It’s officially fall. The leaves are beginning to change, the temperature is approaching sweater weather and you can begin to smell the digital citizenship in the air. That’s right! Every fall, educators around the globe shine a spotlight on digital citizenship in their classrooms during Digital Citizenship Week. 

As we continue to live more of our lives online, we know that preparing students to thrive in the modern world is increasingly important. Helping our students become good digital citizens is an effort that reaches into nearly every aspect of learning and never stops, nor should it. Digital Citizenship Week is October 14-18 and gives us an opportunity to intentionally address digital citizenship in our schools.

What is Digital Citizenship?

The term digital citizenship tends to grow and shift as the landscape of human relationships with technology change, but according to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), digital citizens “recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.”^[1]

As adults it’s important to teach children to be safe and responsible online, but as Dr. Kristen Mattson, author of Digital Citizenship in Action, points out, we also need to “… show students possibilities over problems, opportunities over risks, and community success over personal gain.”^[2]

How Do You Define Digital Citizenship?

Mike Ribble and Marty Park, authors of The Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders, suggest that learning communities should define digital citizenship in their own way for their community.^[3] How might you define what good digital citizens do in your learning community? How might your students’ definition differ? How do your policies support your students’ growth into digital citizens?

I encourage you to seek first to understand your own relationship to technology. This builds openness for learning from and with our children about the ways they engage with technology. As you work with your students to define what digital citizenship means in your learning community, consider your students view of the opportunities and challenges to being a good digital citizen. Helping our students build healthy relationships with technology begins with listening to them and understanding our own. 

Digital Citizenship Week

Common Sense Education has been a leader in digital citizenship resources for parents and educators for many years. For Digital Citizenship Week, Common Sense has created videos with discussion prompts sorted by grade band designed to spark discussion with your students. Check them out and consider using them in your classroom.

Digital Well-Being Professional Learning

Building healthy relationships with technology doesn’t stop after Digital Citizenship Week. Digital citizenship is only one part of Digital Well-Being. Do you want to explore what Digital Well-Being looks like for your students? Curious how to identify and build resources and policies that help students build healthy relationships with technology? Register for the Digital Well-Being book study and workshop for school teams starting November 4. 

#TechEd #DigitialCitizenshipWeek #WeLeadLearning #KentISDpd

This blog post was written by Keith Tramper, Education Technology Consultant for Kent ISD and edited by Amanda Walma, Professional Development Coordinator for Kent ISD.

References:
[1] ISTE Standards for Students, International Society for Technology in Education, 2016, www.iste.org/standards/for-students.
[2] Mattson, Kristen Kristen. Digital Citizenship in Action Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities. International Society for Technology in Education, 2017.
[3] Ribble, Mike, and Marty Park. The Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders: Fostering Positive Interactions Online. International Society for Technology in Education, 2019.