Digital Citizenship Resources

Curious about Digital Citizenship?

Learn how to focus on strategies for managing your digital footprint and implementing digital citizenship in your school(s).

1. Your Digital Footprint

2. Digital Citizenship Resources

3. Online Professional Learning

4. Read TCEA Blog Entries on Digital Citizenship

Your Digital Footprint

Seventy percent of hiring managers say they’ve decided not to hire an applicant because of information they have found online, according to a survey commissioned by Microsoft of 1,200 human relations managers and consumers. While most of those surveyed stated they research candidates online and think they are justified in doing so, only seven percent of consumers believed that recruiters check out potential candidates online when making hiring decisions.

Over one-half of managers surveyed agreed that data on lifestyle, inappropriate written text and inappropriate photos were types of information that could result in rejecting a candidate. An overview of the findings from the survey can be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/dpd/research.aspx.

Would having a "good" digital footprint help you get a job?

Positive online reputations matter.

Among U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 85% say that positive online reputation influences their hiring decisions at least to some extent.

Nearly half say that a strong online reputation influences their decisions to a great extent.

How do you manage your digital footprint?

  1. Create your digital footprint
    • Decide how you want to "brand" yourself or your program
    • Create a standard username and picture that will represent your best version of yourself online
    • Create online accounts on popular social media sites (e.g. Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat)
    • Put your social media contact information on your website, in your email signature, and print documents
  2. Make collection of awesome resources relevant to your work easy. Use a content curation tool like GetPocket.com, Nuzzle or Flipboard that work on web-friendly and mobile devices
  3. Create a distribution channel. Make sharing of awesome resources easy (e.g. you share once and it goes everywhere) with IFTTT.com
  4. Connect and Share often. Silence is absence. Put positive text, audio, video and content online about you, your program via your distribution channels
  5. Own your space. If you don't step into your space, others will. Some will do it because it's their space too (e.g. similar name or brand). Others will do it to be malicious (e.g. defame your character, slander your good name).

Is the work worth it? Absolutely! You must commit to being a lifelong learner and content curator. But that's why you are an educator, isn't it?

Jane Hart put together her Top Tools for Learning list into a framework. (via tweet)

This is your chance to develop your own framework! Use the Google Draw document to create your own (here's the PPTx version).

See it online here...what will YOUR toolkit look like?

Digital Citizenship Resources

Digital Citizenship Example #1: School District

This example includes self-paced modules on a variety of topics with a simple approximately 10-20 questions in a Google Form + Flubaroo assessment. It satisfies eRate requirements for training professional staff, but is not required for ALL staff.

Digital Citizenship Example #2: Safe Schools Online Course

SafeSchools.net offers K-12 school districts the ability to assign cyberbullying courses and more to staff. Staff have to actually complete a battery of online materials. The SafeSchool system tracks completion and allows for greater accountability.

How do you keep track of professional learning for staff, as well as training for students, on digital citizenship?

Digital Citizenship Resources

Need ideas on how to celebrate Digital Citizenship Week? Check out these activities and resources that are sure to help you.

Digital Citizenship Week (October 16 – 22) is the perfect time for you and your students to reflect on the role technology plays in your lives. It’s an opportunity to stress the importance of positive online habits, to learn about digital safety and responsibility, and to encourage acts of kindness.

See more resources online via the TCEA TechNotes blog

Digital Citizenship WebQuest

Often, it's one thing to develop policy, quite another to implement it in a way that makes sense. How can we, as leaders in a learning organization, model responsible use of technology with students and staff?

Over the next 30-40 minutes, you will explore this question and learn how the school district plans to introduce students and staff to digital citizenship, cybersafety and responsible use.

Common Sense's Digital Citizenship Resources

Being a good digital citizen is more than knowing your way around the web. It's about connecting and collaborating in ways you didn't even know were possible.

Our K–12 digital citizenship program includes comprehensive learning resources for students, teachers, and family members and 65 grade-differentiated lesson plans.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) – observed every October – was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance) to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. 2017 marks the 14th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Access NCSAM Resources

Digital Citizenship Resources (LiveBinder by VisionsByVicky)

This binder is an attempt to collect and organize Digital Citizenship resources by age (grade level). Often when we think of Digital Citizenship, we only think about the safety aspects of it but being a digital citizen is much more than just being safe. The nine elements of Digital Citizenship as outlined in the book Digital Citizenship in Schools by Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey are: Digital Etiquette; Digital Communication; Digital Literacy; Digital Access; Digital Commerce; Digital Law; Digital Rights & Responsibilities; Digital Health & Wellness; and, Digital Security (self-protection).

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/34991#


Digital Citizenship (Wikispaces)

WoodWardTrac shares a variety of resources and links to assist you in learning about digital citizenship. An annotated bibliography is also included as well as a list of blogs and Twitters you may be interested in following.

http://digitalcitizenship21.wikispaces.com/


Digital Citizenship (Pinterest)

This link takes you to pins that have been labeled with 'Digital Citizenship'. You may also be interested in clicking on Boards to reduce some of the clutter and redundancy.

http://pinterest.com/search/?q=digital+citizenship


#DigCit and Digital Citizenship (Twitter)

Take part in the conversation that is going on via Twitter. You can search for the hashtag #DigCit to find information and resources. You can also search for "Digital Citizenship" (in quotes) to find resources.

CyberBullying

An Educator's Guide to Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats

This documents provides information about cyberbullying and cyberthreats for educators and other professionals who focus on youth safety and well-being and sets forth recommendations for a comprehensive school and community-based approach to address these concerns.

http://www.wcs.k12.va.us/users/honaker/cyberbullying-for-teachers.pdf


Anti-Cyberbullying Toolkit

This toolkit was developed by Common Sense Media

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/cyberbullying-toolkit

Videos

How to Follow Proper Netiquette Rules Online

Howcast shares their video on using proper netiquette while online. Though this may include some items you may not cover in netiquette, it has good information.

[Time: 2:39]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRoclqDJh0


An Introduction to Digital Citizenship

This fun video was created using the SockPuppets app. Since the app doesn't create long videos, short 30 second clips were pieced together to explain the nine elements of being a digital citizen.

[Time: 8:56]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD_CANwFASU


Online Safety: Tracking Teresa

This video shares how easy it is to find out information about a student if they aren't careful about what they post. Even though the video is a little pixelated, it is a great tool to emphasize the need to think before you post.

[Time: 5:01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMJ4u3zfmoo


Online Safety: Broken Friendship

This short video shares how damaging it can be when someone misuses your information and how it can hurt others.

[Time: 1:50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQP3s1HmrAo


Kacie Woody Story

This tragic story of Kacie Woody is worth telling so that others may avoid falling for the trap that ensnared her. She was an honor studet, her dad was a police officer, and still some bad decisions were made that ended fatally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mEirio3xIg

Research

Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project

Known for providing quality research, the Pew Center has a lot of information related to teens and their use of the Internet. They make it easy to find specific topics, demographics, and/or technologies.

http://pewinternet.org/Topics.aspx


Differences Between Elementary Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Bullying Classroom Management

This study, by Marsha Roth, examined Elementary students’ perceptions of how bullying issues are addressed in their classroom. Relevant data were obtained from 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Elementary school students and from 12 Elementary school teachers. The goal of the study is to determine the correlation between teachers and students perceptions of bullying in the classroom. SS Elementary teachers lack the information in knowing how their students perceive bullying in the classroom.

http://goo.gl/R14Mh


Investigating Student Gender and Grade Level Differences in Digital Citizenship Behavior

Though it may be easy to feel like you are sinking when you start reading research, jump to the section on Findings - page 74 of this document. This is where the rubber meets the road for our conversation. Interesting findings though maybe not surprising. This information can help inform you when implementing your curriculum.

https://search.proquest.com/openview/095d777f0530d171f9d41fd693eab7b9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y


The Effect of Social Network Sites on Adolescents’ Social and Academic Development: Current Theories and Controversies

In this article, June Ahn, reviews emerging research surrounding youth's engagement with social networking sites. While this article is very academic, it does offer good insight and data.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.21540/pdf

Miscellaneous Resources

TeachersFirst

TeachersFirst is a collection of resources and lessons for teachers. Suggestions for safe Web 2.0 sites as well as online safety resources are given.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/safety.cfm


Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge

Designed for grades 3 through 8, each scavenger hunt provide students a list of questions they have to answer as they explore various websites.

http://usa-sos.org/index.cfm?Page=Scavenger_Hunt


Generation WiFi: Social Networking and Student Safety (Article)

In this article, Allen W. Achilees shares tips for teachers and teens to help them have a more secure and safe online experience.

http://goo.gl/p6bUe


Top 20 Most Common Passwords

Based on a security breach of a popular site with teens, it was surprising to find out the most common passwords. Even though it may be cumbersome and tedious, teens and adults should create strong passwords. Do you use any of these common ones?

http://goo.gl/786JX


How It’s Done: Incorporating Digital Citizenship Into Your Everyday Curriculum (Article)

As in many states, students in Illinois are required to receive a certain number of hours of instruction each year dedicated to Internet Safety. While the idea is noble, the parameters are sketchy. Some schools have an “Internet Safety Day” or some such “special occasion” but too often these “occasions” serve no purpose other than compliance with the requirement and very little learning occurs.

http://www.techlearning.com/article/52762


Most Teens Are On Social Networking Sites; 20 Percent Report Being Bullied

This eye-opening article discusses various aspects of the use of social media websites by teens. Very interesting read.

http://goo.gl/9kzEl


Niagara Wheatfield Central School District Curriculum Outline

If you are needing to communicate your curriculum to parents and the community, you might find this method a good overview that can quickly be shared.

http://www.nwcsd.k12.ny.us/Page/377


The Teacher’s Guide To Keeping Students Safe Online (Article)

In this article, Jeff Dunn discusses the teacher's role in keeping students safe online. Several tips as well as additional resources are shared to assist teachers in this task.

http://goo.gl/ahtj8L


George Couros' Digital Footprint Presentation Links

https://goo.gl/0knVMl


Other Resources Session Participants Have Shared

View Google Doc

Research on Social Media in Education

“It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online,” said Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the report’s lead author. “There are myths about kids spending time online – that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age.”

MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Report

Use of social media and its success in schools.

Educators would like more training, professional development, and direction on using social networking and other technology from school/district leaders. Although educators are joining social networks, they express a need for guidance, training, and professional development.

Many educators have a high level of concern about joining social networking sites. They are concerned about privacy; they have very little time; and they get too much email.

Schools and districts often block access to sites, and many educators are frustrated by this....

Source: A Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools, EdWeb.net

Educators who have joined a social network are more positive about the value of this technology for education than those who haven’t, but they want the ability to separate their personal and professional communications.

Source: A Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools, EdWeb.net

Students who attempt to multi-task, checking social media sites while studying, show reduced academic performance (http://viralms.com/blog/2011/04/how-social-media-affects-students/). Their ability to concentrate on the task at hand is significantly reduced by the distractions that are brought about by YouTube, stumbleupon, Facebook or Twitter. Social networking has increased the rate and quality of collaboration for students. They are better able to communicate meeting times or share information quickly, which can increase productivity and help them learn how to work well in groups. (Source: http://edudemic.com/2011/07/social-media-education/)

Social Media Best Practices (Suggested)

  1. Using Facebook in the Classroom
  2. Teachers' Guide to Using Facebook
  3. Educational Chats on Twitter (#edchat)
  4. Assessing Tweets: A Twitter Rubric

Tools to Manage Social Media/Networking

  1. Tweetdeck.twitter.com - An easy tool to manage your twitter feeds.
  2. Hootsuite.com - This is a great tool that allows you to manage multiple Twitter (e.g. personal vs work) accounts, as well as Facebook within one screen. You can also direct the RSS feed (find out what RSS is) for a blog, wiki or twitter feed through Hootsuite.com to enable "auto-posting" of content. This can be a real time-saver. And, you can also schedule Tweets to appear AFTER the work day, which makes it convenient. View Hootsuite How To Tutorials online.
  3. HashTags - This is a search engine that allows you to search Twitter, whether by account or hashtag. For example, you can do a search on the hashtag #edchat to see what people are sharing for education audiences. You can also search on a particular username, @mguhlin, to see what they have been tweeting.

Educational Uses of Facebook

    1. Facebook Has Potential to Benefit Your Classroom (video)
    2. How to Create a Facebook Page for Your Classroom (video) - You might also want to step through this tutorial slideshow.
    3. Facebook in Education - How to create a Fan Page (Youtube link)
    4. 8 Ways Facebook Enriched Classroom Prezi slideshow
    5. Matt Gomez (Texas Kindergarten Teacher) on Classroom Facebook Page
    6. 50 Reasons to Bring Facebook into Your Classroom

Educational Uses of Twitter

Other Resources

Special Thanks to Stacey Branch for sharing School Behavioral Security Tips.

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