Digital Citizenship and Online Safety

Digital Citizenship in the BC Curriculum falls under Digital Literacy Education and includes the following content areas:

• internet safety
• privacy and security
• relationships and communication
• cyberbullying
• digital footprint and reputation
• self-image and identity
• creative credit and copyright
• legal and ethical aspects
• balanced attitude towards technology
• understanding and awareness of the role of ICT in society

(from the digital literacy framework pdf)

Rainbow Schools states it nicely when they state “As our students use new technologies and access the Internet more frequently, it is essential that we teach them how to behave online and how to protect themselves and their privacy” (“Digital Citizenship – Rainbow District School Board”, n.d.).

Even a kindergarten student can describe the basics of digital citizenship as they share how to care for an iPad in the following cute video.

The following is a list of just a few helpful resources educators can access when preparing our students in the area of digital citizenship.

Media Smarts

Media Smarts is Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy. Although this site focusses on digital literacy, there are also many lessons and resources available to support digital citizenship under the topic “digital issues” and within the games section. (No account necessary but some activities require a license)

Common Sense Education

Common Sense Education (the educator portion of Common Sense Media) includes K-12 lesson plans, teaching tools (including videos), posters, student games, and toolkits to engage and empowers students to become responsible digital citizens. The lessons also include materials that can be sent home to families. (A free teacher account is necessary to access all materials)

Common Sense Education also has includes a Digital Passport module (grade 3-5) and Digital Compass module (grade 6-8) where students play games to learn about digital citizenship topics in an engaging way. Limitations: these games can only played on a laptop or desktop computer. To get around this, my class played these together as a whole class learning activity.

Kathleen Morris – Primary Tech

Katheen Morris, a primary teacher in Victoria, Australia maintains a blog and newsletter with a focus on primary tech. The goal of her blog, Katheen Morris – Primary Tech, is “helping teachers create digitally literate global learners.” Along with lessons, resources, and posters, Kathleen also provides access to free ebooks on a variety of tech topics including teaching online research to kids and working with free images, copyright, and Creative Commons. Although geared for primary, many of her resources could be used with intermediate students. (No account necessary although you can sign up for her newsletters).

Netsmartz

Netsmartz is NCMEC‘s (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) “online safety education program. It provides age-appropriate videos and activities to help teach children be safer online with the goal of helping children to become more aware of potential online risks and empowering them to help prevent victimization by making safer choices on- and offline” (“Netsmartz”, n.d.). Lesson topics include cyberbullying, online enticement, gaming, smartphones, sexting and sextortion, and social media. This site also has an online “TV” series called “Into the Cloud” (with episode and discussion guides) focussing on adventures in online safety for kids. (Most materials can be accessed for free, but an account allows access to exclusive materials)

ISTE – Digital Citizenship in Education

ISTE (International Society for Technology Education) provides resources and teacher education through its Digital Citizenship in Education component. (Although many resources are free, some can only be obtained with a membership).

Digital Citizenship – Using Technology Appropriately

The Digital Citizenship website focuses on using technology appropriately. The site states: “Digital citizenship is the continuously developing norms of appropriate, responsible, and empowered technology use. Too often we are seeing students as well as adults misusing and abusing technology but not sure what to do. The issue is more than what the users do not know but what is considered appropriate technology usage” (“Digital Citizenship Consulting – Education, Technology Support”, n.d.). This site provide excellent resources and links, although you may need to hunt a bit for them. This site highlights the 9 elements (themes) of digital citizenships and progression charts.

Developing Digital Citizenship Habits – SD #35

The Langley School District #35 has created online digital citizenship course called Developing Digital Citizenship Habits available through iTune U. The course is free to download and is described as “Classroom strategies to create digital citizenship habits part of our students everyday repetoire” (“Developing Digital Citizenship Habits – Free Course by School District #35 on iTunes U”, n.d.).

Protect Kids Online

Protect Kids Online is geared for students from grades 1-9. Their site clearly states their objective: “Helping kids stay safe while online is something many parents are concerned about. Yet, as a parent, it can be difficult to stay up to date with new technology and how to best protect your kids. ProtectKidsOnline.ca is here to help parents/guardians stay on top of the digital world their children are engaging in” (“ProtectKidsOnline.ca”, n.d.). This site gives up to date information on how to protect children in a rapidly changing digital world. Their blog also provides up-to-date articles on digital trends.

Cybertip.ca (The Door that is Not Locked)

Cybertip.ca (The Door that is Not Locked) is Canada’s tipline to report the online exploitation of children. This website provides a wealth of resources and information to guide in keeping children safe online. Some materials are available for free while others are available for purchase. (no account necessary) Cybertip is connected to Protect Kids Online.