Inappropriate Digital Media Use

I teach fourth grade, and my students received one-to-one devices for the first time this year. While using Google Apps was not new to the students, and most have access to other devices at home, taking home their new Chromebooks became a problem when students began creating Hangouts. Many of the chat groups were used to say unkind and inappropriate things to and about classmates. Finally, a student added me to the class chat so I could see the transcript and address it with the class. As they are school-managed devices, of course we have the ability to turn off Hangouts and monitor these chats, but the reality is that students have access to social media and other sites on their personal devices, and rather than taking away their access, we need to teach them about etiquette and what to do when they see inappropriate and hurtful comments online.