Musings

I struggle with the idea of Digital Citizenship. In a rapidly changing world, the idea of Digital Citizenship seems to be getting more complicated by the minute. That makes me think about how I can prepare elementary students to think about this concept.

So, I decided to break down the elements of Digital Citizenship as I understand it. Here are some of the key elements I think are important for elementary students to know (with the big ideas):

• Leaving behind a positive digital footprint (Digital Footprint)
• Interacting with others online in a mindful and positive way (Communication / Online Community)
• Paying attention to Copyright (Fair Use / Copyright)
• Taking care of technology (Maintenance / Safety)
• Navigating information on the Internet (Digital Literacy)

After looking at these ideas, I noticed strong connections between the community building experiences that I start off the year with. Much of my work in building a learning community in my classroom is adapted from the Responsive Classroom framework. If I am able to fuse together ideas of digital citizenship and community building from Responsive Classroom explicitly, it would be like hitting the sweet spot of both areas!

More specific details on standards and other considerations can be read on Sidenote: The Plan.