Digital Citizenship- Much More than "Stranger Danger"

Teens and online learning have gone together long enough, that I remember when all digital citizenship was, was "stranger danger". We taught the students not to give personal information, we taught them not to tell the "bad guy" where they would be, and- in those days, it seemed to be enough. 

But now, the world has changed, and the way that students use technology has changed. The State of Illinois requires that internet safety is incorporated into the curriculum, and they outline topics that could be covered. But,  As Common Sense Media States, "Being a good digital citizen is more than knowing your way around the web. It’s about empowering your students with skills to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly online, allowing them to connect and collaborate in meaningful ways".  When we think about what that means for our classrooms, all of these rights, responsibilities, and behaviors, affect how the students learn and create in our classes.  

One of my favorite resources, Common Sense Media, does a great job breaking down the enormous idea of digital citizenship into smaller concepts

• Self Image and Identity
• Relationships and Communication
• Digital Footprint and Reputation
• Cyberbullying and Digital Drama
• Information Literacy
• Internet Safety
• Privacy and Security
• Creative Credit and Copyright

Many of these topics, such as copyright, or information literacy can be incorporated directly into the classes you're teaching, as you are teaching them.  For example, It is logical to discuss reputable sources while doing a research paper.  Other topics might best be taught in as mini-lessons, or in classes like "Power Hour" where students could learn about them in isolation.  In these cases, I think it's powerful to turn the students into experts where they can be teaching each other sharing their learning with others who might need it. 

No matter how you decide to cover the topics, there are many resources out there to use.  Here are a few..

Common Sense Media -  This is probably my favorite resource for a few reasons.  First, because it has content for students and parents in both English and Spanish. Also, it provides a scope and sequence and provides media, discussion prompts, and activities.  It also aligns the lessons to both the common core ELA content and the ISTE standards. Best of all, it's free (though you do need to create an educator account)

Brain Pop - Brain pop has a series of videos that can serve to be an introduction to digital citizenship.  It too, has some resources and lesson plans but it definitely isn't as comprehensive as Common Sense Media.  This one, I would see as a jumping off point. 

Be Internet Awesome-  Google provides both resources for teachers and students.  For students, there is a game, but honestly, I'm not sure that the game really teaches the students anything about digital safety.  On the other hand, they do provide some teacher resources and activities. I think this is a nice start, but I'm hopeful that it will become more developed in the future. 

NetSmartz - Similar to Commonsense Media, NetSmartz provides free resources to teachers and students.  They have many different subcategories for kids, educators, teens, and even law enforcement.  The Teen section has some games the students could play as well as "real story" videos. 

All of these are good resources, but again, I think the best way to use them is as references or resources to use while interweaving it with your curriculum or while the students are becoming experts to teach others.  

I'd be curious to know if you have any other resources that might be useful to middle school students.  If so, please let me know!

Connect students to the World - Skype and More!

Technology in education is the most powerful when it is allowing students to do things they would not be able to do without it.  Using Skype (or other tools like it, such as Google Hangouts) is a perfect example of this. Here are a few of the ways video chatting adds to the educational experience of the students.

Mystery Skype 

A mystery skype is a challenge in which students are paired up with another classroom in another part of the world.  Neither of the students know exactly where there other class is.  This is a particularly good activity for 6th graders who are studying 5 themes of geography because it relates directly to the district power standards.  We have done this activity a few times in our 6th grade classrooms here, and students have always had a good time (sometimes solving the mystery and sometimes not).  It is easy to find classrooms looking to do this, by either following the #mysteryskype hashtag on twitter or to check this spreadsheet with is constantly updated.  There are many teachers who also put forms up on twitter to sign up for Mystery Skyping. 

Skype a Scientist 

Recently featured on NPR's Science Friday- Skype a Scientist was created to allow students to talk to real scientist about topics that they are studying in school.  According to their website, they have over 1700 scientists who are ready to Skype with classrooms on a variety of subjects.  Teachers sign up using a google form and then the scientist will contact the teacher to find a time for a 30 minute discussion with the scientist. There are more than twenty different categories of scientists and they will do their best to match you up. 

Collaborate with a classroom 

There are many ways to do this, but one of the most exciting (and newest) ways that I've heard of is a site called Empatico (which translates to Empathetic!)- The website defines states that "Activities are standards-based and designed to promote meaningful interactions and positive perceptions. As students learn together, they explore their similarities and differences with curiosity and kindness and develop practical communication and leadership skills", which makes this a win win!  The students are able to hit curriculum standards while at the same time working on their social and emotional learning.  


The site has ready made activities that range from short "spark" activities that would require 2-3 hours of participation to longer "fire" activities that last for 2-3 weeks. Teachers are matched with partner classrooms and together move through the process of activating, interacting, and reflecting.  

This is a relatively new site, and/but I think it has a lot of potential for teachers and students.  Many of the activities relate directly to our learning outcomes (weather, geography, civics, etc) and I think it's an exciting new way for our students to learn with others from around the world!

Just the type of the Iceberg

Video Conferencing has many potential uses in every class and subject area.  Skype in Education gives more resources, and I will be sharing more as the year goes on!

Virtual Reality - Lots of Possibilities!

Now that our school has Google Expeditions permanently housed in the LMC, I'd like to give a little bit more information about how it has an could be used.  Starting last year, we were able to use Google Expeditions with the teacher as the guide. The list of expeditions is endless, with practically every subject matter covered.

But this year, we have had some new additions to the VR Headsets. First, Google Expeditions has updated, so that kids can lead each each other through the expeditions (it does not have to be a teacher leading it on a tablet.). We have already had students doing this as a power hour activity, but I see the potential for students to lead other students on expeditions as an extension or enrichment in the core classes as well.

In addition to Google Expeditions, we have also added to "video based" VR apps to the headsets.  Discovery Science has lots of Virtual Reality based videos where the students follow through an experience through the headsets, which gives it a 360 degree point of view. There's everything there from shark week to asteroids!

Like Discovery Science, the New York Times has created a Virtual Reality App  that brings students "virtually" in to many different news stories through the world.  This app too provides movie like experiences. The quality of the video and photography in many of these experiences are second to none, and/but the content is rather high level.

Ideally, we want the students to be creating, not just absorbing, so another app that was added is Google Street View.  With this app, students are able to create their own Virtual Reality of different experiences.  They could make a tour of the school, show examples of the 5 themes of geography, or bring the phone with while going on a field trip and make a virtual reality review of what they learned on the field trip and share it with others. The possibilities are endless!