Technology is so prevalent and so commonplace today that most students take it for granted as a part of their daily lives. Still, it is important for students to understand proper online etiquette and safety precautions both at home and at school. Three of the most important things students should understand about being good digital citizens are:
- Make wise decisions to stay safe, like not sharing personal information and visiting only appropriate sites. Also if a site makes you feel uncomfortable or if you feel a site is inappropriate in any way, stay away from it.
- Always post only appropriate comments and respect others on the Internet. Cyber-bullying is real and hurtful; there are consequences for cyber-bullies, and victims should report it.
- Remember that once you post something, it's permanent. Be wise and cautious about your posts and comments, because you may think you've deleted something, but it's still out there floating around in Cyberspace.
One of the best resources I found on the SBISD Ed Tech site was a link to a site called Digital Citizenship. This site has some useful "contracts" for both students and parents that outline precautions, guidelines, and expectations for student use of technology in the classroom. These would be useful as part my syllabus packet that I send home with students at the beginning of each semester. With students, I would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship by using the Child Pledge for Digital Citizenship I found on the Digital Citizenship site, and to share this idea with parents I would use the Parent Pledge for Digital Citizenship found on the same site. Having both parents and students sign "contracts" would emphasize the importance of digital citizenship, and later on the contracts could be used as reminders should some students stray from the contracts' explicit expectations.
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