DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITY & SAFETY
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INTRODUCTION
What do your students consider "just a joke" or "not a big deal" online?
In this lesson, you'll explore how their everyday online choices - like passwords, posts, and private messages - can impact their safety and their relationships. You will gain strategies to help students protect personal information, communicate respectfully, and respond to unsafe situations with confidence.
GOALS:
☑️Understand strategies to help students safeguard personal information and use digital tools responsibly
☑️Recognize how to guide students in responding to cyberbullying
☑️Identify ways to support respectful communication and netiquette in online environments
ESTIMATED TIME: 60 minutes
MATERIALS NEEDED: Digital Diary
ISTE STANDARDS:
☑️ Educators: 2.3 Citizen
☑️ Students: 1.2 Digital Citizen
LEARN THE CONCEPTS
Image adapted by Wyatt Tintinger using Canva, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
What is Digital Privacy & Protection?
Digital Privacy is the practice of keeping personal information safe while navigating online spaces. For students, this means understanding what data should remain private - such as full names, passwords, and contact information - and how to use tools like strong passwords and security settings to protect themselves. Teaching digital privacy empowers students to take control of their digital lives and make safer choices every time they log in (Common Sense Education, n.d.; Teaching Security, 2019).
What is Netiquette?
Netiquette is a combination of "network" and "etiquette" - a set of guidelines for communicating respectfully in digital spaces. For students, netiquette includes being polite in group chats, avoiding sarcasm that could be misread, and thinking before responding. It also involves responsible communication when engaging with others online, whether in class discussions, social media, or collaborative tools (Enough Is Enough, n.d.).
Image adapted by Wyatt Tintinger using Canva, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
Image adapted by Wyatt Tintinger using Canva, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through digital devices like phones, computers, and tablets. It can include sending hurtful messages, spreading rumors online, posting embarrassing photos, or excluding someone through group chats or social media. Teaching students how to recognize and respond to cyberbullying is essential for creating safe, respectful digital communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).
TEACHER ACTIVITIES
Use your Digital Diary to reflect on how you approach digital safety and responsible communication in your classroom. You’ll return to it throughout the Activities to capture your thinking, apply new strategies, and track your progress.
Use your Digital Diary to respond to the following questions:
What does digital privacy mean for students, and why does it matter in a classroom setting?
How can we help students create strong passwords and make smart choices about what personal information they share online?
What are some online behaviors that students struggle with, and what strategies can help them respond more appropriately?
How do you define cyberbullying in your own words?
Why is it important for students to report cyberbullying and for teachers to take action when it happens?
Visit Common Sense Media - Data Privacy to explore ideas for helping students protect personal information online. Use your Digital Diary to respond to the following questions:
What tools or tips can help students stay safe online?
What kinds of personal information should students avoid sharing?
What security settings can help students stay safe on social media and educational platforms?
Image created by Sarah Doepner using OpenAI, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
Image adapted by Wyatt Tintinger using Canva, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
Explore examples of inappropriate online behavior using Internet Safety 101. Use your Digital Diary to respond to the following questions:
List behaviors students might not recognize as inappropriate in digital spaces.
Note strategies that can guide students in making respectful communication choices.
Describe how you and your teaching team might address these behaviors consistently.
Go to StopBullying - What is Cyberbullying to explore resources and strategies related to cyberbullying prevention. Use your Digital Diary to respond to the following questions:
What are some common digital spaces where cyberbullying may occur?
What types of cyberbullying should students be able to recognize?
What proactive classroom strategies can help prevent cyberbullying?
Image created by Sarah Doepner using OpenAI, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS
Give students strategies for creating strong, memorable passwords - and offer a safe space to practice applying them with real-time feedback. Use your Digital Diary to respond to the following questions:
What do your passwords have in common?
Why is password length and complexity significant?
How can you help students create secure, memorable passwords?
Time to practice! Use your Digital Diary to complete the following activity. Create four different passwords - record them in the first column.
Characteristics of Strong Passwords:
8-32 characters long
At least one letter (sometimes one uppercase and one lowercase)
At least one number
At least one special character (common examples include #,$,%,^,*,+,=,?,@,/,{ }, [ ],~)
Different from previous five passwords
Password cannot match your User ID
Cannot be a commonly used password
Visit the Password Strength Checker (no login required - this is a demo tool, only). Click "Show Password" so you can view your entries as you type. Use your Digital Diary to complete the following items:
Type each of the four passwords you created into the checker, one at a time, in the first column.
Look at the color of the strength bar (gray, red, orange, light orange, or green) and record it in the second column.
Read the detailed feedback provided by the checker. Record the results in the third column.
After completing this activity, what advice can you give to your students to create strong passwords?
Adapted from Teaching Security. (2019). Strong passwords worksheet. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
Think before you post - some things are perfectly fine to share, and others should stay private. In this activity, you'll sort through a list of examples and decide what's safe to share online . . . and what's not!
Use your Digital Diary to complete this activity. Use ✔️ for safe to share, and use ✖️ for not safe to share. Add additional examples of your own at the bottom!
These scenarios in the table reflect common online situations students might encounter. To complete the table, consider how you would support a student in the moment and how you might address the situation with your school team, such as counselors, administrators, or fellow teachers.
Use your Digital Diary to complete the table and respond to the following question:
What kind of online behaviors might be considered disrespectful, unsafe, or inappropriate for students?
Cyberbullying can show up in different ways - this activity gives you the chance to think through how students and teachers can respond in real-life situations.
Choose two of the four scenarios. Use your Digital Diary to respond to both the teacher and student prompts for the two scenarios you choose.
You're ready to put these concepts into action! Use what you've captured in your Digital Diary to begin making intentional, safety-focused shifts in how you talk with your students about privacy, online behavior, and digital respect.
To extend your reflection and share ideas with others, access the Padlet below by using the QR Code or clicking on the link under the code. The Padlet is called CTRL+ALT+Engage because it serves as both a 'check for understanding' and an opportunity to engage with the material alongside other participants!
A Padlet is a versatile collaboration tool.
You can contribute as a Guest - no login required. To add your response, click the ➕ plus sign in the bottom right corner of the Padlet screen.
Ready to keep going? Click the Digital Ethics & Responsible Use of Tech Tools image below to learn more about supporting students to make responsible choices with tech tools.
Image created by Gennifer Hampson using Microsoft Copilot, 2025. Used under fair use for educational purposes.
Need a refresher on key terms?
Visit the Digital Citizenship Glossary for definitions and classroom-ready language you can use with your students.
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