Digital Citizenship Week 2015
Hi folks!I'm joining in with the responsible web gurus at sites like Common Sense Media and InCtrl to support Digital Citizenship Week this October 19th-26th.
With all the technology that children are being exposed to, it is definitely time to "have the talk" with them about how to be safe and effective in the online world. The talk: parent version (teacher version).
This is a huge topic (you can find the main points from the link at the top of my blog). The important thing to note here is that this isn't just new for kids. Most of the technology and social media issues we are dealing with are new to adults as well as children; we are learning this stuff together. If you think you fall into the "learner" category on this, or rely on your kids to teach you about technology, check out this amazing parent concerns knowledge base to bring yourself up to speed on what may be happening in your child's digital world and how to learn more about these issues.
Did you see that last link there? It was important. Let's do it again.
Find help for parent concerns about technology here.
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Digital Passport (Recommended for Grades 2-4)
This free site has five clever games that are both fun to play and teach valuable lessons about digital citizenship with included videos by elementary students.
- In Twalkers, students learn why it's important to avoid multitasking with a cell phone. They consider the benefits of focusing on one task at a time.
- In Share Jumper, students evaluate examples of online messages. They decide what information is appropriate to share and when. Students are also reminded that nothing is truly "private" or "erasable" online.
- In E-volve, students make choices about what to do if they or their friends are cyberbullied. They are encouraged to "evolve" into an “Upstander” – someone who takes action to stop cyberbullying, rather than standing by.
- In Search Shark, students learn how to choose effective keywords for searching online. They practice selecting keywords that are most relevant to a search prompt. Along the way, students discover hints for narrowing their search results.
- In Mix-n-Mash, students remix media content to create a new creative piece. Along the way, they give proper credit to the artists whose images and sound clips they use.
Digital Compass (Recommended for Grades 5-9)
This free interactive adventure puts students in the shoes of cartoon characters experiencing real-world digital dilemmas and allows them to choose their own path to experience the possible outcomes of the choices they make. Good or bad decisions reveal interesting plot twists and mini-games. No account required and it's also available free on iPad and Google Play!
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I really hope you'll try these out and help raise awareness for Digital Citizenship week. Help me build a future where our information is safe, we celebrate sharing, and no one TYPES IN ALL CAPITALS UNLESS THEY ARE SHOUTING.
:)
Thanks for reading!
-M
