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The target audience for this training series is elementary school teachers and families of elementary school learners.
The purpose of this training is to help educate teachers and families about digital citizenship and how it applies to their learners.
In the past few years, there has been a significant increase in technology use for children. As of 2016, children ages 8-13 were spending an average of 6 hours a day in front of a screen. With all of the obstacles that COVID 19 has created, technology use has increased out of necessity for social distancing with minimal impact on rigor. But with this increased use of technology comes another challenge: young children are often encountering and interacting with mature content. In order to help them understand the importance of responsible technology usage we need to be directly teaching internet safety, digital literacy, as well as health and wellness that comes from finding a good balance of online and in-person time. I believe the best way to foster this is to have an open dialogue between educators and parents so that similar language and expectations can be found, reducing confusion and stress for young learners as they figure out how to navigate the vast possibilities of technology.
In this series, we will discuss and explore the various aspects of digital citizenship and how we might best help students and families discover a balance that is right for them. We will consider the pros and cons of technology use while working to examine how we can achieve our goals of helping students become more digitally responsible.
Session Materials
Session Materials
Guiding Slides for Parent University
Guiding Slides for Parent University
This is an extensive slide deck containing most issues around digital citizenship for young learners. It can be used to guide discussions for both family and educator groups. Some slides may not apply to both but it can easily be tailored to a group and ensure that the language being used between both remains as similar as possible. Many of the slides are based on a similar presentation available through commonsense.org
Top 10 Resources
Top 10 Resources
*In no particular order*
A site meant to help connect educators, families, and advocates with free curriculum materials and edtech ratings. This is an extensive site that partners with schools and other child-centered programs to bring direct teaching of digital citizenship to learners. This is by far the most comprehensive site I have found.
A casebook designed by partner programs through MIT and Harvard containing materials designed to encourage youth to reflect on the important issues of digital media. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves. Core themes center around participation, identity, privacy, credibility, authorship and ownership.
Videos and activities about a variety of digital citizenship topics. Some are free while others require a membership (which many schools have). These are tools that can be used directly with learners.
A google site with tools, tips, and games to help support educators and families in helping children understand the fundamentals of digital citizenship so they can explore the internet with confidence and safety. The game of Interland is a fantastic tool for use in the classroom or at home to engage children in the concepts and help them understand what it means to be a citizen of the internet. Also has strong tools for direct teaching that are ready to launch, saving teachers time.
A series of free standards-based lessons that teach key digital citizenship concepts. Designed for students in grades 4-8, to engage students through inquiry-based activities, and collaborative and creative opportunities.
This site is designed to help teachers, technology leaders, and parents understand what students should know to use technology appropriately. Provides a variety of resources for both students and educators. There is a really interesting progression chart organizing the elements of digital citizenship to streamline educating and sharing them with learners.
A site providing information for educators, caregivers, and young people. Encourages users of technology to become responsible digital citizens by strengthening awareness and understanding of what digital citizenship means. It shares specific advice and resources on issues such as social networking and cyberbullying and how these relate to and affect the online experience.
An online safety education program as well as a resource for reporting online exploitation. It provides age-appropriate videos and activities to help teach children to be safer online with the goal of helping children to become more aware of potential online risks and empowering them to help prevent victimization by making safer choices on and offline.
A highly recommended book about redefining our roles as citizens in today’s globally connected infosphere. The text aligns the process of teaching digital citizenship with the ISTE standards, and uses an "ideal school board" device to address fears, opportunities, and the critical issues of character education.
A comprehensive site designed to help educators and families prepare young people to become safe and wise users of technology. Excellent resources are available to help parents and educators integrate digital citizenship into the classrooms, afterschool programs, and homes.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship
While this entire development series is centered on digital citizenship, there is a greater focus on the elements of Digital Etiquette and Digital Health and Welfare. I feel that these are two of the largest issues for young learners as they develop and navigate an online presence and thus this should be the starting point for educating them about digital citizenship. Throughout the sessions, the idea of creating a balance between digital and in-person lives is presented with tips and on how to do that. There are also various signs to look for if there is suspected cyberbullying as well as what to do to address it if this is occurring. There are also a great many resources provided and explored for helping young learners make connections between the expectations when interacting online and in person. A larger goal is to help learners understand that there are people on the other end of what they are doing and saying online and online misconduct can have consequences just like it would in a classroom or at home.
Handouts
Handouts
Rings of Responsibility.pdfRings of Responsibility Worksheet
Rings of Responsibility Worksheet
An activity to help learners connect their actions online to those offline. Meant to be used with a lesson from Commonsense.org to address digital etiquette.
Balance Tips.pdfFinding Your Balance
Finding Your Balance
Tips and tricks for helping families find a balance between life on and offline. These are some simple and realistic ideas from experts in technology that anyone can try implementing right away.
I am a Digital Citizen.pdfI am a Digital Citizen
I am a Digital Citizen
This is a mini poster that can be given to families or teachers to hang wherever it will help learners remember what they know about internet expectations.
THINK bookmarks.pdfTHINK bookmarks
THINK bookmarks
These are bookmarks that can be made in bulk to hand out to teachers, parents, or students with quick reminders to consider before they post.
Session Design and Delivery
Session Design and Delivery
What evidence in the professional development suggest that the learning environment supports andragogical principles?
These workshops are intended to address common concerns and issues shared by parents and educators regarding internet use for their learners. If the DC survey is properly utilized, the sessions can be further modified to fit the needs of the target audience based on what they already know and what they are most concerned about or interested in.
In what ways does this tap into, and extend adult learner interest or institutional (education or industry) goals?
Digital citizenship has become a hot topic of discussion in the education world, particularly since the advent of COVID and the increased technology use in schools. Many parents also have some serious concerns about their children's wellbeing in terms of technology and the internet. These sessions are meant to help educators and families better understand what digital citizenship actually means and how they can apply it to their teaching and learning environments to improve the lives of their learners.
How does the environment and unit offer a variety of ways to explore and express ideas?
This training would offer multiple opportunities to discuss, question, compare/contrast, and share ideas. There are prompts for discussion and questioning but there will also be amplet time for questions and discussions beyond what is presented
What structures and tools will you use to enable your learners to work collegially and to contribute to the community of learners?
The intent of the workshop is to increase awareness and understanding of digital citizenship. With this, the educators and parents involved will be better equipped to share information with others and work to educate the young people in their lives on the topic. The hope is that this will begin a ripple where knowledge is spread and passed on to other aspects of the community.
This is an example of Google Form that could be used to assess what families already know about the topics. The purpose is to provide information to the presenters (educators) about what concerns exist and what information is desired by the parents. From here, the workshops can be tailored to meet the needs of the community.
Instructional Map
Instructional Map
How might we help students and families better understand digital citizenship and find ways to balance their lives?
How might we help students and families better understand digital citizenship and find ways to balance their lives?
ISTE Educaor Standard
2.2 Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders.
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2.3 Educators inspire students to positively contribute and responsibly participate in the digital world
2.3.c Mentor students in safe, legal, and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property.
2.3.d Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy.
Connection.
These workshops are meant to bring educators and families together to learn the same language and have the same understanding of digital citizenship. This will facilitate a streamlined approach to working with young learners to establish safe and balanced lives around technology use.
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The primary purpose of the training is to provide educators and families with the knowledge and tools they need to help children learn to be responsible participants in the digital world. They will learn about safe and ethical internet practices as they relate to students and we will discuss ways to bring this information directly to students.
Learning Progression and Outcomes
Learning Progression and Outcomes
Session Title
Technology Think Tank:
What does it mean to be a digital citizen?
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Educating Digital Citizens
(may require multiple sessions)
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Plugged in Parents (Parent University)
Session Learning Outcome
An introductory inquiry session for educators of K-5 students addressing the themes of digital citizenship and why directly teaching it is important.
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How we should act when we are using digital tools, interacting with others online, and what should be taught to help the next generation be better stewards of this technology.
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Educators and families working together to create a shared understanding of digital citizenship as it relates to their learners. Forming common language to streamline teaching learners in and out of school.
Steps and resources
a) Assess prior knowledge of digital citizenship and 9 elements.
b) Form groups to find and explore resources and discuss. (techKNOWtools)
c) Reconvene to define terms together and determine the importance of each. How does this apply to teachers?
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a) Group work to explore student-facing resources, define terms in student-friendly language, and assess tools for usability.
b) Work in grade levels to discuss and share merrits of various tools.
c) Create a progression of what should be taught with each grade level, increasing depth and usage with age.
d) Tailor Parent University presentation based on responses to prior knowledge survey shared with families
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a) Define digital citizenship and themes for parents. Establish importance of each.
b) Discuss parent concerns and address misconceptions. Review statistics.
c) Explain what will be taught in school. Assist families with understanding they can do at home to facilitate a continuation of what is being taught at school.
d) Establish partnership with school, including roles of school and families, to help students learn to be responsible technology users
Follow-up
Follow-up
Digital CItizenship Brochure.pdfA voluntary questionnaire (exit ticket) to assess the effectiveness of the training series for both families and educators.
A PDF brochure for students and families.
Credit: Memmott, A. (2015, March 10). Digital Citizenship brochure. Digital Citizenship. Retrieved December 12, 2021, from https://sites.google.com/site/fabulouslearning/digital-citizenship.
Self Assessment
Self Assessment
How is this professional development different than what you would have planned prior to EDT 520?
Prior to EDT 520, I had never planned any professional development. I have worked with other teachers and shared my experiences and knowledge on various topics but only in one on one or small group settings with colleagues that I work directly with. This PD plan is different in that it is meant to reach the entire school as well as the community to create an open dialogue about digital citizenship as well as create a bridge between school and home for our students.
In week 2 of EDT 520, we learned about the TPACK model. A significant part of my personal educational philosophy is that student learning occurs in all aspects of their life, not just in the classroom. In order to facilitate a depth of learning that includes behaviors in and out of school, I wanted to create a professional development (PD) series that bridges school and community. For this PD series, I focused on this model to assist with planning sessions that would elevate educators' understanding of what digital citizenship means (PCK), help them develop the skills necessary to identify the best approaches for supporting digital citizenship in the classroom (TCK), and work as a group to identify the best approaches for supporting learning at different grade levels, with a gradual increase in expectations, as well as how to work with parents and families to extend content into the community (TPK)(The TPACK model 2012).
In week 4 we learned more about brain development and its relationship to the 21st century skills we want our learners to have. I used information from David Sousa's work, Brainwork: The Neuroscience Behind How We Lead Others to aid in creating an environment that would enable educators to find tools that work for their learners in conjunction with what other grade levels found to be useful and applicable. One of the end goals for these sessions is to have a learning progression for implementing digital citizenship instruction throughout the grade levels so that this learning can continue to occur even as teachers change and students move through the school. There would also be time spent in the second session evaluating the resources educators gathered for student use in terms of the SECTIONS model that I read about in week 4 (Pasquini, 2020). While the sessions are designed for adult learners with that andragogy in mind, we would also be working to develop in-class lessons with appropriate pedagogy for each grade level. The driving idea behind this is to mitigate the information overload discussed in Sousa's work so that students can learn to make better choices in their own time.
In week 8 we focused on inquiry-based learning. I attempted to use this idea in creating sessions around digital citizenship because I want the learning for both educators and students to be deeper than just understanding what the terms mean. I want this learning to be something that becomes intrinsic to the classroom teaching and learning model. Based on the content from the in-class video featuring Billy Corcoran and Mike Lewis, for that level of learning to happen, educators should be using inquiry-based learning to develop student-facing content goals that apply directly to their classrooms, they are not being handed a lesson to implement without the background information necessary for it to be a part of everyday learning. Knowing what digital citizenship means will not be beneficial unless educators, students, and families can apply this mentality to their lives.
The TPACK model. Educational Technology. (2012). Retrieved September 8, 2021, from http://www.rt3nc.org/edtech/the-tpack-model/.
Sousa, D. A. (2012). Brainwork: The neuroscience behind how we lead others (1st edition). Bloomington, IN: Triple Nickel Press.
Pasquini, L. (2020, March 12). Checklist: Selecting technology for learning. techKNOWtools. Retrieved September 23, 2021, from https://techknowtools.com/2015/04/03/checklist-technology-learning/.
In class video: Billy and Mike on inquiry based learning. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2021.
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