With so many kids learning and sharing online, we need to teach them how to navigate the internet appropriately. Just like students learning to have good phone etiquette back in the day, kids now need to learn how to function appropriately online. Digital citizenship can be integrated into any classroom and should be reviewed regularly so that as students are exposed to more situations, they know how to make better decisions. This week we have several resources to help you in K-12 classrooms to support great digital citizens.
Common Sense Media
One of the most popular and robust sites for digital citizenship is Common Sense Media. This site offers support for parents, teachers and anyone else who needs resources. For educators, you can access a whole curriculum that is broken down by grade level. The topics range from your digital footprint to cyber bullying. There are lessons, class discussions and videos to support your students. What is nice is that you can just use pieces of the curriculum to address a specific issue or you can do full lessons when you have more time. These tools are great to use in any classroom and can be used often!
Digital Compass
Common Sense Media has also created a game called Digital Compass. Students go to a fictional world called, “Anywhere,” and click different characters. It is like a choose your own adventure to learn about digital citizenship. Once you choose a character, you follow the digital choices that they make and help them decided the right path. It is engaging and sparks great discussion, especially with middle school students. As a warning, it is not compatible with all computers.
Interland
The last tool we have to support good digital citizenship is called Interland. It is a game created by Google to teach students to “be safe and confident explorers of the online world.” The game has some cool graphics and is highly engaging while teaching at the same time. It is a great way to remind students about different choices online effect them and others.
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Hopefully you will find these tools useful and support your students in their journey to being good digital citizens. The more students are exposed to these skills the better habits they will create. Stay schnazzy!
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