoy taking quizzes so long as they get to use their Plicker Cards to give responses. By seeing me embrace and use technology in ways they have never seen, they develop their own positive attitudes towards the use of technology for learning and productivity.

In addition to me modeling a positive attitude, I think that rewarding students for using technology to collaborate and learn can lead to more positive attitudes. For example, games can be created around using technology. Smart phones can be used to go on scavenger hunts for information. Students could see who can find things faster. Students could collaborate to create a Google Doc together that they could use on a quiz. There are countless ideas for rewarding students for using their technology to enhance their own learning.

I would love to read opinions on this standard and would love to hear how others might approach fostering a positive attitude towards technology in students.