MPS EdTech

October is a great month to talk about safety with your students, especially when it comes to digital safety. October is Cybersecurity Awareness month, and this year Digital Citizenship week is celebrated October 20th-24th.

Our team has this conversation A LOT, and we’re always looking for new research while holding fast to the one thing that almost every study has proven: YOU are the most important indicator of student success.

Of all the “stuff” that has been analyzed over the years, the teacher remains the most impactful factor in whether a student will find success in a K–12 setting. Not the curriculum. Not the instructional strategies. Not the classroom arrangement. And definitely not the technology.

Each of those is a tool in your hands — but the magic happens in how you use them.

Our goal is to make sure you know how and when to use the right tools. Every new teacher hears this from us during onboarding, and when we sit down beside you, model lessons, or plan together, nearly every conversation about classroom technology ends with the same conclusion: balance, active engagement, and intentional use matter most when it comes to integrating tech in your instruction.

🧭 So What Does Balance Look Like?

Research shows that short, intentional bursts of active technology use lead to better outcomes than long stretches of passive screen time. Here’s what we recommend for structured classroom use:

• PK–2nd: Short daily bursts (15–20 min), focused on foundational skills through adaptive, teacher-guided learning.

• 3rd–6th: 20 minutes per session, up to 45–75 minutes per day, emphasizing interactive and collaborative learning.

• 7th–12th: 30 minutes per session, 90–120 minutes per day, designed for critical thinking, project work, and feedback cycles.

👉 These are not hard caps — they’re healthy guardrails to guide planning and classroom routines. But time isn't the only factor. How students use technology matters just as much as how long they're on it.

🖱️ Passive vs. Active Matters More Than Minutes

• Passive use: digital worksheets, unstructured apps, “busy work.”

• Active use: teacher-guided instruction, adaptive platforms, collaborative projects, interactive lessons.

Tip: Before launching a tech activity, ask yourself:

• Does this engage students in the learning goal?

• Does it enhance or extend what I could do without the device?

• Is it worth the time students will spend on it?

📚 This Isn’t Just Our Opinion — It’s Research-Based

Our guardrails align with research from:

• American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) and WHO (2019) on balanced screen use

• Pane et al. (2015) and Hattie (2009; 2017) on impactful teaching and personalized learning

• Mayer (2009) and Johnson & Johnson (2009) on engagement and multimedia learning

• OECD (2015; 2019) and CoSN Blaschke Report (2025) on intentional EdTech integration

We also lean on frameworks like SAMR, PICRAT, and Triple E to evaluate whether tech is simply replacing paper… or actually enhancing learning.

✨ Final Thought

This isn’t about asking you to meet a screen time quota or even banning or capping technology. It’s about empowering you to make thoughtful decisions that keep students at the center. Technology should amplify great teaching, not replace it.

At the end of the day, you are the most important factor in the room. Technology should support your teaching — not define it.

*Thanks to ChatGPT for assisting in providing "engaging formatting" for this section.*

Brandon Wilmarth

Director of Educational Technology

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) celebrates October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year they are encouraging us to build a CyberStrong America.

There has been a steady increase in cyber-attacks on K-12 schools across the country. A U.S. Dept of Ed focus on K-12 Cybersecurity explains that school districts across the country are experiencing an average of five incidents per week. SchoolSafety.gov explains how cyber threats can include data breaches, ransomware attacks, phishing attempts, and denial-of-service attacks.

Cyberattacks can severely impact schools—exposing students’ personal data, compromising confidential plans, and disrupting daily operations. Building a strong, secure digital environment requires everyone’s participation: recognize and report phishing attempts, use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication when available, and keep all software and browsers up to date.

MPS staff have Cybernut to help train them on recognizing and reporting cyber threats, but we also need to help our students be aware of attempts they may see. Be sure to remind your students on how to protect themselves against cyber threats. Below is a quick video from CISA.gov explaining how we can Secure Our World.

Remember, it might be a phishing attempt if it:

• Seems urgent or emotionally appealing
• Requests you send personal or financial information
• Uses a shortened or suspicious URL that does not match the sender
• Has incorrect or mismatched email address or incorrect/unusual links (ex: amazan.com)
• Contains suspicious links or unexpected attachments (don't open any links or attachments that you see)
• Has incorrect names, misspellings, poor grammar, or seems unusual in context

Digital Citizenship Week is an annual campaign celebrated by Commons Sense Education to promote a healthy, balanced, and positive approach to media and technology use, and we encourage you to regularly highlight the importance of practicing good digital citizenship with your students.

It's important to emphasize to your students why digital citizenship is important. We see more and more students impacted by online experiences, and we feel it is imperative that teachers start infusing digital citizenship into their classroom policies and procedures.

Common Sense Education offers great resources to teach digital citizenship, such as their K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum. They even have new lessons focused on Digital Literacy and Well-Being. They've created activities to help you celebrate Digital Citizenship Week in your classroom. Click the image below to see what they have to offer.

Our EdTech Curriculum Technology Specialist, Jennifer Seitsinger, has created some Digital Citizenship Lessons teachers can use with their students. She has created four for each grade level (K-6), and we encourage you to use at least one each 9 weeks.

They are available in the Canvas Commons as modules that you can import into your Canvas course. If you need assistance importing modules from the Canvas Commons into your Canvas course, please email the CTS assigned to your school, reach out to the EdTech team for help at edtech@mooreschools.com, or submit an IIQ ticket.

Since October 20th-24th is Digital Citizenship Week, it is important to offer our parents/guardians ideas on how to support digital citizenship at home. Here are some Digital Citizenship Resources for Families offered by Common Sense Media for education.

Below is a handout you can send home to your parents/guardians offering support and guidance on Digital Health & Safety Topics such as Cybersecurity, Digital Footprint, Cyberbullying, Mental Health & Screen Time, and Managing Online Activity. The handout has QR codes linking to resources we think might be helpful to our parents and guardians.

Parents/guardians can help encourage students to think critically in their digital world. Below are a few links to helpful resources.

Privacy Online (Common Sense Media)

Cyberbullying and Online Harms (Common Sense Media)

What is Phishing (Verizon)

If you don't have the MPS Teacher Passport course on your Canvas dashboard, click the image below to enroll. You'll find tutorials and resources on all things MPS EdTech!

Contact us at edtech@mooreschools.com if you have questions or need anything!