The Plan: 1-Digital Citizenship

In this post, I will describe the first cornerstone I see for my 21st Century Literacy Classroom: Digital Citizenship.

Digital Citizenship refers to the idea of being a good citizen of the global online community. It means behaving ethically and safely online.

Kids need to know how to keep themselves safe both online and offline. Parents are pretty good about teaching their kids how keep themselves safe in the real world, but are clueless about how to keep them safe while on the internet. Online, they need to know how much information to post on the internet, how to manage their online identity, and who to chat with. I could use some online safety programs like i-SAFE or Wiredkids. However, NetSmartz kids has worked very well for me to teach internet safety.

A big issue about kids online is cyberbullying. There are bullies in the virtual world as well as the real world. It’s actually easier to deal with them in the real world, because you can identify who they are. Online, people can be anonymous. They feel untouchable when they are anonymous online and think that their actions don’t really matter. It may feel much like a video game, where the person on the other end is not real. Kids have to realize that the person they are bullying has feelings just like they do. They should treat people online, as they would treat them face-to-face in real life. NetSmartz kids does a pretty good job of teaching kids how to deal with cyberbullies: tell an adult you trust.

The last part of Digital Citizenship I want to deal with in my class is ethical behavior towards copyright.

I started comparing my vision for a 21st Century Literacy Classroom with the Framework for 21st Century Learning by the and the updated NETS for students. My ideas didn’t fall neatly into the same categories they had, but they were pretty close.

NETS for Students Standards by ISTE

5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical
behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Correlation with the 21st Century Skills
Information Literacy

• Accessing information efficiently and effectively, evaluating information critically and competently and using information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand
• Possessing a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

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