This is a perfect opportunity to reinvigorate and celebrate your school’s commitment to digital citizenship in an increasingly online world. As technology continues to be fully integrated into the lives of our students (both inside and outside of school), equipping them with the tools to be confident, safe, and respectful online is more important than ever.
What is digital citizenship?
In a nutshell, digital citizenship means:
- Creating a digital identity through positive online connections, activities, and communication
- Engaging in positive and safe online behavior
- Respecting the intellectual property of others (i.e. only sharing with the appropriate permissions)
- Maintaining digital privacy
Read the full indicators of digital citizenship from the ISTE Standards.
How can I teach digital citizenship?
Here are a few quick, easy-to-use resources that would be great to integrate into your teaching this week:
- Common Sense Education has a great resource (organized by grade level band) that includes an introductory video, discussion guide, and supplemental activities and resources. Find the flyer here.
- This 5-minute video film festival by Edutopia has a curation of 11 short videos that outline the various components of digital citizenship. The first 5-minute video is a great introduction!
- Be Internet Awesome (developed by Google for Education) is designed to help students be safe and confident online explorers! Check out “Explore Interland” for an engaging, fun, interactive game to teach digital citizenship to elementary students. There’s a quick 2-minute introductory video to the game.
