Digital Citizenship: Why Teachers Should Instill It In Students + Free Resources
With February well underway— and e-learning lingering — the time is now to revisit the importance of online safety. After all, Safer Internet Day is on February 9 and Digital Learning Day is on February 25.
And while it might be tempting for parents and even teachers to put restrictions on kids’ online activities, whether that’s with family cybersecurity suites or parent controls, as educators we know instilling the importance of something in students can be a far more effective way for them to put our preaching into practice.
That’s where lessons in digital citizenship come in. Generally, there are nine tenets of this concept that hones in on the responsible and safe use of technology:
Digital access
Digital etiquette
Digital commerce
Digital rights and responsibilities
Digital literacy
Digital law
Digital communication
Digital security
Teaching all of these to students can feel like a task. Thankfully, there are a plethora of online resources on how to teach digital citizenship to K-12 students. I’ve included a few here:
Google’s Be Internet Awesome suite teaches digital citizenship by way of interactive games set in Interland.
Norton’s guide to digital citizenship is complete with printable activities for elementary, middle school, and high-school students, plus posters.
Common Sense Education has a host of free, ready-to-teach lessons for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
And some more resources:
Digital Citizenship