Digital Citizenship in Schools

"The nature of evolving technology sees the emergence of new trends and behavior among young people and new efforts by government and industry to combat harmful behaviors. FOSI provides periodic information to keep you informed about these issues."

"That was the question I asked my students this fall and the answer I got surprised me. Students increasingly aren't going to the premium information services we've set up for them through our school library. They might not even be inclined to go elsewhere on the Web. Instead they often turn to Apps for their information. From The Elements to NASA, from National Geographic to the National Science Foundation there is a wealth of credible content in the App Store, but if students are using this information in an academic setting how do we help them correctly document and cite these sources? "This is a case of technology being ahead of the Modern Language Association," said my colleague Stephen Freeborn, longtime English teacher, but together with our school librarian we found a work-around hack that gets the job done."

"You don't have to be running for president to care about your online reputation. Almost everything you do online is easy to track, especially when you're using social media sites. This infographic shows you how to manage your "e-reputation," perhaps saving you some embarrassment, or even your career. Gathered by digital marketing firm KBSD, it's a treasure trove of tips, techniques and information about what companies and individuals are looking for inside your personal profiles and social information, and what you can do to show off your best side to those who might want to find out unflattering things about you. It's not too late to protect yourself and polish up your online image. So now that you've grown up (you have grown up, haven't you?), this would be a good time to do a bit of backtracking, cleaning up those mistakes you made in the past as much as you can, and at the same time, keeping an eye on your online behavior so there won't be anything to hide in the future."

"This project centres on a cross-national survey of European children's experiences of the internet, focusing on uses, activities, risks and safety. It also maps parents' experiences, practices and concerns regarding their children's online risk and safety."

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UW-Eau Claire Professor of Criminal Justice Justin Patchin talks about the research he is doing as a Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center.

Bridging the digital divide means more than having "access," it includes digital literacy which ensures the birth of new ideas and informed citizens. 

"At what age is it appropriate for young people to start using social media? Few can say for sure at this point. There is the argument for the fun and freedom Facebook represents. And for the social skills that it could arguably help develop in young people. Perhaps it can even be a bridge for the socially awkward student yearning to reach out to his or her peers?"

"We recently helped a 17-year-old get a topless photo and fake profile removed from a social networking site. But even though content was deleted, the picture and fake profile lived on as "cached" or archived content in the Google Search index. So the content removal process didn't end with the social networking site. The next step was to submit a request to remove the cached content from Google, called a "content removal request." It's important to note that the picture and fake profile would have naturally dropped out of Google the next time its Web crawler indexed the updated page. But if you want to expedite the removal process, the way the user above did, here's how:"

Google has teamed up with the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK to launch a new initiative that will see the search giant and the independent charity launch a adverts in newspapers, on public transport and online to promote safer Internet use and help users adopt safer practices when online, The Telegraph reports. The campaign is the first of its kind for Google, which sees the company promote something other than one of its products, but will concentrate on safe password adoption, logging out of web browsing sessions on public computers and increasing only safety by incorporating more elaborate ways to sign-in to an account, to ward of potential attackers.

Twenty years ago, good citizenship took place in the microcosm of the classroom and was simply rewarded with a certificate of merit. Today, with its millennial twist, global digital citizenship reaches far beyond the playground fence. And its stewards are enriched with a much deeper understanding of how their actions affect their own lives as well as those of their peers - at home and around the world. That's why students must take an active role in identifying and establishing ethical digital use. They need to be involved in the critical thinking and policy creation that affects ultimate change. It's called "buy-in" … and these days, our savvy students require it if they'll be expected to have a healthy relationship with technology.

If you worry that your child is being harassed, there's a way to keep the cowards in check. BullGuard Mobile Security is a parental control app and web service with the ability to monitor Internet activity: messages, pictures, downloaded content, and Internet sites. Remote access gives you the ability to apprehend any mean messages before your child does and delete them if necessary. You can then blacklist any unwanted contacts from messaging systems, email, and social networks. GPS tracking is included too, so you can make sure your child arrives at school on time and even locate a lost or stolen phone. If the phone is stolen, you can remotely lock and wipe out the device. And conveniently, if you can't find it all of your contacts, calendars, and other info are backed up on a server -- so you can reload onto a new device.

Approximately 32 percent of students report being bullied at school. Bullied students are more likely to take a weapon to school, get involved in physical fights, and suffer from anxiety and depression, health problems, and mental health problems. They suffer academically (especially high-achieving black and Latino students). And research suggests that schools where students report a more severe bullying climate score worse on standardized assessments than schools with a better climate. This is all common sense to educators. They have known for decades that students need to be in safe, supportive learning environments to thrive. And the vast majority care deeply about keeping children safe.

Comic strips contests can be used as a tool for educating students about bullying.

"The recently released Public Discussion Paper, supporting the development of Australia's first Cyber White Paper, makes use of the term 'digital citizenship'. It's an odd term. Citizenship has traditionally been associated with being part of a nation, for example an Australian citizen. National citizenship has also been associated with a set of rights (the right to vote, the right to a level of protection, etc) and obligations (abide by the laws of the land). This concept of citizenship is underpinned by the notion of mutual consent. Citizens' consent to governments' political authority in return for governments' exercising their power justly, legally and in the interests of their citizens. This agreement between citizens and governments is commonly referred to as the 'social contract'. "