Response #2 Webinar: Digital Citizenship

As I mentioned in my last post, digital citizenship seems to be one of the most important components to address with students before they ever handle technology. In her webinar, Terra Graves addresses the concept of digital citizenship and defines it as something that "helps teachers, technology leaders and parents understand what students should know to use technology appropriately." By establishing this culture in my classroom, I know will help my students to be prepared to use technology both inside and outside of the classroom. With the continuing rise of technology and its prevalence in our society, elements such as cyberbullying, privacy and security, and copyright laws are just a few examples of topics that students must be aware of before handling their devices so that they can be responsible tech users.

Students not only are able to learn the content when using technology, but having daily access to the internet in the classroom is also an opportunity to teach students about online safety and how important it is to limit the amount of personal information that they put on social media websites, etc. Graves provides links to videos that demonstrate those risks, which would be valuable to show to the students themselves. Internet privacy, passwords, and personal online connections are all important to mention when discussing digital citizenship. In my class, students will primarily be working on math apps and taking assessments on my new set of iPads for now, but in the future I would like to incorporate a class math blog into my curriculum. An online math blog would allow students to share ideas and methods over the internet, making internet safety and cyberbullying even more crucial topics to go over. Graves emphasizes how students need be aware of the fact that what they are posting online creates an image for themselves. Students need to know what respectful online posting looks like and how to encourage and help their peers through the media. It is clear that digital citizenship supports many dimensions of 21st century learning such as collaboration, skilled communication, and use of technology for learning.

This webinar gave a great overview of the components to include in my own behavior contract and expectations when using my classroom technology. It had many resources I could use to help my students understand safety concerns. I am confident my students will be able to gain the skills they need to be successful with technology and grow in their math skills, if they have a solid understanding of what appropriate use looks like!