Digital Citizenship in Schools

If you're a content creator, you already know that high-quality images make posts more enticing to readers. The Internet is chock-full of digital images, but which ones are free to use? You'll find plenty of open source images if you know where to look. You can start by reading our post 15 Best Sites for Open Source Images. But finding them is only the first step - you also need to know how to properly attribute them, and to give due credit to the image's copyright holder. Let's take a look at some of the best places to find open source images, and how to attribute them appropriately.

Enter the digital citizen. Digital citizenship is, as Karen Mossberger puts it, "representing capacity, belonging, and the potential for political and economic engagement in society in the information age."

"Learn the fundamentals of digital citizenship through animated, choose-your-own-adventure interactive experiences, designed for grades 6-9. Invite students to explore digital dilemmas, make good (and not-so-good) decisions, and try out possible solutions through stories and mini-games - all without risking their real-world reputations. Discover how Common Sense Education's award-winning digital literacy and citizenship curriculum seamlessly integrates into blended-learning environments. Coming soon as an iOS app, Android app, and Edmodo app!"

"Today, we acknowledge that the digital citizen is a global citizen. There has been, like the U.S. Constitution drafters recognized, a need for a definition of checks and balances that will govern this "new" world-wide technology. While it certainly is not a governing set of laws or even enforceable, digital citizenship nevertheless defines the model behavior of today's Global Digital Natives. So how do we make the definition clear for all? What are a few of the Global Digital Citizenship myths that we can get nipped in the bud? Read on …"

"I took an informal poll of my 150 students at the beginning of the year, and 60-80% of my students don't even have a facebook. They connect with each other on Kik, an app that allows users to text each other without exchanging phone numbers. They use Snapchat, an app that allows users to send pictures that supposedly disappear forever after ten seconds. They use Whisper, an app that a user can "anonymously" tell their deepest secrets to a vast community of other secret sharers. They use Yik Yak, Vine, Tumblr, Twitter (do you know about subtweeting? you should.), Instagram, Oovoo, WhatsApp, Meerkat, and sometimes even dating apps, like Tinder."

"A new app allowing parents to look at their children's call history, text messages and internet use will soon launch in Australia. The app, called Teensafe, already claims 1 million users in the US. But Australian police are warning that while the threat to children from online predators is real, spy apps allowing parents to track their children's smartphone usage are not a 'silver bullet' and could breach trust."

"Published on 8 Jan 2015 'I saw your willy' NSPCC - Be Share Aware. We tell our children it's good to share - but online it's different. In fact sometimes it can be dangerous. That's why we're asking parents to be Share Aware - and keep children safe online. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/1tPXBVj"

Flat Connections regularly needs volunteer teachers to help review students work. This is a great opportunity to be part of global collaborative learning and to extend your PLN. Volunteer today!

Short screencast on how to set up YouTube for schools and filter only educational videos to your school.

More suitable for high school students although mature stage 3 students could benefit too.

"Parents have taken over Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. This has sent device-laden students flocking to social media apps such as Instagram, SnapChat and Yik Yak, and the shift has created new challenges for administrators trying to root out cyberbullying and threats of violence. Garnering the most concern in many districts is Yik Yak, a free app created in 2013 that connects users within a 10-mile radius to a message board, and allows anyone to read and post anonymously. The app, meant for college students, is blocked on most K12 campuses thanks to technology called geofencing."

example of student action, based on real world issues

I really like this idea - a murder mystery solved by piecing together a person's life by the digital fragments they have left behind... hope it's as good as it sounds

This is the best collection of free image resources I have seen! Explore to find images for blog posts and multimedia artefacts.

Thanks Julie, that was a very interesting bunch of statistics from down under.