Creating Digital Citizens

Infographic for digital citizenship created on Canva by Nevada Mastin.

We can teach students to make positive, socially responsible contributions online by utilizing applications that support peer collaboration and supervised interactions, such as classroom discussion boards created and monitored by the teacher. Applications that support these types of discussion boards are: Padlet, Google Classroom, and Quizizz. Checking safety and privacy features using the evaluation tool from Common Sense ensures that student data and information are protected while using these discussion boards. Additionally, confirming with the school superintendent that these applications are approved by the district ensures that rules are followed, thus enhancing security. Incorporating digital citizenship lessons that focus on responsible and safe online interactions as a part of an integrated lesson further teaches students to make positive and socially responsible contributions when online.

Students can practice what it means to be positive, socially responsible, and empathetic online through modeled training. Common Sense offers lessons in digital citizenship that can be integrated into the classroom lesson plan. Google offers a similar training for young students called Be Internet Awesome (Play Interland - Be Internet Awesome), which offers an interactive and educational game to help young learners discover digital citizenship and safety. On an instructional level, educators can allow additional time to set positive examples, establish boundaries and expectations for interacting with others online, and use apps/technology. Encourage parents to talk to children about the importance of being positive, socially responsible, and empathetic online. Teach and encourage parents to reinforce that children should talk to an adult when they see something concerning or unusual when using technology and digital learning tools.

Assessing Digital Information

When researching for an assignment or class project, students need to use accurate information. Teach students to search for credible sources. These sources of information come from reputable authors from real organizations or professional backgrounds. Ask them to consider who is posting or publishing this information, a national blog, or is this unknown internet link potentially unsafe? Teaching how to check for credible sources of information can begin with sharing safe-searching links such as online library resources, using books, and approved sites. Encourage students to use the most accurate and recent cases to utilize relevant official information.

To teach students to recognize and confirm bias within digital information, begin with a lesson on the author's purpose. Recognizing language patterns and being able to identify why an author is sharing the information is a valuable tool for students to have. For example, when students can identify when an author is attempting to persuade them to purchase something, they can understand that they are biased because their interest is in making a profit rather than sharing information. Reviewing the tone of the language and photographs in articles or blogs can also help students determine if bias or emotional play is being used. Next, review that any claims in the presented information are supported by facts with findings or specific dates. Overall, encouraging students to use reputable sources of information and search on approved servers will support them in gathering accurate, informative, and unbiased information.