What comes to mind when you hear the phrase "digital citizenship"? Chances are you think of things like copyright, cyberbullying, Internet safety - and those are all elements of digital citizenship. But are they really all that different from being a good citizen in the "real" world? Copyright is about respecting the work of others. Cyberbullying is bullying. The principles of staying safe online are just an extension of what we do to stay safe in the physical world. Are there new skills and strategies to learn? Sure. But considering how much time our students spend online, we can't leave the idea of digital citizenship as an isolated topic that's only taught in the library or Computer class or maybe during a research unit in ELA. Just as we all teach and model good citizenship skills for our students everyday, it's important that we all teach and model those same skills when our students are interacting online. Many of you are already leading the charge on this, but the results of our BrightBytes survey tell us we still have room to grow in this area. If you are interested in learning more about how you can integrate digital citizenship in your classroom, this month's edition of Learn, Create, Connect will focus on ideas and resources teachers can use in any content area to promote and reinforce responsible citizenship for students from K-12 anytime they're participating in the online world. The content areas are listed in alphabetical order; scroll down to find yours. (And just a note, I didn't forget BCIT and Library. I intentionally left them off this list, as digital citizenship is an explicit part of what they teach every day.)

Have Questions or want more ideas for including digital citizenship in your classroom?

Contact your Librarian or email Anne Reardon. We'll be happy to meet with you and share more ideas.