Tool #10 - Underneath it All - Digital Citizenship

Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens.
I think this tool was so helpful, not only to my students, but to me as well. It was nice to be reminded of these things as it is easy to forget them in my day to day technological quests!

-Following the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." This is something that I try to live by daily and I think is important that children grow up with as well. As we all know this usually applies to friendships, but it's important use this application with everything in life- even technology!

-Realize that whatever you put in the computer it is there for the world to see. Nothing is really ever "deleted." This is definitely something that I learned recently myself and is extremely valuable information.

-If you use another's idea, always give credit to that person. Give credit where it is due! Hey, you want credit, too?

-NEVER give your password to your friends. Kids love to tell each other everything. This is something that may be difficult, but they will learn soon enough the importance of this!

-Ask parents/adults before visiting websites. The kids that I have taught in the past have been really good about asking permission about a website before they click. That is my policy in my classroom.. If I have never been to the site, you do not have permission to be there.


Share at least one of the resources mentioned above or on the Ed Tech website that you plan to use instructionally.
Brain Pop - this is such a great resource to seamlessly integrate technology into the classroom! The kids love it and it also offers things for those who need things to be a little more difficult. It holds accountability because the kids can take a quiz using their activities - which then can be used a grade in the grade book! I will use this as an enrichment to my curriculum that I am doing already. This website is easy to access at home, too!

Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students.
Ok, so I started typing up how I felt about teaching this idea to childen and kind of hit a wall. I started writing about how setting boundaries for kids is so important. It teaches them when to stop and when it is appropriate. The more I thought about what I was typing, I began to confuse myself. If you set too many boundaries, kids become "boxed in" learners and tend to stick with what is easy. They often will become casual learners where leaving this box is scary and frowned upon. I want my kids to feel like they have a certain freedom when exploring technology. It is such an amazing feeling to watch these kids explore technology. Their eyes are opened to such a new world, and almost immediately, they become entranced.

Don't get me wrong, first graders still must have a set of guidelines and ideals that they must abide by. Our librarian, Karen Harell, does a fabulous job at teaching the kids about "recommended" sites and sites that should not be visited. I have to borrow a quote from Theresa's blog.. "If in doubt, I ask! That is what I encourage my kids do too. If you guide them as they are learning, and give them pointers to teach to that moment, then the process of validity becomes seamless in their search for knowledge." I couldn't have said it better!

Theresa Trevino answers this question how all of us wish we could! Check out Theresa's blog to see her answer!

Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents.
I think that Back to School night is a great way to communicate this to parents. I also think that possibly speaking about digital citizenship at conferences and having some kind of form that parents must read and sign would hold them accountable for being aware of the procedures. We might also add blurbs to our blogs and newsletters and present them as "tips" to parents on a regular basis!