Digital Citizenship

Hey Everyone, 

In the age of AI, helping kids maintain their digital well-being has never been more important. For this year's Digital Citizenship Education,  we've selected resources that address these issues with engaging activities that your students will enjoy.  October is an established month to highlight the need to educate students around Digital Citizenship.  Please select a few activities or lessons around this important work of Digital Citizenship now that the students are settled in and ready for a year of learning! 

Our guiding document:

Guide: Digital Citizenship Education in Saskatchewan Schools K-12 - Ministry of Education

Support the integration of instructional practices that will help students learn how to build and maintain a positive online presence and to protect their privacy online. This guide offers a roadmap for building appropriate school division digital citizenship policies and school-specific digital citizenship guidelines and procedures. It also provides tools and resources to help teachers, administrators, and parents support digital citizenship education. Included in the guide is a digital citizenship K-12 continuum. This continuum is intended to support professionals as they infuse these concepts and skills into their teaching.  

MediaSmarts.ca

This year's Media Literacy Week is October 27 to 31 and the Digital Citizenship Day is October 29. The theme, “Wait… What?”, invites students to ask critical questions about online content, especially when it comes to AI. Visit the following resources:

Educators can dive in through the Teachers’ Hub, with free, bilingual lesson plans and ready-to-use daily activities including video lessons led by MediaSmarts experts on AI literacy, misinformation, digital citizenship, media creation and more.  Or use the Saskatchewan aligned curriculum charts (on left) for Grades K-12 that feature media education outcomes in the Saskatchewan English Language Arts and Communication Production Technology curricula, with links to supporting MediaSmarts resources and lessons.

Ways to take part:

• Explore the Media Literacy Week Teachers' Hub

• Become a Media Literacy Week Teacher Collaborator

• Download Digital Citizen Day and Media Literacy Week posters

• Check out MediaSmarts' Calendar of Awareness Days to incorporate digital media literacy in your classroom all season long

CommonSense.Org

Visit Common Sense Education’s Digital Citizenship Week page to find:

• Digital Citizenship Week calendars for K-12 📅  Fun, daily activities for each grade level.

• Live webinars and events 💻  Join thousands of other educators to learn more about Digital Literacy & Well-Being curriculum.

• Self-paced PD courses 🍎 Free, self-paced courses let you learn at your own pace, on your own terms, and offer a certificate of completion.

• Helpful resources for families 🏠  Tips, advice, and resources to share with the families in your community.

• How to share your #DigCitWins with others 🤳 Help spread the word about the importance of digital literacy and citizenship!

Even TypeTastic ahared a short activity on:

Cyberbullying: Empower Students with Prevention Skills

Did you know…

● 37% of 10-18 year olds report being victims of cyberbullying in the US (ScienceDirect)
● Less than half of teachers feel equipped to address cyberbullying in the classroom (Walden University)

● Schools that implement anti-cyberbullying programs see a 20% reduction in online bullying incidents (National Library of Medicine)

The topic of bullying and cyberbullying can be emotional. Try this activity from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum to support you in covering a difficult topic with your students. Have students practice resolving potential conflict situations that may arise in digital communication. Step in to model as needed.

Introduce students to an ideal response to cyberbullying – Step away. Seek help. Speak. Role play scenarios that model the three cyberbullying response steps. Identify steps to take when being cyberbullied – gather evidence (e.g., screenshots), exit the situation, seek help from a trusted adult to address the bullying, and later, when ready, talk to the bully with the support of an adult and ask them to stop the hurtful behavior.   More from their blog here.

Instructional Support

And finally!

If you have questions, or you need support, please reach out to Jim Swan, Instructional Coach for Horizon Schools at jim.swan@horizonsd.ca.

To see more about the support work I do, please click on this link!