I've always known the internet is a minefield, especially for children and teenagers. For instance, through this course, I've been shocked at the videos that are posted on Youtube. Unless a teacher, parent or other responsible adult is hovering over a child, it will be almost impossible to protect him. There are many areas under being a good digital citizen besides concerns of safety. The most important points vary per grade level. For my first graders, I need to keep it very simple.
1. Follow directions - do not go to another page or site unless the teacher has approved it. If you encounter bullying or anything you don't feel comfortable with, tell the teacher.
2. Don't believe everything you read or see. There is a lot of untrue or inaccurate information on the internet.
3. Think before you write. Everything you write on the internet will be there forever. Don't write anything that you wouldn't want your parents or your teacher to read.
To teach these digital citizenship points, I would model for my students and show them appropriate videos like the ones on Brainpop. Also, some students could be in a podcast modeling what appropriate digital citizenship looks like.
1 comment:
Hey Karen!
I liked the rule you made about thinking before you write and that everything you write will be there forever. Very sobering! Adults often don't consider who is reading their posts so it is SO important that we teach this from the beginning! Great point!
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