Thing 11: Digital Tattoo & Digital Citizenship

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This all the hot topic in schools these days BUT I find it is more bought the posters, taught the buzz words but a depth of understanding is lacking and possibly not the goal of districts.

I started last year- planning what would I introduce to my elementary students. I thought I had a great plan. Then I started the year participating in a book study: 

Digital Citizenship in Schools: Nine Elements All Students Should Know

I quickly realized that there were holes in my plan. My focus was to try to develop a few more activities for my grade levels by January based on the book. One of my big holes was digital wellness. The students now have links to take mindful/ brain breaks, they can take a body break, and are becoming more aware of how much they are using technology and when.

Now I have explored this Thing 11, I am feeling nudged to expand our scope even more.


                              8 digital skills we must teach our children



I have my digital citizenship differentiated by grade- K has ebooks that introduce topics, Grade 1 are using Cyber 5 and Netsafe, Grade 2 explore Cber 5, Netsafe, and Ruff Ruffman, Grade 3 is working through Interland and FBI safe online surfing, and Grade 4 is doing digital passport and FBI safe online surfing. They all are pretty comprehensive coverage of the above elements but without unplugging and discussing and plugging them into real life experiences I find my students just see them as a game or a story that teaches a lesson.


On top of teaching digital citizenship, our students need to learn digital skills at an earlier and earlier age to be able to create and succeed in testing arenas.


Digital life- just as ELA, Math, Social, Science, the arts- must be tangible to our students lives. They must understand that in a world where we spend so much time inside a digital world- we must too be able to connect it to our real world and those around us.


On the elementary level, students have much of their digital choices made for them but it is the perfect time to beginning to have safe conversations about what responsibility will be yours next? and how will you approach this new responsibilty respctfully and safely?

It is never too early to begin the conversation.



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