As an educator... what will you do?

Week 4: Digital Citizenship

There is a growing issue in our society today that educators, parents and the community need to be aware of and need to be educated on; cyber bullying. Walking down a hallway in a school not only will one see students bullying their peers verbally and possibly physically, but one will also see students with mobile devices in their hands. Do you think they are texting their parents to let them know about their day? Probably not. They are texting their peers, spreading gossip and rumors and even texting unfriendly and hurtful words to peers. So... what do we do about this?

All too often do we are on the news about a young individual who has committed suicide due to cyber bullying. Young individuals are taking their own lives due to their peers not only bullying them in the school and social environment, but when they are in their home setting where they are supposed to feel safe. In the article The Importance of Teaching Digital Citizenship the author discusses what our responsibilities as educators, parents and a community are in teaching students of all ages what digital citizenship is. When thinking about the term citizenship, what comes to mind? The rights that we have as an individual in society, for example our freedom of speech and privacy. But there is more to citizenship than a list or our rights. We learn how to be a responsible individual in our community how to become a valued member to our society. Students need to learn that this also includes activities that they partake in online.

Two weeks ago, I did not know what the term digital citizenship really meant. I sure am glad that I learned what this means and how to go about teaching this to my future students. Students today do not only need to learn about social skills and social behaviors in face to face interaction, but also how to communicate this way online with peers or people they may not know. As discussed in Teaching Digital Citizenship in the Elementary Classroom , second graders are learning about digital citizenship and social skills and appropriate social behaviors by practicing blogging and researching. Do students really need to learning about this at such a young age? YES!! Young children are using the internet, using online game chat rooms, using social messaging among many other resources online. If we teach students in the classroom how to use these tools appropriately and what to do if they are approached by unwanted behavior, they will know how to react and how to take action. It is inevitable that students will be engaged one way or another online so it is our job as educators to educate our students on their safety and responsibility as an online citizen.

How do we go about teaching digital citizenship? My opinion on this is that we should find an engaging way to discuss this topic with the students. I feel as though standing in front of the classroom and giving the students a lecture about what to do and not do online will not be effective. Let's look at what else can be incorporated into teaching this topic. In the article Why teach digital citizenship? is an example of a blog response written by three third graders. I will be honest, when I first read this blog response I assumed it was written by high school students! As listed in the article, the students were practicing spelling and grammar, making an informed comment on someones work and how to communicate effectively and respectfully with another individual. From this article we learn that third graders were learning about digital citizenship AND were having an english lesson. Incorporating digital citizenship into other education lessons is going be key when I teach my future students.