{"id":6642,"date":"2015-08-21T09:50:56","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T13:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=6642"},"modified":"2022-04-22T11:31:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T15:31:41","slug":"approaching-student-digital-citizenship-from-many-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/approaching-student-digital-citizenship-from-many-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"C is for Citizenship (digital of course!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Approaching student digital citizenship from many levels<\/h2>\n

Our students live in technology-rich worlds, regardless of how much technology they are using in school on a day-to-day basis. Technology has all kinds of awesome educational benefits, but Uncle Ben\u2019s advice to Spiderman<\/a> is fitting here: \u201cWith great power comes great responsibility<\/em>.\u201d As educators we’re obliged to help students use technology appropriately and safely.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is digital citizenship?<\/h3>\n

\"approaching<\/a>The International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) standards for students<\/a> defines it as:<\/p>\n

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.<\/p>\n

They:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology<\/li>\n
  2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity<\/li>\n
  3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning<\/li>\n
  4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    A more extensive but still accessible definition includes nine elements<\/a>, which can\u00a0roughly be boiled down to Respect, Educate and Protect.<\/p>\n

    Okay, so how do we get students there? Here are some resources for approaching it from various levels: district\/school, educator, classroom, and student.<\/p>\n

    1. District\/School System<\/h3>\n

    Have you heard the anecdote about a toddler desperately swiping at a book cover like it\u2019s a tablet? Funny, but apparently also true. Many kids today are exposed to connected devices before they can read. One study<\/a> found that kids are exposed to the internet on average by age three, while a Microsoft poll<\/a> found that parents were comfortable with unsupervised internet access by the age of eight, on average.<\/p>\n

    \"approaching<\/a><\/p>\n

    So education leaders would be wise to implement a comprehensive K-12 curriculum that addresses digital literacy. The gold standard for this is Common Sense Media\u2019s Digital Literacy and Citizenship. Their scope and sequence<\/a> provides lesson plans and supporting materials for professional development and family outreach. It\u2019s downright impressive.<\/p>\n

    An example of a school system that has developed the whole enchilada can be found at the Digital Citizenship Program site<\/a>, masterminded by the Lester B. Pearson School Board in Quebec. Get ready to steal! (Don\u2019t worry, that\u2019s good citizenship in this case!)<\/p>\n

    2. Model, as an educator<\/h3>\n

    \"approaching<\/a>As educators we always try to model good practice for our students, right? Modeling digital citizenship is actually an ISTE standard for teachers, too, as explored in this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    And as much as we want to be on the cutting edge, we need the risks that we take to be purely intellectual and not actually put our jobs in jeopardy. Thanks to our friends at ConnectSafely<\/a>, there is now an app for that. Well, a PDF guide, actually, but still a very thoughtful Educator\u2019s Guide to Social Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    3. Make digital citizenship part of classroom activities<\/h3>\n

    There are lots of ways to weave digital citizenship into your classroom without relying on a full-blown curriculum. Each of these sites provides a way that you could allow students to explore digital citizenship resources in a self-directed way, prime for flipped classrooms or smuggling into those juicy gaps in a pacing guide.<\/p>\n