Tool # 11

Three things that I would want to make sure students understand about being good citizens are:
1) Safety. They must understand that while the digital world is an exciting and salutary place for gathering and sharing information there are many dangers lurking out there so they have to be careful how and with whom they interact in the digital world. They have to be cautioned on giving out personal information.
2) Accuracy of information. Students have to recognize that while there are lots of authentic information on different topics, there are also inaccurate and bogus matters out there.They must be taught to cross check all information to ensure there is some degree of accuracy.
3) Honesty. The digital world like other aspects of life calls for honesty and integrity in all our dealings with others. It is so easy to obtain information that the temptation is there for students to claim the works of others as their own. The dangers and penalties for plagiarism must be clearly understood.

I will use videos and the ACTIV board to teach students to strive at all times to be good digital citizens. The video onBrainPop is a great way to introduce the ideas of digital citizenship. I will also use flip charts with the rules for being good digital citizens clearly defined. Last but not least I will consistently model the attributes of responsible digital citizenship to all my students.