7. Pledge

Through class discussion, students should help decide if a digital citizenship pledge is:

a) Created before training to model expectations, 

b) Filled in as teaching and learning progress, or 

c) Created or re-visited at the end of the curriculum as a reflection or summary of what was learned.

Sample pledge statements:

If a pledge is based on Mike Ribble's Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship, students could write a pledge statement appropriate to their grade level for some or all of the following areas:

• • Digital etiquette: I will not participate in cyberbullying. I will be an upstander and not a bystander when I become aware that cyberbullying has occurred.

  • Digital access: I will understand and enforce my district's Acceptable Use Agreement (AUA) because it has guidelines for my online behavior as well as for the care of devices.

  • Digital law: I will not steal music, videos, images, etc, through unauthorized downloading, and instead I will search for items in the public domain or honor copyright and Fair Use guidelines. 

  • Digital communication: I will protect myself and others by not sexting and by using chat rooms, blogs, and wikis responsibly.

  • Digital literacy: I will not plagiarize, which is stealing, by citing all my sources using a style such as MLA and by taking notes instead of cut/paste copying.

  • Digital commerce: I will be responsible with credit and personal information when shopping online. I will never participate in online theft and will report it to authorities.

  • Digital rights and responsibilities:  I will guard the online privacy and reputation of myself and others by protecting personal information. 

  • Digital safety and security: I will protect myself and others from online predators, including untrustworthy fellow students, by safeguarding passwords and profile information. I will share information and images responsibly.

  • Digital health and wellness: I will be more aware of the amount of time spent online and balance it with real friends and activities. I will understand that once something is posted to social media, it cannot be taken back.

Sample pledge displays: 

1. Credit to Magnolia Elementary School, Riverside USD, 2014.

2. Common Sense Media has three levels of downloadable pledge posters, such as this one for elementary:

3.