Digital Citizenship in Schools

i was going to post this on DCiS FB page, but thought better of it.

Somewhere in the world a sad little band of trolls must be smarting at yet another derision of their good name! It makes the famous New Yorker cartoon quote seem so naive, and yet it could be extended to reflect the changing times "on the Internet nobody knows your a dog but it's bleedin' obvious your a TROLL'. I went onto read the comments which were also interesting. Perhaps this artlcle is a little harsh and castes trolls in a bad light since trolls are only exercising their right to freedom of speech FOS. Some trolls maybe subversive in a good way! The quandary of privacy, online identity & FOS is further explored in the comments Tx for your post.

This study of policies for information and communication technologies (ICT) in education and training in Australian education systems and agencies is the initial component in a project undertaken for the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The project comprises three components: the development of a searchable online data base where policies, both Australian and international, are summarised, and which can be accessed through edna (http://www.edna.edu.au); this report on Australian developments; an international report covering ten countries in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as Australian systems. The Australian report provides the platform for the comparative analysis of the international report.

"Digital media often heighten young people's exposure to the global community and to peers with different cultural backgrounds. Such exposure increases the need for young people to recognise the social, cultural and historical influences that shape their own and others' understanding and learning. For example, they need to understand that the same actions may have different meanings in different cultures, and that many things which appear at first glance to be natural and neutral are in fact created by particular cultural and social understandings. Digital technologies, particularly online spaces, provide young people with opportunities for many new forms of interaction. Increasingly, these interactions are mediated by different modes of representation such as images and sounds. Being able to decode these multimodal texts requires an understanding of the social and cultural practices that surround their creation."

"How would you define your digital life? Are you out there, sharing everything with the world? Or do you set rules for yourself about the type of information you make public? How careful are you in choosing who you speak to online? Remembering these key tips will help you keep control online, both now and into the future."

This is collection of resources related to digital citizenship - how we work together, learn together and act together in our digital world. We link to sites about safety and security, digital literacy and acting appropriately when using technology.

"More and more, people are using Facebook to gather online, spark conversations, share information and ideas, and ultimately meet offline. Sometimes it's for a protest, sometimes it's for a party; sometimes it's in a country where discussions of public life are discouraged or even punished and sometimes it's in a country where freedom of speech is a part of life. Facebook is a potent tool, but to use it most effectively you should make sure that you're taking steps to minimize the chances of people seeing your communications who you do not want to see them. This guide offers steps for doing so. Follow it to organize more safely, but know that even if you do everything we point out here, you should still be cautious and skeptical when you're organizing online and take your online interactions offline as soon as it is possible (and safe) to do so!"

This is truly a campaign BY kids FOR kids, addressing the audience not from an adult authoritative perspective, but a peer-to-peer behaviour awareness perspective.

"East Noble expects digital citizenship to be taught specifically during academic lab in the high school and middle school. In the elementary schools teachers will take teachable moments and short instructional times when it fits best in their day to present information. Also elementary schools may take some time in the beginning of the year to target some specific areas of digital citizenship to lay some ground rules. Digital citizenship will not be in place of social studies or any other content area. The core curriculum will continue to include math, science, reading, writing, social studies. None of that will change. All staff members will reinforce the proper use of digital media, and the citizenship to use information responsibly. Students will need to learn online ethics. They will need to learn when to communicate, how to communicate, and when not to respond or initiate communication on a public platform such as Facebook or other social network."

"At Clarence Sansom we believe that students should have access to computers, other technology and the internet to assist them in their learning. As of fall 2011, students may bring their own digital devices to school (with school permission) and may use these devices in the classroom (with teacher permission). Non-instructional and unsupervised areas such as hallways, washrooms and change rooms are designated as digital "no-zones". The library is a digital "go zone". Students will be allowed to use digital devices in this area during non-instructional time under direct supervision and with teacher permission. "

"Social network sites must ensure that children's profiles are visible only to the child's friends and cannot be found on a search engine, the European Commission has said. The Commission adopted its stance after a survey (13-page / 198KB PDF) found that an increasing number of children were flouting social network age limits to set up their accounts. The survey was funded by the Commission and published by the EUKidsOnline network. EUKidsOnline quizzed 25,000 young people across Europe and found that 38% of children aged between 9 and 12 have a social network profile. The figure was 77% for children aged between 13 and 16. Most social networks ban children under the age of 13 from having profiles. "Growing numbers of children are on social networking sites but many are not taking all necessary steps to protect themselves online. These children are placing themselves in harm's way, vulnerable to stalkers and groomers," Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said."

An interesting read about social media and its use in the classroom.Thought provoking and challenging distinctions about teen use and teacher use and how to effectively combine the two

Links on the school web-page - an example.

"Thanks to the continuing wave of school district communicators and administrators seeking ways to reach their communities, a common question gets asked: How do you set up a Facebook page for a school district? "

Tina Barseghian is a helpful writer. She combines well-expressed observations with links and references to a range of sources and examples on digital delivery, collaborative learning, interest-driven learning and Web 2.0 skills and their effects on the classroom.

An online tool that teachers can use to when you need to randomly select students for presentations or selecting partners for group projects.

"ABC Pool is a social media site where you can share and engage with creative work and collaborate with the people who make it. It's a place to upload images, text, audio, and video. Anyone, any age, anywhere can contribute to Pool. Pool is run by the Australian public broadcaster and has a number of projects to which you can contribute independently or co-create with others. It's a place to meet collaborators, and Creative Commons licensing provides a way to share your work in a safe legal framework. All Pool members are asked to follow the guidelines and to report inappropriate items or comments."

"In the fall, Alice Marwick and I went into the field to understand teens' privacy attitudes and practices. We've blogged some of our thinking since then but we're currently working on turning our thinking into a full-length article. We are lucky enough to be able to workshop our ideas at an upcoming scholarly meeting (PLSC), but we also wanted to share our work-in-progress with the public since we both know that there are all sorts of folks out there who have a lot of knowledge about this domain but with whom we don't have the privilege of regularly interacting."