Digital Natives! What a great term to reference this generation! How do I, a digital novice at best, get students, and my own kids (when old enough) to be responsible digital citizens when they are so much more tech savvy, when they don’t think it a big deal to pull out a device and post, comment, tweet, or update something.
Licensed by epublicist Yoel Ben-Avraham
Digital citizenship really means “….appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology” according to Mike Ribble and his article pertaining to the responsible use of technology in home and in schools. In it he discusses what he calls the 9 elements of digital citizenship. I really appreciate that, not just as a teacher, but a mom too. I have a responsibility to educate at home and in class. Everyone knows that having a home/school partnership is an important aspect to a child’s success. Totally not mind blowing, I know, just true. So engaging the parents of my students in educating their children about Digital Citizenship is a critical part of it being taken seriously.
As I continued to read this article I thought, why not use these 9 elements and post questions, in a student friendly way, to illicit some discussion about what they think is responsible behaviour. After the discussion they can post their opinions on their own blog. And then, why not also post these questions on the classroom blog to illicit some discussions at home as well.
One question I like is Do users take the time to protect their information while creating precautions to protect others’ data as well? A student friendly version could look like , If you are playing an on line game, or using your email or Facebook account, is there any personal information should you not share. What about the personal information of your friends or family, is there any you should make sure to keep private. Why?
I think what I am going to do when their blogs get up and running is have, each week, one of these 9 elements to focus on. I believe there could be some great discussions that come out of this, and not to mention some good blog posts too. This all in the name of making a positive impact and creating a framework for thinking about appropriate use for devices.
I then continued to find resources and found this video that I would use to introduce the concept of the 9 elements.
Click here to view the embedded video.
There is also a great Digital Citizen video introduction from Common Sense Media
Click here to view the embedded video.
To help ensure I reach all of my students I found this video about some students who incorporated digital citizenship into their Minecraft game…Oh this will surprise them! I may increase my cool factor after this one!!
Click here to view the embedded video.
In the Teaching Tools, Digital Citizenship blog post I did for Course 1, I touched on the subject of Digital Citizenship and its importance for teachers to help students navigate the neighbourhood of the world wide web. I needed to mention parents as well. It’s all about the group effort.
Now since I have located more resources for students (and parents) accompanied by what I think is a fun, “reflect before typing” approach, these Digital Natives may be well on their way to becoming great Digital Citizens!
