“It is so important that we teach and model positive digital citizenship to all of our students. Not only is it a state requirement, but it is also a board policy and district goal. I think the world today can certainly benefit from more kindness and positivity from users/citizens on the internet and especially on social media,” said Rogers.
He added, “We also need to teach students to be protective of personal/private data and information in this age of digital security concerns. We want students to be safe, smart and secure when they use technology tools.”
One elementary school held their event in November, while other elementary and secondary schools participated in February or plan to in March.
Thane St. Clair, Education Technology specialist said, “Our goal was simply to introduce a district-wide digital citizenship campaign that would raise the awareness of our employees, students, and parents in becoming smart navigators in our increasingly digital world.”
The education technicians created a web page containing information for parents and families, teachers and community councils about digital citizenship. It can be accessed at: http://ow.ly/psOo30nLVQo
Many schools have also held Netsmartz assemblies. NetSmartz is an interactive, educational program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that provides age-appropriate resources to help teach children how to be safer on and offline.
When Willow Elementary held their annual White Ribbon Week, they focused on how to best help students get the most out of the internet while protecting them from the risks and downsides of the online world.
They chose to highlight these five principles:
- Share with Care
- Don’t Fall for Fake
- Secure Your Secrets
- It’s Cool to Be Kind
- When in Doubt, Talk It Out
During Old Mill Elementary School’s White Ribbon Week, daily announcements were made about tips for safe internet and electronics use. They also held a Netsmartz assembly.
“This was valuable to raise student awareness about the potential dangers and provide them with strategies to avoid and minimize those risks,” said OMES Principal Cody Reutzel.
Rogers said he fully supports White Ribbon Week and looks forward to watching school participation grow.
Looking for additional resources about digital citizenship? Check out Be Internet Awesome, a site developed by Google in partnership with educators, researchers and online-safety experts at iKeepSafe.org. https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us