Digital Citizenship in Schools

"Cyberbullying is a new version of an old problem that presents a thorny paradox: We can't equip our kids with the skills they need to function in a digital world without inadvertently equipping them to be cyberbullies. Many of the "best" cyberbullies tend to be among our most digitally literate young people. Anyone can send a hate text, but it takes some serious cyberchops to hack a website or a profile page and plaster it with shameful pictures, hurtful messages and false accusations. Advanced technology skills in the hands of a bully are analogous to advanced weaponry in the hands of a terrorist. The more skillfully they are deployed, the more damage they cause."

This is an interesting document designed by M. Schlemok, administrator of an elementary school in Alberta, that resembles Stephen Covey's best-known book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. All digital citizens should familarize themselves with Covey's teachings, in particular, his series of habits. Covey advocates what he calls "The Character Ethic", that is aligning one's values with "universal and timeless principles". He see principles as "external natural laws" while "values are internal and subjective". He believes that values govern people's behaviour and principles ultimately determine the consequences.

"For a kid who already feels isolated or depressed, Facebook can be the opposite of what it is intended to be. Instead of bringing people into a sense of community, it can create a feeling of inferiority. Some experts believe it can even trigger those feelings in kids who are otherwise well adapted."

" Students ARE being influenced by multiple channels of information every day, and as adults we need to both be aware of the content/messages in those channels and find opportunities to have conversations about them with young people... Particularly when the stakes are high. "

ISTE SIGMS Webinar

"That is why I think effective digital citizenship education is done WHILE students are using educational networks (social networks for education) and cell phones. In fact, that is why we founded Digiteen and spun it off as a nonprofit - because we felt like the kids who came in to Flat Classroom weren't ready because they were clueless about managing their personal identity in safe, wise ways!"

It's not just educators who are exploring the potential of social media. View the segment or read the transcript and learn why social media is important to connecting with young people, including (somewhat surprisingly) young males. The discussion also includes digital identity, digital footprint and the use of twitter. Quite revealing.

"If you are a teacher and you are responsible for educating and learning alongside of adolescents, you should absolutely have a FaceBook account. You can not teach appropriate digital citizenship if you can not model it. Period. Many schools do discourage it and of course, rightfully, discourage "friending" students. But the bottom line is this ~ we can't teach them if we can't reach them. The world is changing fast and if you want to understand how your students operate, you've got to learn the tools yourself. No one can tell you. It has to be experienced, first-hand."

"No doubt, the issue of digital citizenship has reared it's head within your class and school. In an age of digital bombardment, how do we equip students to make wise choices about viewing information and posting information? "

Use this same information to do your club, school library, or other organisations page in terms of layout tactics. Students could use this for clubs or fav hobbies. 

"Cybersafety is an important component of teaching and learning. What are some ways or resources you use to keep your students safe? World News provides a collection of videos about keeping kids safe. CyberSafety for Parents and Kids was created by the Attorney General to inform both students and Parent. Other resources include: Onlineguard Online"

Great ideas to inspire you local journey.

"This collaborative mind map has been created by the staff at Pukekohe North school. The staff are starting to explore what digital citizenship might mean not only for the students; but for the staff, the institution of the school and the wider community. You can view the map here. "

"How to integrate My Online Neighborhood into the classroom: My Online Neighborhood is a nice entry point for teaching Internet safety. Use the video to spur classroom discussions about online safety. The video also makes a nice lead in to the Internet safety lessons from Common Sense Media on Digital Life (sending email, online communities, rings of responsibility), Privacy (follow the digital trail), Connected Culture (screen out the mean, show respect online, power of words, group think, writing good emails), and Respecting Creative Work (whose is it, anyway?). These units and lessons are detailed, fun, and get right to the heart of the matter of raising digitally responsible citizens. The lesson plans are leveled by grade and can be used for kindergarten through fifth grade."

"With more than 500 million Facebook users across the world, it's hard to refute that the social networking site has profoundly changed the way we communicate and share information. But what's the Facebook effect on kids? When it comes to navigating the social networking world - whether it's Facebook or Fan Fiction sites - the terrain becomes even murkier."

""Ivanhoe Grammar School is to be congratulated on this Cyber Safety website initiative. Parents in the Ivanhoe Grammar School Community should take great comfort in knowing that the school is working assiduously to equip students with the capacity to survive and thrive in cyberspace which will be increasingly an important part of their lives, now and in the future.""

It's impressive, that's for sure. It's interesting that is not prominently linked on the school website.

Shelly Terrell offers some useful thoughts on digital citizenship in her 30 Goals blog podcast. Look in the archives for #27 as well, Creating a Digital Presence. There is also a free download of her e-book of The 30 Goals Challenge for teachers.