Digital Citizenship

 Oh technology, it seems like today it is everywhere. I bet it is even in your class already. Students have phones, school issued chromebooks, they may even live in a "smart" home. I'm still studying to be an educator and I have used technology in major ways during lessons. When it comes to students being on a device a good percentage of their time, we have to think about what the consequences of that may be. 

Students need to know how to use technology, and specifically computers and the internet, in a responsible way. This is where Common Sense Media comes into play. 

As educators, it is increasingly our responsibility to ensure that our students are educated in good digital citizenship. If you navigate to  Digital Citizenship Curriculum, you will find a comprehensive curriculum that will you help you do just that. It was created in partnership with Harvard and will get your students thinking about the ways media impacts us all around. There are lesson plans, games, and resources to use in the classroom for digital citizenship training. Common Sense Media has created 6 different lesson areas with modules for each grades to increase knowledge in good digital citizenship.

The first lesson modules are on media balance and well-being:

This is not just ensuring that students don't spend inordinate amounts of time online, but also how that time affects what they do offline. These lessons helps students see that they can impact their real selves by what they do with their online selves.

The next lesson set has to do with privacy and security:

This set of lessons deal with what is safe and not safe to share online. It also covers when you can share, and when you cannot share certain pieces of information.

The third group of lessons is Digital Footprint and Identity:

These modules should help your students understand that the person they create online can affect the person they are offline.

The fourth set of modules deals with communication and keeping relationships online:

These modules lead students in understanding where the boundaries are with online relationships.

The fifth lesson set is on cyberbulling: 

To me, this may be one of the most important sections of learning. Children and teenagers have taken their own lives over the effects of cyberbulling. This is an area that all students need to know what is right and how to combat what is wrong. If this was all I had time to teach, I would do it.

The last lesson set is on media:

This seems to be rather important in today's environment, given the state of things. These modules help students understand how to research and determining what is fake versus what is real in terms of news.

As you can see this curriculum is very thorough. There is no more important time than now to ensure our students are good digital citizens for the years to come.