MYP Design Curriculum

Classroom Agreements

The three signed agreements every Design student makes: digital citizenship, honest AI use, and care of shared hardware.

Software & Digital Citizenship Agreement

As a Design student, I use many online tools and shared computers. How I behave online affects my classmates, my teachers, and the school. This agreement describes what I will and will not do.

I agree to:

1. Use only my own login credentials.

I will never sign in to any website, app, or platform — including Toddle, Google, ManageBac, GitHub, school email, or any AI service — using another student’s username, password, or account. This applies whether the other student gave me permission or not.

2. Never share my own passwords.

I will keep my passwords private, sharing them only with my parents and, when required, a teacher or school IT staff member for legitimate technical support.

3. Sign out completely when I finish using a shared computer.

I will not leave my accounts open for the next person.

4. Not look at, copy, or modify another student’s files or work without direct permission.

This includes files on shared drives, on a classmate’s screen, on a classroom computer they used before me, or on any school network.

5. Not impersonate anyone online.

Not a classmate, not a teacher, not a real person outside the school, and not an AI pretending to be a real person.

6. Respect school filtering and VPN policies.

If I am using a VPN for legitimate classwork (for example, to access a design resource), I will use it only for that purpose and only when directed. I will not use classroom computers to bypass filters for entertainment, social media, or non-class activity.

7. Report problems honestly.

If I see something wrong — a file I shouldn’t be able to see, another student’s account still logged in, a site I can access that I probably shouldn’t — I will tell my teacher quietly rather than explore it.

8. Accept that the school can monitor my activity on school devices and accounts.

This is normal and expected in any professional setting I will work in later.

I understand:

  • Using another student’s account is treated as a serious issue by the school, even if I was “just checking something” or “just logging in quickly.”

  • Deliberately breaking these rules may result in loss of Design classroom privileges and referral to school leadership under the school’s broader digital citizenship policy.

Signed on paper by student and parent at the start of each year.

AI Use Agreement

AI tools are a normal part of how designers work today, and I will use them often in this class. My teacher will tell me which AI uses are encouraged and which are restricted for specific tasks. This agreement describes how I use AI responsibly.

I agree to:

1. Follow the teacher’s AI instructions for each task.

For most work — brainstorming, ideation, research, prototyping, debugging code, editing writing — my teacher will let me use AI widely. For some tasks — specific assessments, writing samples, certain reflections — my teacher will tell me AI use is limited or not permitted. I will pay attention to these instructions and ask if I am unsure.

2. Keep an honest AI Use Log for every project.

I will record what tools I used, what I asked, what the AI produced, and what I kept, changed, or rejected. I will not hide AI use, minimize it, or lie about it.

3. Verify facts from AI.

I understand that AI can sound confident and still be wrong, especially about specific numbers, dates, sources, and technical details. When I use an AI-provided fact in my work, I will check it against a real source before including it.

4. Be able to explain my own work.

If my teacher asks me to explain any part of my project — code, design decisions, writing, research — I will be able to explain it in my own words. If I cannot explain something, I should not have submitted it.

5. Not use AI to impersonate real people.

This includes teachers, classmates, and public figures in ways meant to deceive. I will not use AI to generate content that targets or mocks specific individuals, or to produce anything that would violate the school’s other behavior policies if a human had produced it.

6. Respect that AI output is not automatically mine.

Copying AI output directly into my design folder, portfolio, or assessment without modifying or citing it honestly is not acceptable. AI is a collaborator, not a shortcut.

7. Use school-approved AI tools for classroom work.

My teacher will tell me which tools are approved for any given task. Other AI tools I have access to at home can be used for my own personal work but are not required or expected for any assignment.

I understand:

  • The teacher decides the AI rules for each assignment. If I am unsure, the answer is to ask, not to assume.

  • Submitting work that is mostly AI-generated without honest documentation, or claiming AI work as my own, is treated as academic dishonesty under the school’s regular policies.

  • The AI Use Log is assessed and failing to complete it honestly affects my Design grade.

Currently approved AI tools (subject to change; the teacher will announce changes):

DeepSeek, Kimi, Doubao, Wenxin. Other tools may be approved for specific tasks at the teacher’s discretion.

Signed on paper by student and parent at the start of each year.

Hardware & Equipment Agreement

The Design classroom has computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, breadboards, microcontrollers, sensors, motors, and many small components. These are shared with every student and every class that comes after mine. How I treat them determines what students two, three, four, or five years from now will have access to.

I agree to:

1. Not unplug any computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cable, or peripheral without permission.

This includes “just moving it for a second,” “just to plug in my own cable,” or “because it was already loose.” If something needs to be unplugged, I ask first.

2. Not turn off, restart, or shut down a computer without permission.

If a computer seems frozen or broken, I tell the teacher rather than pressing the power button.

3. Return every electronic component I use to its labeled bin at the end of class.

This includes jumper wires, resistors, LEDs, buttons, sensors, microcontrollers, breadboards, batteries, and every small part. Missing components from one bin mean a future student will be unable to complete their project.

4. Report breakage honestly and immediately.

If I break something — a wire snaps, an LED burns out, a sensor stops responding, a cable rips, a breadboard cracks — I tell the teacher straight away. Honest reporting is expected. Trying to hide breakage is the real problem, because the next student picks up broken equipment without knowing.

5. Leave my workstation clean.

Desk cleared, chair pushed in, no wires dangling, no components loose on the table, no trash left behind. Someone should be able to sit down at my station right after me and start working immediately.

6. Handle components with care.

This means not pulling wires by the wire instead of the connector, not forcing pins into wrong holes, not leaving breadboards connected to live power, not stacking heavy items on breakable components, and not eating or drinking at the electronics workstations.

7. Not take components home without permission.

Every component belongs to the shared kit. If I want to continue a project at home, I ask my teacher — borrowing is sometimes fine, silently taking is not.

8. Treat the classroom as a shared resource, not my personal space.

I am using equipment that Grade 6 students three years from now will depend on. My job is to pass it on in at least the condition I found it.

I understand:

  • Careless damage to shared equipment affects every future Design student, not just me.

  • Repeated careless use may result in loss of classroom hardware privileges — I may be asked to do paper-based or simulation-only versions of hardware units until trust is rebuilt.

  • Accidents happen and are not the same as carelessness. Honest reporting of accidents is expected and never penalized.

Signed on paper by student and parent at the start of each year.