iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Many students are not good at evaluating the credibility of what they see and read online according to a now-famous Stanford study that was released just after the 2016 election. And while it’s true that 82 percent of middle schoolers couldn’t tell the difference between a native advertisement and a news article, neither could 59 percent of adults in a study conducted by the advertising industry.

Sam Wineburg, the Stanford professor who led the middle school study, is worried that everyone is “profoundly confused” right now and that schools aren’t doing enough to teach students the skills they need to be effective citizens and digital consumers.

“We blame our kids for not knowing the difference between ads and news stories, but the kinds of skills we are talking about are not widely taught in schools,” Wineburg said on KQED’s Forum program while discussing his new book Why Learn History (When It's Already on Your Phone). “So we can’t blame young people for not knowing things they haven’t been taught.”

Chances are you've heard a lot about digital citizenship. Many reputable and respectable organizations have devoted their life's work to developing digital citizenship resources that promote its values in educators and learners worldwide. We at Wabisabi Learning are proud to be among them.

We all know the world is different now. We're all globally connected by technology, so making the world a better place by fostering a compassionate and mindful citizenry isn't just the responsibility of a chosen few. Now, it's on all of us. Don't be worried, be overjoyed—especially if you're a teacher.

You are in the perfect position to be the best source of digital citizenship development any student could hope for. You're not alone, either—we've gathered a list of digital citizenship resources and websites from people who are just like you, and that are behind you all the way. This post features some useful digital citizenship resources that cover these important categories:

     * Digital Footprints/People Searching
     * Citing Sources
     * Cyberbullying
     * Detecting Plagiarism
     * Personal Responsibility
     * Global and Cultural Awareness

Best practices now suggest that instead of cocooning students, we teach them to be good digital citizens, confident and competent. Here are eleven projects to teach kids authentically, blended with your regular lessons, the often complicated topic of becoming good digital citizens, knowledgeable about their responsibilities in an Internet world.

Every teacher can benefit from having some good digital citizenship Web resources available to share with students. We like the kinds of tools that will help you help them learn about appropriate and exemplary behaviors in any online environment. As a teacher, you're in the perfect position to be the best source of digital citizenship development any student could hope for. You’re not alone, either—we’ve gathered a list of digital citizenship Web resources from people who are just like you.

Digital Citizenship is all about shifting the accountability for appropriate behavior to our students. This builds both independence and personal responsibility. The list we're presenting you with today has 18 of the best digital citizenship Web resources available. From games to videos to online lessons and more, these tools are info-packed and comprehensive enough for any teacher's needs.

It’s commonly understood that children acquire many behaviours, both good and bad, by watching the adults around them. In this vein, we aim to create school environments where young people are exposed to positive and caring adult role models. Unfortunately, this emphasis on positive modeling appears to fly out the window when implementing digital citizenship programs and curricula.

Digital footprint, digital shadow, online reputation, digital tattoo — whatever you call it, it’s a term that’s too important to ignore yet often isn’t discussed in homes or classrooms.

Every teacher can benefit from having some good digital citizenship Web resources available to share with students. We like the kinds of tools that will help you help them learn about appropriate and exemplary behaviors in any online environment. As a teacher, you’re in the perfect position to be the best source of digital citizenship development any student could hope for. You’re not alone, either—we’ve gathered a list of digital citizenship Web resources from people who are just like you.

Digital Citizenship is all about shifting the accountability for appropriate behavior to our students. This builds both independence and personal responsibility. The list we’re presenting you with today has 18 of the best digital citizenship Web resources available. From games to videos to online lessons and more, these tools are info-packed and comprehensive enough for any teacher’s needs.

Teaching students digital citizenship can be a baseline of their understanding of how to stay safe online — from cyberbullying to phishing to navigating the plethora of online news options.

“Teachers have long understood the importance of instilling good citizenship in their students, focusing on social etiquette and how to treat people with respect in the course of their daily lives,” reads an article on Edudemic. “Today, though, it’s just as important that students understand what kinds of behaviors are acceptable online.”

When it comes to making sure students are being the best digital citizens, educators can turn to a blend of guidance and tech tools.

My sense is we might also need to rethink dominant approaches to teaching kids to code in this emerging context of fake news and computational propaganda.

As the “Homeland” plot indicates, coding skills can be put to all kinds of purposes. Media-literate young programmers with extreme political views may not have quite the power that “Homeland” suggests. But, as the brilliant and terrifying 2016 documentary film “Zero Days” has shown, the cyber-warfare plots of “Homeland” may not be far from the reality.

Which is why it strikes me that the learning to code movement needs to be clearer in its commitment to new forms of digital literacy and digital citizenship education. England was one of the first countries to embed coding in the curriculum for all schools. For many of its original advocates, knowing how computers, code and algorithms work would be valuable for informed citizenship.

The reality, though, is that coding in the curriculum, and many other learning to code schemes, have tended to overemphasize either economically valuable skills for the software engineering sector, or high-status academic computer science knowledge and skills. There has been far too little focus on enabling young people to appreciate the social consequences of code and algorithms.

Digital Citizenship has become one of the more symbolic phrases that represent the significant impact technology has made on our behavior and interactions.

What is the definition of digital citizenship? Terry Heick has offered that digital citizenship is “The quality of habits, actions, and consumption patterns that impact the ecology of digital content and communities.” In short, it’s taking care of the ‘things’ we depend on in digital spaces.

Digital citizens think critically about what they see online, understand the benefits and risks of sharing information, and balance screen time with other activities. But digital citizens aren't born—they're taught by teachers like you!

Kick off this Digital Citizenship Week by giving your students the space to voice their perspectives on topics important to them. Check out our fun new #DigCitWeek kahoots and digital citizenship video discussion activities for all ages (details below)!

These new and revised lessons, based on our original K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, take on timely topics for school communities, support teachers with improved classroom tools, and prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives.

It’s no secret that students today spend a lot of time online, and that’s why educators need to ensure that our students are equipped with digital citizenship and media literacy skills to help them navigate the terrain.

Students need to know how to find reliable sources and spot misinformation. They need to know what information is appropriate — and inappropriate — to share.

Often, educators try to instill this information via traditional instruction in a classroom. But when presented this way, it can fall flat. The key to helping students make good decisions online is to mentor them in their spaces and allow them to pursue their interests. This personalized learning approach, which addresses several of the ISTE Standards for Students, has real-world application that hooks our students and helps them internalize media literacy and digital citizenship skills.

Here are five practical steps that educators can take to help graduate media literate digital citizens — those who learn, curate, collaborate and contribute thoughtfully to social media networks.

Students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Common Sense Education's K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum prepares students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate. Designed and developed in partnership with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education -- and guided by research with thousands of educators -- each digital citizenship lesson helps students build lifelong skills.

In the eight years since we launched the K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, we've seen educator needs and concerns grow with the evolving digital landscape. We're pleased to announce a significant update to our curriculum informed by new research with Harvard's Project Zero to make sure educators have the best resources to prepare today's students for success. Whether you're new to our curriculum or have been using it for years, we think you'll be excited to learn more.

With many schools now shifting to allow BYOD (bring your own device) at school, combined with a general push for integrating more technology in the classroom, it’s obvious that students need to examine the consequences of their online activity–both good and bad. Here are five reasons why schools should take a lead by promoting digital and social media literacies curriculum, and promoting digital citizenship inside and outside of the classroom.

“Learning to be an effective digital citizen is not something that happens if we don’t actively teach it,” Culatta says. “And preparing a generation of effective digital citizens is the most important thing we can do to ensure our democracy for the future.”

Unfortunately, many educators still mistakenly conflate digital citizenship with online safety. While teaching kids to craft strong passwords and refrain from posting inappropriate pictures online is important, it’s no longer enough. In an era of fake news and increasingly bitter political polarization, it’s time for teachers to move beyond online safety and teach students how to use technology to:

* Make their communities better.
* Respectfully engage with people who have different beliefs.
* Shape and change public policy.
*Assess the validity of online sources of information.

“Digital citizenship, it turns out, is not a list of ‘don’ts’ but a list of ‘dos’,” Culatta says. “And never has it been more important than it is now.”

With many schools now shifting to allow BYOD (bring your own device) at school, combined with a general push for integrating more technology in the classroom, it’s obvious that students need to examine the consequences of their online activity–both good and bad. Here are five reasons why schools should take a lead by promoting digital and social media literacies curriculum, and promoting digital citizenship inside and outside of the classroom.

Chances are you’ve heard a lot about digital citizenship  by now. Many reputable and respectable organizations have devoted their life’s work to developing digital citizenship resources to promote its values in educators and learners worldwide. We at the Global Digital Citizen Foundation are proud to be among them.
We all know the world is different now. We’re all globally connected by technology, so making the world a better place by fostering a compassionate and mindful citizenry isn’t just the responsibility of a chosen few. Now, it’s on all of us. Don’t be worried, be overjoyed—especially if you’re a teacher.
You are in the perfect position to be the best source of digital citizenship development any student could hope for. You’re not alone, either—we’ve gathered a list of digital citizenship resources and websites from people who are just like you, and that are behind you all the way.

In a perfect world, all of our students would come to school every day well rested, well fed, clean, healthy, happy, feeling good about themselves and ready to learn. But some of the time, and perhaps for a significant segment of our students, that is not the reality. So yes, schools need to be clear on their priorities and make tough choices in supporting students while making sure their basic and psychological needs are met before we can aspire to assist them with their self-fulfillment needs.

It’s a delicate dance schools must do in supporting students with their varying needs; a balancing act of sorts that comes with great consequence. What complicates this even further is the reality of the very dynamic, digital world our students are growing up in. With a shifting world, comes shifting needs. And along with shifting needs comes a shifting role that schools must take on in order to best prepare students moving forward. We must revisit the graphic above to explore and best support students with their changing needs in our DIGITAL WORLD. In some cases, students get these emerging needs related to our shifting world met at home, but for others, this is not the case for a variety of reasons.