Teaching Digital Citizenship…..whose responsibility is it? School librarians today take on many roles in the digital world. They are leading the way in the conversation around teaching digital citizenship in their schools and districts. From compiling resources for their students to teaching digital citizenship to promoting digital citizenship, school librarians are at the forefront. Digital citizenship is a school-wide and district-wide issue, especially in our current online-almost-all-the-time world.
School Librarians are leading students and other educators as they find their way through our online world. What does that look like? It takes on many forms. School Librarians are planning digital citizenship programming that reaches their whole community throughout the year and during Digital Citizenship Month (October). They are joining the DigCitCommit community and pledging to prepare their students to be a force for good online. They are educating themselves and other educators in digital citizenship. And, most importantly, they’re educating their students!
There are a variety of resources available for teaching digital citizenship. Some comprehensive and engaging programs have been developed by big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Everfi. Students love game-based learning sites like Google’s Interland and the FBI’s Safe Online Searching. Tried-and-true sites like Common Sense Media, Nearpod, and InCtrl provide a variety of resources and lessons for all ages. NetSmartz combines teaching and family resources for grades K–12 and an online “fun site” for younger students. DQWorld provides digital citizenship activities with a digital badging program for students ages 8–12. Social Media Test Drive, developed by Cornell University Social Media Lab, provides a simulated online experience for middle school students to prepare them for the online world. However you choose to teach digital citizenship, there is a resource that will work for you and your community!
Let TeachersFirst be your first stop on your digital citizenship education journey! Explore the collection of digital citizenship classroom resources curated by TeachersFirst, then delve into our digital citizenship blog posts for even more resources. School librarians, empower your community to be a force for good online!