June DigCit Professional Learning Resources
Now that you have completed the modules, you will use resources on the pages below at your June session to help you gain a deeper understanding of your department's specific DigCit topic. Before diving into your particular topic, please read excerpts from the following article that appeared in Independent Schools Magazine.
The Strategy for Digital Citizenship: Children in a Digital World
NAIS Independent Schools Magazine
Don Orth; Edward Chen; Summer 2013
Our children know more than we think they know, and less than they think they know. They are swimming in oceans of data, communications, and media. While we call members of this generation “digital natives” — those with the ability to consume, create, absorb, and navigate everything in the digital spectrum — in truth, our children are in danger of being overwhelmed by this 24/7 unfiltered digital world without our guidance. While we carefully oversee other areas of their lives, many of us are unintentionally negligent when it comes to their digital experiences. Though we may be uncomfortable with the full scope of our responsibility in the digital world, ignoring it won’t make it go away.
Research by Common Sense Media, an independent nonprofit working with parents and educators to improve kids’ lives in a world of media and technology, found that “our nation’s children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development.”1
In such a world, how do we cultivate a culture that supports effective and responsible device use in schools and at home? For schools, how do we develop effective curricula on digital citizenship and information literacy when our days are already packed?
Why Teach Digital Citizenship?
Our work in school always focuses on creating good citizens, and digital citizenship is just another fold in the nuanced fabric of childhood development. But digital citizenship needs particular attention today because of the divide between the analog (offline) and digital (online) life of children. The sheer time-factor of children’s online lives is concern enough. But the nature of digital devices matters, too. The alluring option of anonymity can blur one’s perception of cause and effect, action and consequence — especially among the young.
Much of digital citizenship education is related to being a good citizen and exercising good judgment. We teach these values in everyday life, but to date the digital life of children is often considered outside this realm. By focusing on digital citizenship, we acknowledge that our students’ online lives require the same attention and guidance as we give to their offline lives. Our aim is to empower students to make smart, responsible, and respectful decisions when using media. At the same time, we want to help them to understand the ethical consequences behind the decisions they make online.
When technology lived primarily in a computer lab and there was limited digital access at home, the gap between a child’s analog and digital life was clear. With the ubiquity of personal devices, and an increasing number of shared devices and 1:1 programs in schools, the gap is gone.
Still, schools tend to keep substantial education about online character and ethics on the periphery. In a school that prides itself on academic excellence and character development, digital citizenship needs to be woven throughout all core curricular areas. It needs to be relevant to students’ lives and integrated into their everyday learning and living. The conversations need to start in the early years and continue throughout the course of their educational careers. Each grade level needs to address age-appropriate issues and build on the understanding of the year before. These dialogues need to evolve as children become more sophisticated and as the technology evolves.
In short, schools need to commit to a spiraling, integrated approach to teaching digital citizenship.
Always Look Ahead
Good online behavior is directly and inextricably related to good behavior in general, which rests at the heart of a solid K–12 education. We cannot predict what technology will look like in 2020, or even 5 years. But we do know that children will always need our guidance in managing and navigating the increasingly complex digital world. Such guidance is essential in creating not only a generation of positive, responsible, and kind digital natives, but also a generation of good citizens. The basic tenets and concepts around digital citizenship are evergreen. Digital citizenship and information literacy comprise some of the most important education we can provide our children. Unlike the comings and goings of technology devices and applications, the way people operate in the digital world will be relevant and significant for years to come.
Commit your school to building partnerships with parents. Make digital citizenship an essential part of your program so when your students go out into the world, digital or other, they carry themselves well and build a stronger, more positive community for everyone.
The entire article can be found here.
Don Orth; Edward Chen; Summer 2013
Our children know more than we think they know, and less than they think they know. They are swimming in oceans of data, communications, and media. While we call members of this generation “digital natives” — those with the ability to consume, create, absorb, and navigate everything in the digital spectrum — in truth, our children are in danger of being overwhelmed by this 24/7 unfiltered digital world without our guidance. While we carefully oversee other areas of their lives, many of us are unintentionally negligent when it comes to their digital experiences. Though we may be uncomfortable with the full scope of our responsibility in the digital world, ignoring it won’t make it go away.
Research by Common Sense Media, an independent nonprofit working with parents and educators to improve kids’ lives in a world of media and technology, found that “our nation’s children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development.”1
In such a world, how do we cultivate a culture that supports effective and responsible device use in schools and at home? For schools, how do we develop effective curricula on digital citizenship and information literacy when our days are already packed?
Why Teach Digital Citizenship?
Our work in school always focuses on creating good citizens, and digital citizenship is just another fold in the nuanced fabric of childhood development. But digital citizenship needs particular attention today because of the divide between the analog (offline) and digital (online) life of children. The sheer time-factor of children’s online lives is concern enough. But the nature of digital devices matters, too. The alluring option of anonymity can blur one’s perception of cause and effect, action and consequence — especially among the young.
Much of digital citizenship education is related to being a good citizen and exercising good judgment. We teach these values in everyday life, but to date the digital life of children is often considered outside this realm. By focusing on digital citizenship, we acknowledge that our students’ online lives require the same attention and guidance as we give to their offline lives. Our aim is to empower students to make smart, responsible, and respectful decisions when using media. At the same time, we want to help them to understand the ethical consequences behind the decisions they make online.
When technology lived primarily in a computer lab and there was limited digital access at home, the gap between a child’s analog and digital life was clear. With the ubiquity of personal devices, and an increasing number of shared devices and 1:1 programs in schools, the gap is gone.
Still, schools tend to keep substantial education about online character and ethics on the periphery. In a school that prides itself on academic excellence and character development, digital citizenship needs to be woven throughout all core curricular areas. It needs to be relevant to students’ lives and integrated into their everyday learning and living. The conversations need to start in the early years and continue throughout the course of their educational careers. Each grade level needs to address age-appropriate issues and build on the understanding of the year before. These dialogues need to evolve as children become more sophisticated and as the technology evolves.
In short, schools need to commit to a spiraling, integrated approach to teaching digital citizenship.
Always Look Ahead
Good online behavior is directly and inextricably related to good behavior in general, which rests at the heart of a solid K–12 education. We cannot predict what technology will look like in 2020, or even 5 years. But we do know that children will always need our guidance in managing and navigating the increasingly complex digital world. Such guidance is essential in creating not only a generation of positive, responsible, and kind digital natives, but also a generation of good citizens. The basic tenets and concepts around digital citizenship are evergreen. Digital citizenship and information literacy comprise some of the most important education we can provide our children. Unlike the comings and goings of technology devices and applications, the way people operate in the digital world will be relevant and significant for years to come.
Commit your school to building partnerships with parents. Make digital citizenship an essential part of your program so when your students go out into the world, digital or other, they carry themselves well and build a stronger, more positive community for everyone.
The entire article can be found here.