Modeling Digital Citizenship
When a teacher sets out to implement technology in the classroom, he or she must consider and prepare for security and ethical challenges. Infusing technology into your curriculum has become more common, yet there is a ton of controversy surrounding it. Many schools and/or districts have gone as far as banning cell phones. Upon writing this blog, I did some research on the internet for statistics of kids/teens who are currently online.
61% of 13-17 yr olds have a personal profile on social networking sites
I would like to clarify that when you sign up for Facebook, you agree that you are 13 years of age or older. So this got me thinking...how many children under the age of 13 are on Facebook or any other social network?
81% of parents of online youth say that kids aren't careful enough when giving out information about themselves online
How are we solving this issue? By not allowing students online? By banning devices or restricting all social networking sites? How will they ever learn?
76% of parents don't have rules about what their kids can do on the computer
In some cases, we are the only source of Digital Citizenship Models for our students. When there isn't a proper example of how to appropriately and safely use the internet, how will kids know how to respond to inappropriate activity?
20% of children ages 10-17 have been solicited sexually online; that's 1 out of every 5 kids
This is both shocking and off-putting, yet is is happening. Are we going to ignore it and hope to never allow a child on a computer until they reach a certain age? Or are we going to have a proactive approach and instill in our children how to safely navigate and utilize the internet at a young age.
Using the brainstorming mind map website, Bubbl.us, I have created what I like to think of as a Digital Citizenship Brace Map for elementary age students. I considered the major components of a "digital citizen" and created an easy to read/use resource for elementary teachers.
Security is an issue that even adults deal with. "Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totalling upwards of $50 billion" (Identity Theft Info). The first component of Digital Citizenship is Be Safe. Keeping your username and password a secret as well as any private information. Discuss, as a class, about appropriate images to use as a profile picture and the kinds of information that you should never give out (address, last name, alpha code, etc.).
Bullying as become more prevalent with the use of the internet. "The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to real-life bullying outcomes, except for the reality that with cyber bullying there is often no escape. School ends at 3 p.m., while the Internet is available all the time" (11 Facts About Cyber Bullying). This leads me to my second component; Be Nice. I like to use the saying, "treat people the way you want to be treated" for the internet. Kids may not be aware that posting something on the internet will be there forever, even if you delete it. Use sentence starters to get your class practicing with compliments and the different ones they may use.
As adults we are taught the Dos and Don'ts when typing and sending an email. For example: using a specific subject line, being clear and concise about what you want to say - you lack the personal experience of a face to face conversation, so you might come off in a negative way over the internet or email. We must teach our students the third and last component: Be Clear. I always teach this in writing when we peer edit. They must make a compliment, suggestion, and correction. I tell them to think about how specific they would want their comments to be when they receive their papers back.
Cyber Safety Statistics. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from NetLingo Web Site: http://www.netlingo.com/tips/cyber-safety-statistics.php
Identity Theft Statistics. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from IdentityTheft.Info Web Site: http://www.identitytheft.info/victims.aspx
11 Facts About Cyber Bullying. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from DoSomething.org Web Site: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying
Excellent blog! I was just discussing this same kind of issue with our CRT. Many of my students tell me that their parents do not allow them to use the computers at home. As we continue to promote all the online resources our students can take advantage of, we must address these issues. I believe parents are not allowing their children on the computers in order to protect them. As a solution we have decided to present an information session during our reading night. The session will discuss internet safety acceptable internet use and how to set up parental controls.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great post. I have shared this with my students and peers.
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