Thursday, May 9, 2013

Digital Citizenship Inside Fourth Grade


          Digital citizenship is defined as “the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use” (Ribble).  As the layers of that definition are peeled back, one will find that "digital citizenship is how you participate in the cyber community, and is quite similar to how you should behave in the community you reside in" (Watson).  You should treat others with kindness and respect, behave honestly and responsibly, and follow the rules and laws set forth to protect the safety and privacy of yourself and others.  So, as we dig a little deeper into the topic we realize that it is not that complicated, nor is it far from how you should  behave on a day to day basis.  

Digital citizenship in the fourth grade is more than teaching “internet safety”, it is about introducing students to the idea of a "digital tattoo" or a "digital footprint".  Students in my community are allowed cellphones, iPods, and iPads at very young ages.  They are allowed social network accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  With this type of cyber access just a fingertip away, students deserve to be taught what it means to be digitally responsible and how to protect their digital footprint.
This access also brings to light some of the issues regarding internet safety, and responsible cyber activity in early elementary.   The typical fourth grader is 10 years old.  At this age students are not completely aware of what is defined as appropriate and inappropriate.  For example, imagine this scenario:  A sibling thinks it is hilarious that their little brother or sister is running around the house dressed up as captain underpants, wearing nothing but their underpants and a cape?  Let’s say that older sibling takes a picture of this funny scene and posts it on a social network site.  There you have a photo that will forever be floating around in the cyber world.  Another scenario may be that a group of friends all go to the movies together.  They post pictures of themselves at the event making other friends feel bad for not being invited.  This is a form of cyber bullying that occurs frequently and is often overlooked.  Students need to know that everything they post and every website they visit becomes part of their digital footprint.  Educators need to take on the responsibility of promoting digital citizenship to protect students from damaging their digital profile early on. 
There are a variety of ways that educators can teach students about digital citizenship. Teachers may have their students create blog posts where they reach out to other students for advice or questions about how to handle cyber bullying.  Activities like these may be implemented during English to cover Common Core Standards: writing for a purpose. Students may also create digital passports or digital toolkits that help to promote digital citizenship.

**Please take time to check out my Prezi for more resources!!

**To evaluate where you stand on digital citizenship take a moment  to complete this survey!


For a list of the resources please check out my works cited page.

Thank You for Visiting!!

7 comments:

  1. Abbey, your post is cute! I love your prezi, the machine wheels turning was a good idea, it reminded me of thoughts turning in your head. I like the fact that you linked or referenced to outside sources, referring educators to Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and Pintrest, all sources we used in class! I also liked that you gave an example of what students may do that would be inappropriate on the internet.

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  2. I really liked the survey you included on your blog. I think that a possibly shortened version of this would be great to use at the beginning of the school year to help students prepare for what is to come. I also liked how your Prezi included many different technologies that students commonly use.

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  3. Your prezi blew me away it was awesome all the sources you used and the creativeness was amazing. I also liked the picture you used at the end was comical weapons of mass distraction. You took a lot of time and effort with your prezi and survey. It was different from everyone else and liked that you used resources in your prezi.

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  4. Abbey, I really enjoyed reading your post. After reading that post I had to stop and think if I did those things you said about Cyberbullying. I also, liked the survey, it was a good tool to include. Also, your prezi was awesome, if was very informative and interesting.

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  5. I like that you stated an example of an activity in your blog, how it ties into Common Core Standards, and what standard it falls under. That was something that I didn't see anyone else do. The survey that you added in was a nice touch, especially because it allows viewers who might be other educators, to see where they stand with technology. Your Prezi explained so many examples of ways to connect using technology and those are all really good sources that people need to keep in mind their role of digital citizenship when using them. You always go above and beyond and it is awesome!

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  6. I love the cyberbullying information you included in your post. Your prezi was very informative. I can't get over how much time it looks like you put into this. If I was trying to explain Digital Citizenship to someone I would definitely direct them to this post!

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  7. Your prezi was very fitting for the topic of digital citizenship. The resources that you had throughout both the prezi and your blog post were very informational. I agree with Bobbi i liked your use of activities connected to standards and the survey. Very well Done you did a great job getting the point across of what digital citizenship is!

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