Netiquette

We are well into our digital citizenship curriculum this year. Students have started working on the Common Sense Media Digital Passport and just completed a cyberbullying project for Digital Citizenship Week.

My classroom emphasizes 21st Century Skills, so we collaborated, communicated, thought critically, and created throughout this unit. The unit started with lessons from Common Sense media that discussed digital responsibility. We then used our Pixton comic creator accounts to show our understanding of netiquette visually.

We ended Digital Citizenship Week with group skits about the importance of being an upstander in cyberbullying situations. October is also Bullying Prevention Month, so we were able to discuss bullying on a broader scale as well.

The skits were amazing! Students were able to choose their groups (which was a risky move but worked out great) and had class time throughout the week to write their scripts, create their props, and practice. Students who were my timid participators became stars during this skits! We even ended with an anti-bullying rap!

The year started with many students very concerned about their work being "good." There was so much concern that students were not taking any risks and only meeting the minimum requirements of assignments. During this unit, creativity was emphasized with little directions. And the results were amazing! I hope to continue this trend of students completing their work for the joy of it and not for the grade.

Teaching Internet Safety Resources

In my quest to find tools for my new role as the Language and Literacies teacher at KCD, I came across some great websites that teach internet safety. They offer an interactive way to teach students about computer safety while using technology. There's a really cute one for younger students that uses Mickey and Minnie Mouse to teach the basics. Students can then print a certificate or email you a completion card. All of the questions and answers are read aloud for younger readers. Plus, it's Australian so the narrator has that great voice!

There's a set of videos that can be downloaded and played for students from http://kids.ikeepsafe.org/ . It is for younger students and centers around a cat who must learn internet safety.

My favorite is from NS Teens. It was created by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. There are videos with real teens, games, comics, and a certificate that can be printed or emailed after completing the main challenge. There's also an educator's guide for lessons and ideas.