Ad4dcss/Digital Citizenship

An inappropriate comment has arrived on a student site. What do you do? How do you turn this into a teachable moment?

The scribes in my classes continue to do outstanding work. I'm continually impressed by the depth and quality of the student's scribe posts. They work so hard on their scribes. Why do they do that? Most high school students look for the easy way out; "How can I get by with the minimum amount of effort on my part?"

One technique I used to push the learning connections and stretch students to higher levels of thinking is suggesting the use of comment starters to students. I encourage them to use these and encourage them to add to the list. These help students compose responses to posts at higher levels than just "I liked what you said" type of replies. It is a starting point.

The rise of online media has helped raise a new generation of college students who write far more, and in more-diverse forms, than their predecessors did. But the implications of the shift are hotly debated, both for the future of students' writing and for the college curriculum.

Chatting with Kids About Being Online from http://www.onguardonline.gov/.

This 54-page downloadable booklet from http://onguardonline.gov offers parents practical advice for talking with their kids about socializing and communicating online, file sharing, privacy and socializing and communicating on the go (mobile phones).

In social networks, people can increase their defenses against identification by adopting tight privacy controls on information in personal profiles. Yet an individual's actions, researchers say, are rarely enough to protect privacy in the interconnected world of the Internet. The FTC is worried that rules to protect privacy have not kept up with technology. The FTC and Congress are weighing steps like tighter industry requirements and the creation of a "do not track" list, similar to the federal "do not call" list, to stop online monitoring.

Over the Line? With half of all 14- to 24-year-olds admitting they've been digitally abused, it's a timely, integral question. And MTV is trying to help teens answer it--by asking each other. Ever type something you wouldn't say in person? Ever had someone trash you online, then later claim they were "just joking"? Think your digital drama might be over the line? Submit your story, rate others' stories and help define the line between innocent and inappropriate.

Chatroulette allows people around the world to see each other and chat via text or audio. Users can click "next" to skip from person to person, never knowing what the next image will be. But this unregulated freedom presents serious safety concerns for children. Violent and sexually charged images frequently turn up on Chatroulette, according to Sam Anderson, who chronicled his experience on the site for New York Magazine.

This lesson can be implemented at school if you are teaching in an environment that allows students to use personal learning devices, or outside of school if students are banned from using digital devices.

Digital technology has had a tremendous impact on our lives. Although the Internet and cell phones have been in wide use for only a couple of decades, most of us can hardly remember a time before they existed or imagine how we would function without them. How have the accessibility of these technologies, and the ease with which we are now able to share information, changed the way we communicate? And how can young people in particular better deal with the issues that might arise from being able to communicate so quickly and easily with so many people? This activity will help students recognize and address these issues. Note: Registration for this site may be required, but it's simple and easy.

Turned in March 4th, 2010 for STN (Student Television Network Convention) at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. There was a limit of six hours to make a 30 second PSA (Public Service Announcement.) The topic was "cyberbullying." Supervised editing took place and the film was shot, edited and finished before deadline.

Third Place winner of "Cyberbullying Public Service Announcement" contest at the Anaheim Student Television Network Conference, March 2010.

Another great 30-second PSA on cyberbullying created by students at the Student Television Network Conference in Anaheim [March 2010]

Tips For Better Blogging, Using Blogs With Students, Working With Web 2.0 Tools - Sue Waters (April 09). Sue describes a process for monitoring student blogs using Google Reader.

Great 30-second teen PSA on protecting yourself online.

Empowering students to prevent violence in schools. We have used this video at many CTAP workshops on cybersafety/cyberbullying and it's very effective.

More advice from Sue Waters on how to moderate comments and posts using GMail.

"Managing Students on Blogs…What Role Do You Assign Students?"

Lesson plans developed for a group of students at Ute Meadows Elementary on the idea of creating and tending their Digital Legacy (or what some people call "digital footprint"). Some excellent examples here of building and protecting your digital identity.