Canyons School District outlines digital citizenship curriculum and how Chromebooks fit into classroom learning

Frances Cook, host of the Canyons School District podcast Connect Canyons, spoke with Katie Gephard and Camille Cole, the district’s digital teaching and learning specialists, about how the district teaches digital citizenship and how technology is used in classrooms.

Gephard said digital citizenship in the district is “really just using technology and our resources that we have today for good,” and that the district organizes instruction around five competency areas, “including” inclusivity, engagement, balance and being alert to safety and privacy. She said students in elementary, middle and high school receive at least three digital citizenship lessons each year, with elementary and middle schools using the district’s ThriveTime curriculum and high schools teaching the topics through advisory periods or during Digital Citizenship Week.

The specialists described how technology is integrated into content rather than used for its own sake. Camille Cole said teachers are trained to start with what they are teaching and how students learn, and then ask whether a tool “bring[s] value to that specific activity, that specific goal, outcome.” The district uses the TPAC framework to evaluate technology integration and refers teachers to CST instructional guides for scope and sequence.

Cole and Gephard gave examples of classroom usage that pair teacher-led instruction with targeted technology tasks. Cole said some lessons use Nearpod slides for quick checks while students then discuss concepts with peers; she added that online activities often support small-group or one-on-one teacher time. “If a student is going through a program, like maybe is working on reading skills, if I can go look at that data, that can help me know…this student's getting A, B, and C, but D is where they really need some extra help,” Cole said, describing how program data can guide targeted instruction.

On average in the district’s elementary classrooms, Cole said technology use amounts to about “39 minutes of the school day,” a figure she said includes any time a Chromebook is logged in during a lesson but does not necessarily mean continuous, unsupervised device use. The speakers also named programs and resources used across grade levels, including Nearpod, adaptive or personalized learning programs, and curricula with digital components such as WONDER and Savvas.

The podcast addressed family-facing guidance as well. Gephard said the district posts screen‑time recommendations on its Family Connections web page and frames screen time with a MyPlate analogy to encourage “healthy portions” of active and high‑quality learning. She urged families to set clear expectations with children about where and when to use devices and to revisit those expectations periodically. Cole advised parents to place devices in common areas and to ask teachers about the district’s expectations when assignments require online work.

Both specialists emphasized modeling: they said teachers and parents should demonstrate the digital behaviors they expect from students, and they recommended that schools teach digital citizenship “within context” — for example, pairing lessons about plagiarism with writing assignments so students learn to cite sources when they use technology.

The conversation was presented as an informational episode rather than a policy vote or formal district action. No new district policy or board action was announced on the podcast; the specialists described existing curriculum, classroom practices, and family resources.

District listeners seeking more detail were directed to the Family Connections screen‑time document on the Canyons School District website and to contact teachers or school administrators with questions about technology expectations in specific courses or assignments.