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Fostering Digital Citizenship

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I recently returned from the CAL-ED Annual Conference for Parents, Interpreters, Teachers and Administrators. I presented on Fostering Digital Citizenship. The goal of this workshop was to provide a basic understanding of Digital Citizenship as well as resources and ideas for application in the classroom (and at home). The second half of the workshop, participants walked through 6 stations focusing on Digital Citizenship topics including Digital Life 101 (9 Elements of Digital Citizenship), My Digital Footprint (online ethics), Do You Really Know Who You are Talking To? (safety and security), Cyberbullying, Who’s Is That Anyway? (copyright), and Successful Searching. The workshop ended with participants taking a summary quiz and receiving their very own Digital Driver’s License. You can view the presentation here.

Teaching in a classroom with 1-1 iPads, I have come to recognize the importance of teaching Digital Citizenship in my own classroom. It is ironic, however, that just as I was preparing for this workshop, I was called to back paddle and re-assess my own instructional methods. My finding: it is not near as important how “skilled” a teacher is in presenting material to their classroom as it is how “skilled” a student becomes in applying the material after the presentation.

In re-assessming my own instruction, I realized that while I provided guided instruction on topics such as messaging manners, personal vs. private information, digital commerce, and utilizing tools of the trade, students were not applying the knowledge in their daily lives. I decided to suspend all student Digital Driver’s Licenses and start from scratch (and vow to continue to discuss these topics on a daily basis as appropriate to our activities). Without a Digital Driver’s License, students are not permitted to utilize the iPads. For the next 2 weeks, we returned to traditional paper and pencil activity while exploring, once again, the topic of Digital Citizenship. As a cumulative project, students were required to create a video teaching other students about Digital Citizenship.

Rather than a brief overview, holding the assumption that students generally apply character ethics online, which I now realize is not the case, I began by introducing the 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship. Students participated in collaborative discussions, watched videos and organized vocabulary. We then explored topics in more detail. I attempted to create as many hands on and collaborative activities as possible, as well as giving opportunities to share real life experiences. We talked about Facebook, iTunes and Instagram (the biggest usage in my classroom). We Googled each of our names and found there was more information out that on each of my students than anticipated. They were shocked by seeing their pictures appear. We talked about the 3 Rings of Responsibility (Self, Family and Community) and even discussed the recent episode of “Switched at Birth” that demonstrated the irresponsible social media posting by high school students. (Due to copyright I can not include the clip here, however, it was Episode 9, Season 2: Uprising, which aired on . This was a full ASL performance. After the school board’s decision to close Carlton School for the Deaf, students took control of the administration building in protest. However, while inside, students used social media–specifically Twitter–to rally the support of the Deaf Community nationwide. Irresponsibly, students posts turned toward “partying” rather than then intended message of their desires to keep the school open. If you haven’t yet seen this, it was very well done. You can view the full episode at ABC Family or download from iTunes.

Student cumulative projects indicated they understood instruction in more depth than previously taught. Many students personally thanked me for teaching them the dangers of posting to social media sites, especially pictures of friends and family. They had no idea that their actions today effected their tomorrow and were permanent, lasting footprints of their character, that later may be used against them when interviewing for jobs or applying for college.

In retrospect, my teaching of Digital Citizenship will become more inclusive in daily lesson planning. Posters hang in our classroom, reminding us of the 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship beside our Classroom Pledge. The individual student videos are not being compiled into one overall video which will be utilized to remind, reinforce and reteach Digital Citizenship throughout the remainder of the year. Below are some links to resources for teaching Digital Citizenship in your classroom.

  • Common Sense Media: K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum This Scope and Sequence which encompasses 8 key areas of Digital Citizenship includes printable, detailed lesson plans, introduction videos, Family Fact sheets, and links to additional resources. Each lesson plan has applications to the Common Core Standards, key vocabulary and definitions, student practice activities, extension ideas and assessment. They couldn’t make our lives any easier. And the best of all…it is FREE!
  • Digital Passport This site, also provided by Common Sense Media, focuses on younger students from K-8. As a teacher, you can register for an account and create a class. Your students are given usernames and passwords to access their online account safely and anonymously, while you track their progress. There is also a printable student workbook and certificate of completion for students as they progress independently through a series of videos, online tutorials and games. (Unfortunately, these videos are not yet captioned for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, however, the remainder of the activities are easy to follow.)
  • YouTube Digital Citizenship Curriculum Videos and lessons addressed at understanding copyright, how to report content, protecting your privacy and being a good digital citizen. An excellent overview of the program can be found here. You can also download the full teacher’s guide here. (Unfortunately, many of the videos rely on Google Translator for captioning, which we know is not completely accurate.)

Are you teaching Digital Citizenship in your classroom? Do you have additional resources to share?I would love to hear your experiences, even the mistakes we have made can be learning milestones for ourselves and others. Thank you for sharing your open and honest communication.


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