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Digital Citizenship 
“The most important aspect of digital leadership is establishing a vision and a strategic plan for increasing authentic engagement of students in the teaching and learning process” (Sheninger, 2017, p. 159). Although I read several blogs and articles regarding digital citizenship, the blog I chose to focus on for this post is “6 Rules of Digital Citizenship for Kids” by Heather Bowcutt. I attached a link to her post under references. Her blog focuses on digital citizenship and the importance of teaching kids about it. According to Bowcutt, “Once they’re (kids) in schools their worlds start to open, and the needs for broader access to information are integral for their learning. With that expanded access comes greater responsibilities- for them and for us, as parents” (2016). Her six rules of digital citizenship for kids are treat others with respect, do not steal, shop on secured sites, never give out personal information on social media, do not air drama on social media, and use the “think” rule. The “think” rule is the image that I attached to this post and as Bowcutt points out, it can apply to real world interactions as well. “Taking the time to instill digital responsibility at an early age is crucial for our kids as they move forward from playground friendship to Facebook friends” (Bowcutt, 2016).

            Another blog that I found interesting was “The Importance of Digital Citizenship” by Edmodo. I attached a link to the blog post under references. “It is extremely important for leaders to create a culture that not only supports the use of tools for learning, but also teaches students about digital citizenship” (Sheninger, 2017, p. 159). The Edmodo blog shared resources that teachers can utilize to teach digital citizenship to students. “As educators, we not only have the responsibility to model good digital citizenship ourselves, but we have to help students understand what it means” (Edmodo, 2016). This blog also shared resources for teachers to use to educate themselves on whether or not particular digital tools are appropriate for students. The resource that I found extremely beneficial was the Digital Compass from Common Sense Education. I included a link to the video under references. The blog also recommended teachers join learning communities to share ideas, resources, and discuss digital citizenship with other teachers. My favorite quote from this blog post was, “We can do our best to protect students, to make sure they have all the knowledge that they need but things will come up, and we should take these as learning opportunities, as teachable moments, to guide our next steps and to reinforce what it means to be a digital citizen today” (Edmodo, 2016).


References

Bowcutt, H. June 2016. 6 Rules of Digital Citizenship for Kids. Retrieved from       https://www.momschoiceawards.com/blog/6-rules-of-digital-citizenship-for-kids/

Common Sense Education. 2015. Digital Compass. Retrieved from   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6opdfUvdETg

Edmodo. October 2016. The Importance of Digital Citizenship. Retrieved from       https://blog.edmodo.com/2016/10/19/the-importance-of-digital-citizenship/

Sheninger, E. (2014. Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand


Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.


Comments

  1. TeachermomJune 25, 2017 at 7:12 PM

    I love the 6 rules! Every teacher should have these hanging in their room. The one I pound into my kids heads constantly is not to put anything person on social media, not even where they go to school. Unfortunately, I have found that no matter how much you try to protect your kids, their friends can undo all your hard work. My daughter was on a group chat with a few friends. The chat was going on for months and had all kinds of personal information about the girls. One "friend" allowed 2 strangers into the chat and they bullied and harassed my daughter and some of the other girls for 2 days before my daughter finally came to me in tears. The things these strangers were saying to these young girls was horrendous. I was furious! This "friend" allowed people to know my daughters exact locate during the day (she was at band camp at the high school that week), what school she went to, her name, there were pictures of the girls so they knew what she looked like and other personal information. I went off on these so called 15 year old boys from New Mexico!?! and the "friend" threatening everything from legal action to a body bag. Moral of the story, all kids need to know about internet safety and just because you teach it to your own kids, that doesn't mean their friends aren't disclosing personal information about them.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 26, 2017 at 5:55 AM

      Wow!! That is a fantastic point but a horrible situation to be in! I am glad you took charge and resolved the conflict! It is so sad that your daughter and her friends were bullied and harassed before asking for help. I agree that we need to continue to educate everyone so that our youth knows that those situations are not okay nor should they ever be tolerated. Thank you for sharing!

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