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As our students create more and more digital products -blog posts, videos, podcasts, e-books-they should be using images to enhance them. Images grab an audience's attention, they can illustrate key concepts, set a certain tone, and present a more complete understanding of the ideas you're putting out there.

And the internet is absolutely teeming with images students can grab and use in a matter of seconds. But in most cases, they SHOULD NOT GRAB. Despite the fact that these images are easy to get, using them may be illegal.

Does this Matter at School?

Is legal image use really a big deal with school projects? If our students are just using images to enhance assignments for class, it might be easy to shrug off the technicalities, since most of these images will never be seen by audiences outside the classroom.

Two things to consider:

1. Even if your students are working within a tightly monitored, password-protected, closed online environment, there's no guarantee that the products they create will always remain private. Proud parents might share their child's work on social media, a student might place their work in a digital portfolio for future use, and household guests might ultimately view things inside that "closed" environment. So it makes sense to operate under the assumption that all digital products could eventually become public.

2. Why not prepare students for the day when these rules will carry more serious consequences? As students move out of school and into professional contexts, being trained in the proper, legal use of images will serve them well. And legal use of images is also closely tied to ethical habits and plagiarism.

So in the spirit of complying with the law and preparing the next generation to participate responsibly online, let's review the different approaches students can take to add images to their written work, blog posts, videos, presentations, and other digital products. We'll start with the safest, most affordable option.

Disclaimer: I am not a legal expert. My goal is to raise awareness of the complexities of online use of images and get teachers to pass on that awareness to their students. If you find inaccuracies, please point them out and I will make corrections.

Option 1: Make Your Own

If students create their own images, then they own the copyright and can use them without having to pay any money or get permission (unless the photos are of someone else...but we'll get to that).

ILLUSTRATIONS

When I first started this website, I couldn't afford to buy nice photos, and I didn't want to use the same free ones I saw everywhere else online, so despite the fact that my artistic skills are nothing special, I just created my own doodles in MS Paint, like the one shown above. This is a great route to take, because you can get started right away, it's free, and there's no copyright to worry about.

Students can create their own illustrations in two ways:

Handmade: Students can draw or paint an image on paper, create a paper collage, or even build something in 3D like a sculpture, then take a picture of it and use that photo for whatever digital product they are creating.

Digital: Using simple programs like MS Paint for Windows, Paper by 53 for iOS devices, or web-based tools like Google Drawings, Adobe Creative Cloud Express, Canva, Autodraw, Piktochart, and Sketchpad. On any of these platforms, students can create just about any illustration they can think of, save it as a PNG file, then add it wherever they like.

PHOTOS

Students can take their own digital photos and upload them in a heartbeat, using sites like PicMonkey and Pixlr to edit or enhance them for free. When using photos they take themselves, students should keep the following rules in mind:

When You Do NOT Need Permission
Although it's always considerate to ask people permission before you use a photo of them online or in another public space, sometimes it's not possible, and in these cases, it's not legally necessary:

If you took the photo at a public event and the photo will be used for journalistic purposes (to simply describe the event, for example)

If the person is not recognizable in the photo (their face isn't showing, for example)

When You DO Need Permission
Have the subject sign aphoto release form in person or, if that's not possible, have them copy the language from a photo release form into an email. If the subject is a minor (under 18 in the U.S.), you need permission from their parent or guardian.

If you're going to use the photo for commercial purposes (to sell something) or promotional purposes (to promote a product, service, or idea), you need permission from the subject.

If the photo was taken on private property, even if it is not the subject's property, you must get permission from the subject to use that photo.

If you are holding an event, like a festival, party, or concert, and you plan to take photos that you might share with the public, you should get permission from attendees. Event organizers often use crowd release forms at the point of registration: They'll require attendees to check a box giving permission to use photos of them. Another approach is to hang up crowd release signs at the event itself. Learn more about event release forms in this post from SLR Lounge and this one from Mark Schaefer.

When You MIGHT Need Permission

If you are taking photos of students at school, it's likely that the parents or guardians of those students signed a media release form at the beginning of the school year, giving the school permission to use that student's image in various non-commercial publications throughout the year. These permissions may also extend to student photographers, as long as you are using the images for school-related projects. Students should check with their teacher and administrator to make sure.

If the photo contains an image of a store or business logo. Some businesses have rules about using images of their facilities or that prominently feature their logo, so if you are going to be taking photos that will include any kind of business logo or store, get written permission from the business owner first.

If the student has a job that includes taking photos, photos taken as part of the job may actually belong to the employer.

Option 2: Use Creative Commons Images

Creative Commons is an organization that has made it much easier for people to share artwork. They have established a set of licenses that artists can place on their work that automatically gives others permission to use that work in their own projects under specific terms and conditions.

A photographer, for example, might use a Creative Commons licenses on a collection of her photographs, so that anyone who finds them online can easily check the chosen license and follow the restrictions of use specified in that license.

If your students want to use images they find online, they should look for images that have Creative Commons licenses. You can learn about all of the licenses here, but the safest bet is to steer students toward pictures that have the two least restrictive licenses:

CC0: Creative Commons Zero
This is the least restrictive level, and the one students should look for first. Items marked as CC0 can be used by anyone, for any purpose without having to get permission or give credit to the artist. In other words, an image licensed with CC0 is the same copyright-wise as an image in the public domain .

CC BY: Attribution
Items with this license can be used for non-commercial OR commercial purposes, and all the user has to do is give credit to the original artist.

[Both license images above came from Creative Commons and are licensed under CC BY 4.0]

WHERE TO FIND CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGES

Free Stock Photo Sites
These fantastic sites curate free, high-quality images that are all CC0 licensed. Simply search for what you need, download the photos you like, and use them. Unfortunately, many free stock photo sites contain adult content, so unsupervised students should not use them, but if your students are working under adult supervision, they should try these sites. Here are a few good sites that don't appear to contain inappropriate content:
StockSnap
Good Free Photos
Foodiesfeed (all food-related)

Flickr Commons
Flickr is where thousands of photographers store their photography for public display, and many of these photos have CC0 and CC BY licenses.

Photos for Class
This is a handy search engine for finding school-appropriate images. My only hesitation with recommending this site is that it automatically adds attribution to each photo. Although this could be seen as a good feature, I feel it doesn't really teach students how to give appropriate attribution, because it does the work for them. Also, students may not always want the added black bar with the attribution information at the bottom of each image, and they may be tempted to simply crop it out, which would defeat the whole purpose.

Google Image Search
Although a Google search will pull up plenty of images students don't have permission to use, the search can be filtered so that the results only show images that are licensed for re-use. Just be sure to open up the Tools after you search, and check one of the options under "Usage rights" that will remove all of the photos that have not been labeled for some kind of reuse. Checking "Creative Commons Images" should give you images that have the least amount of restrictions.

HOW TO GIVE PROPER ATTRIBUTION

If students use an image that requires attribution, students should simply add a line of text underneath the image providing four pieces of information (Creative Commons recommends using the acronym TASL to remember these):

T = the title of the image
A = the author (or artist)
S = the source (or where it is located online)
L = the license for the image

Ideally, the attribution should be placed fairly close to the image, so that those who view it connect the information to the picture. Here are some examples of properly attributed images:

Online
If you use the image in a blog post or on a website, you can place the attribution in the caption or on a line of text below the image:

In the above attribution, I included the title, "Blood Orange Shine," the name of the author, Derek Gavey, and the code for the license. Because the image will be displayed online, I can include the location by just hyperlinking the title to URL of the site where the image is stored. I can also hyperlink the author's name to his page on Flickr, the photo sharing site where the photographer stores his photos, and the name of the license to the license page on the Creative Commons website.

In Print
Because print publications don't allow hyperlinking, I would need to add the URL information to the attribution:

Blood Orange Shine (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24931020@N02/14995800960/) by Derek Gavey is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

If doing this right by the photo would make my product look less attractive, I can add the photo credit to the bottom of the page or on a page of photo credits.

In a Video or Slide Presentation
Attribution can be placed in small print right on the slide or frame where the image appears. Because giving full attribution, including URLs, would take up a lot of space and could interfere with the enjoyment of the image, one solution is to place an abbreviated attribution where the image appears (giving the title, author, and license code), then add full credits on a slide or frame at the end.

Here's what an on-slide attribution could look like, using a simple black rectangle at the bottom with a white-font text box on top of it:

And here is what the photo credits page might look like at the end of the presentation or video:

Option 3: Buy Images

Although it's not necessarily within most students' budgets, they do have the option to actually purchase high-quality stock photography and illustrations. When making these purchases, students should read the licensing agreements carefully: In general, the more widely a user plans to distribute the product, the more the image will cost.

On graphic design sites like Canva, where users can create their own designs with drawing tools and free images, there's also the option to buy photos and illustrations to use in a single project for as little as $1. If the student wants to use the image in multiple projects, the fee for a single image can go as high as $100. Learn more about Canva licensing here.

Other sites, like iStock, sell the images without the graphic design tools. These images can be quite expensive depending on how they are going to be used and distributed. Learn more about iStock licenses here.

Don't Make This Rookie Mistake!
When doing general searches for images, paid items will come up in the results. The way to identify a paid image is if it has a watermark: a translucent design that covers the image but doesn't prevent you from seeing the picture behind it.

These watermarks are only removed after someone actually pays for the image, but it is possible to download a watermarked image, and people will sometimes do this without realizing that they are basically stealing the image AND broadcasting that fact to the world.

Teach your students not to do this.

Making a Good Effort

With all of this said, using images correctly can be an inexact science: Sometimes you can't always contact a person for permission. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to find the name of a photographer. The best rule of thumb is to make a good effort to give credit where it's due and ask for permission as much as possible. If we can build these habits in our students from an early age, we will be helping to make the internet a more respectful and cooperative place.

Want a Ready-Made Lesson on Image Use?

I've pulled the concepts from this post into a ready-to-use lesson you can teach tomorrow. Using Images Correctly includes a beautifully designed PowerPoint (also available in Google Slides), two student handouts that summarize the key points, and a Team Challenge students can take to test their knowledge of appropriate image use. Come check it out!

To Learn More

The Copyright Laws website is a great place to read more about these issues. They even have a course you can take on legally using images online.

All of the images in this post that have no attribution are licensed by CC0 or were created by the author.

There's more where this came from.
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Teaching Students to Legally Use Images Online

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As our students use more and more images to enhance their digital products, they need to learn how to respect other people's creative ideas and privacy.

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HOME | Your Vehicle for Information Evaluation | RADCAB

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RADCAB (TM) is a mnemonic acronym for information evaluation. RADCAB (TM) is your vehicle for information evaluation. Find more about each of the RADCAB concepts - Relevancy, Appropriateness, Currency, Authority and Bias. Visit radcab.com.

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

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Various Skills

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Results on ReadWriteThink - ReadWriteThink

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Professional Development | Grades 9 - 12 | Professional Library | Book Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students This book isn't about technology. It's about the teaching practices that technology enables. This book addresses the ways in which teachers and students work together to navigate continuous change and what it means to read, write, view, listen, and communicate in the twenty-first century.

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For Teachers

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The issue

Even today's students need support with some areas of digital practice, particularly in an academic context, so it's important to make sure that these needs are met.

While employability is an obvious driver, developing learners who can learn and thrive in a digital society is a key role for universities and colleges.

We define digital literacies as the capabilities which fit someone for living, learning and working in a digital society. To help with thinking about this, we have outlined six elements for consideration, which can be seen in the following diagram.

What you can do

Below, we've summarised some of the steps you can take to improve your students' digital literacy. Our more detailed guide to developing organisational approaches to digital capability explores all these areas in further detail.

Review your support for digital literacies

An audit is a good way of finding out who's already working in this area and starting productive conversations with staff.

To learn more about the behaviour and motivations of learners as they use the web, try our guide to evaluating digital services.

Link to other key priorities

To avoid digital literacies being 'yet another thing' for staff and students to work into their busy lives, it is useful if they can be linked with other initiatives and woven into existing processes. These might be work on graduate attributes, employability, transferable skills, or a complete course redesign.

Supporting students to develop an online professional identity can be motivating, as can online portfolios of achievements. Where institutional awards are presented, these can reward successful development of digital skills. Involving careers services can also be beneficial.

Create a buzz

In any large organisation there will be all sorts of interesting digital practice. Surfacing these is useful for putting experts and innovators from different areas in touch with each other and for sharing approaches and tips.

Get your learners started with the University of Exeter's quiz: what type of digital learner are you?

Get people talking

Encouraging discussion about supporting students with digital skills and practices and the associated impact on staff roles helps to widen awareness of digital literacies across the institution. You might be inspired by the community of practice developed by University of the Arts, London.

Provide support in the curriculum

The curriculum is the main focus of students' attention and driver of effort so is therefore the best route to showcase and develop digital practices.

For example, tutors can set assignments which draw on digital practices. The curriculum change section of our detailed guide provides further guidance on this.

In order to embed digital literacies in the curriculum, teaching staff need to be engaged and may need continued support and development as the practices they model will become examples for students.

Engage students as change agents

You can find further help and guidance in our developing successful student-staff partnerships guide.

The staff and students involved don't need to be technology experts; communications skills, flexibility and an eagerness to learn and share are much more important.

Read our case studies for ideas and inspiration on how other institutions have worked collaboratively with students to drive change.

Keep up to date in this area by following the news on our change agents network blog and you can also join this network of staff and students supporting curriculum enhancement and innovation via their mailing list.

Looking ahead

Read our case studies and exemplars from the digital student project on how others are supporting staff and students with their digital literacy.

To receive updates and share your own experiences, you may like to join our dedicated digital literacy mailing list.

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Even today's students need support with some areas of digital practice, particularly in an academic context, so it's important to make sure that these needs are met. While employability is an obvious driver, developing learners who can learn and thrive in a digital society is a key role for universities and colleges.

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Critical Thinking Through Digital Literacy

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Critical Thinking Through Digital Literacy

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Creating critical thinkers through media literacy: Andrea Quijada at TEDxABQED

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For Students

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Hour of Code

This year, we're taking Hour of Code to new heights by offering coding opportunities that encompass both artificial intelligence (AI) and non-AI components.

Want to keep learning? Go beyond an hour

Teachers: Host an hour or read the How-To Guide

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Use computer science to explore and learn about AI!

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The internet is an influential tool that has the powers to be extremely beneficial or detrimental depending on how the information found is utilized. Michael Lynch observes that the internet is "both the world's best fact checker and the world's best bias confirmer often at the same time", explaining the importance in making sure the material we find is true and honourable. The term "fake news" is commonly used in society, but it does not do justice to the many types of misinformation and disinformation that can be found online. Digital Literacy or "the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information" is a serious topic that requires both technical and cognitive skills to be performed correctly.

The technical part is obvious being that the information that is analyzed is found online. Individuals must be able to navigate the internet to find resourceful articles. Understanding social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram can be beneficial for sharing the information and knowing how these networks function is significant in recognizing what is being shared. For instance, knowing the definition of retweeting and being able to identify who initially posted the information on Twitter is important to understanding the depths of the published material. Familiarizing ourselves with functions of the internet and terminology of certain cites has an apparent importance but it is not enough to demonstrate digital literacy.

Individuals must also display cognitive skills when gathering online facts by thinking about what they are reading, analyzing where the information is coming from, determining the intentions behind the material being posted, and being well aware of the many different ways "fake news" can be produced online. Claire Wardle categorized this unreliable content into seven separate categories each with their own severities but all containing false material making them problematic. The issue is that no "fake news" is clearly noted to be fake but rather it is all deceiving and appears to be true unless it is pondered intellectually. The classic saying "think before you act" is extremely relevant in being digitally literate for information must be thoroughly considered before it can be labeled as factual and true.

In my senior year of high school, some of my fellow students discovered a site linked to Facebook that allowed them to create articles meant to be pranks towards others. They wrote descriptive lies pretending to be formal news stories that were generated and posted online making the "joke" appear in realistic formats of police reports. Because I knew the individuals being discussed in the articles, it was easy for me to understand that they were fake stories, but, this wasn't the case for everyone. Authoritative members of my school community had to dig deep into the situation before confirming that all the information was made up and although the creators of the articles were penalized, there was never a schoolwide discussion about the topic. It was assumed as explained in the Stanford executive summary that "because young people are fluent in social media, they are equally savvy about what they find there" and that all young people understood that these "jokes" were false.

On a larger scale, this fall major misinformation stories went viral obtaining to the Las Vegas Shooting Attack. Americans woke up on the morning of October 2nd to social media feed rumoring information about the shooter's identity. In this case, the false news was extremely detrimental due to the horrors of the story and the stereotypical assumptions that were being made attempting to convince media users that the case had already been solved. This is problematic because a large number of people experienced devastation due to the attack and society deserves to know nothing but the truth regarding the situation. By spreading rumors regarding such a serious case, more feelings of pain were brought to the surface on top of the devastating emotions that were already circling in the nation.

"Fake news" is produced in many forms, travels quickly and has the opportunities to be damaging, providing it with its serious nature that must be discussed among society's youth. It is important that as educators we firstly promote awareness of the issue rather than trying to pretend that it does not exist. It is vital to recognize the depths of the problem and acknowledge it as such to demonstrate its enormity. Focusing on the different types of fake news in the classroom and referring to a variety of examples including those at the bottom of the deceiving spectrum that fit the "Satire or Parody" category and have no intention to harm but does have the potential to fool, and those that fall into the "manipulated content" section on the scale which manipulates genuine information for the purpose of being deceiving.

As educators, we must set respectful examples by independently checking what we find online before sharing it and deliberating its content. It is our responsibility to promote emerging the education of digital literacy into the curriculum as or society begins to become more and more dependent on information we receive online. Our future students deserve to know the truth about the damaging information publicized on the web, and be aware of how easy it is for false information to penetrate the internet, and it is our job to provide them with this information. We must first educate ourselves on the severity of digital literacy, display model online behaviors, and teach our students how they can follow similar paths to be safe and smart online.

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The internet is an influential tool that has the powers to be extremely beneficial or detrimental depending on how the information found is utilized. Michael Lynch observes that the internet is "both the world's best fact checker and the world's best bias confirmer often at the same time", explaining the importance in making sure the...

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It is never too late to teach students about digital literacy. As technology continues to advance in society, there will be plenty of new social media sites and other tools students will use in and out of the classroom. As educators it is crucial to share with students how to be safe with what they say on the Internet, and what they select as sources.

What is digital literacy?

According to Cornell University, digital literacy is "the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet."

Education World has gathered a list of ten resources educators can use when teaching digital literacy in the classroom:

1. DigitalLiteracy.gov: On this site, teachers can find resources including lesson plans, activities, games, videos, tutorials, and more.

2. Professor Garfield: The Professor Garfield Foundation's website offers students fun activities and games to enhance their digital literacy. The site also offers a teachers resource center, instructional materials, printables, links, digital stories, and more.

3. Lesson Plan Booster: Digital Literacy and Online Ethics: In this article on Education World, teachers have access to a list of lesson plans they can use to teach their students about digital literacy, including digital etiquette, essay questions, and more.

4. ThinkB4u: ThinkB4u is a website that partners with Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, National Consumers League, and more. ThinkB4u provides teachers with videos, resources, and other sources for the classroom.

5. TheNewsLiteracyProject.org: On this website, students work with professional journalists who instruct them how to sort fact from fiction in through videos, workshops, classroom programs, and resources for teachers.

6. Common Sense Media: With Common Sense Media, teachers can share videos, activities, printables, and other resources for teaching digital literacy.

7. Tweeting History: A Digital Literacy Lesson: In this lesson plan provided by Education World, students will be able to use historical knowledge and digital literacy skills to tweet clues and guess the historical figure, period or event.

8. November Learning: This site offers educators resources including articles, podcasts, videos, quizzes, tutorials, and more for teaching digital literacy.

9. Web 20.14: With Discovery Education's Web 20.14, teachers can have access to free apps, games, and other school-friendly tools.

10. Digital Literacy Resources: Cornell University provides teachers with information regarding privacy and the Internet, copyright resources, and a research guide for students.

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor

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Ten Digital Literacy Resources for Teachers

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It is never too late to teach students about digital literacy. As technology continues to advance in society, there will be plenty of new social media sites and other tools students will use in and out of the classroom.

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The kids will love this one!

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The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is dedicated to protecting children, families, and schools by assessing, advising, and certifying organizations that collect, use, and share personal information and data that is protected by law.

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Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach kids how to be safe and responsible explorers of the online world.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween Tribune has been a valued educational brand of Smithsonian magazine, and we appreciate your continued support.

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

Get Smithsonian Educational Resources

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students.

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America’s reading comprehension crisis.

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Paid subscription, but some schools have it.

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"I look forward to logging in, every day. Whether I need a quick video about a current event, a pre-made learning activity for a lesson, or using Quiz to poll my class, there's always something useful. I feel like Discovery Education has really listened to what educators need."

Amy Erb STEAM Teacher

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Discovery Education | Your Daily Learning Platform

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Discovery Education inspires educators to go beyond traditional learning with award-winning digital content and professional development. Learn more today!

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Paid subscription, but they have some free articles.

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Kids Discover - Nonfiction Products for Children ages 6 to 14

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Kids Discover is an award-winning educational publisher of high-interest, nonfiction products for kids. Print Titles, iPad Apps and Digital Library.

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Some school subscribe to this.

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Edublogs is more than just WordPress

Edublogs enhances WordPress with education-specific features, themes, and plugins. We offer tailored tools for classroom management, student privacy, and collaborative learning.

Our platform is designed to meet the unique needs of educators and students, with dedicated support and an active educational community.

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Edublogs is more than just WordPress Edublogs enhances WordPress with education-specific features, themes, and plugins. We offer tailored tools for classroom management, student privacy, and collaborative learning. Our platform is designed to meet the unique needs of educators and students, with dedicated support and an active educational community.

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StoryJumper: #1 rated site for creating story books

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There are four levels to play, each divided into three stages.

You start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as you progress and giving you plenty of touch type practice. You'll soon be touch typing like an expert! At the end of each level you can test your typing speed and get a fun reward.

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There are four levels to play, each divided into three stages. You start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as you progress and giving you plenty of touch type practice. You'll soon be touch typing like an expert!

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Easy to implement lessons on citizenship!

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Easy to implement lessons on citizenship!

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Considering how ubiquitous smartphones and tablets have become, especially in high school and middle school, questions about managing use and educating students about digital etiquette are on a lot of educators' minds.

This October, Common Sense Media is sponsoring Digital Citizenship Week from October 16 to October 22. And we wanted to pull together some of the best resources to help educators talk about digital responsibility and safety online. Here, you'll find resources that cover today's digital landscape, ideas for student activities, and strategies for engaging parents. There are plenty of valuable resources for educators and parents to share, but here are six of my favorites:

Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum for K-12: Common Sense Media's interactive curriculum offers something for every grade level. Check out the "Scope & Sequence" tool to find the perfect lesson for your classroom. Plus, you can incorporate Digital Passport activities in lessons for students in grades 3-5. The interactive assessments and videos are super engaging, as well.

Lessons for Teaching Digital Citizenship From Cable Impacts: InCtrl is a series of lessons for students in grades 4-8 designed to introduce digital-citizenship concepts. Topics covered include media literacy, copyright laws, and privacy. Teachers can browse lessons by subject and topic, and each lesson includes plans and materials.

Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum From iKeepSafe and Google: Co-produced by iKeepSafe and Google, this digital-literacy curriculum for middle school and high school students provides three lessons to help kids find reliable information online, manage their reputations, and recognize scams. Additionally, check out iKeepSafe's educator resources for professional-development modules for teachers and a variety of activities to use with students.

Resources for Teaching Digital Literacy From Digizen: Digizen is a repository of useful and engaging resources to teach students of all ages about becoming upstanding digital citizens. Produced by the U.K.-based child safety nonprofit ChildNet International, Digizen features videos, lesson plans, and games, and there are different sections for parents, students, and teachers.

Digital Citizenship Videos From Teaching Channel: This Teaching Channel playlist of 30 videos, developed in cooperation with Common Sense Media, highlights ways classroom teachers are introducing digital citizenship concepts to students. There are resources here for every grade, and each video provides a lesson plan, as well.

More Resources From Edutopia

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Digital Citizenship Week: 6 Resources for Educators | Edutopia

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Considering how ubiquitous smartphones and tablets have become, especially in high school and middle school, questions about managing use and educating students about digital etiquette are on a lot of educators' minds. This October, Common Sense Media is sponsoring Digital Citizenship Week from October 16 to October 22.

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CARS: Evaluating information you find on the Internet

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With Interactives

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.

Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

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Lesson Plan

Grades

6 - 8

Lesson Plan Type

Standard Lesson

Estimated Time

Four 50-minute sessions

Lesson Author

Publisher

Featured Resources From Theory to Practice
OVERVIEW

In this lesson plan, students explore a class inquiry project, collecting Web-based resources that can be used for further study during the course of the class or for more in-depth projects. Students begin by brainstorming a list of kinds of information they will need to know. They then help set criteria for the lesson by thinking about characteristics of effective Web resources. Next, students use an online tool to evaluate three Websites and then locate and evaluate Websites based on the criteria they defined earlier. Finally, students discuss whether their predictions about the characteristics that would describe useful resources were effective, and revise the list as needed. This lesson can be completed individually or in groups. For demonstration purposes, this lesson plan focuses on researching a specific country or several countries; however, this activity can be completed with any inquiry topic in the classroom.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
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Website Evaluation Process: Using this online tool, students evaluate three Websites to determine if they would be useful resources for a class project.

Website Evaluation Form: Using this online tool, students evaluate whether up to three Websites they have found would be useful resources for a class project.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

In "Inquiring Minds Use Technology!" Jeff Wilhelm explains that "From the literature teacher who uses inquiry to ponder big questions like 'What is courage?' to the science teacher who asks, 'What is the connection between land development and ecology?' inquiry allows students not only to consider thoughtful questions, but to use Web quests and electronic scrapbooks as they research their topic" (45). One of the most important steps in any inquiry project that uses Web resources is determining whether the resources and information one finds not only address the inquiry topic but also provide high-quality information. Nancy Patterson tells us, "When research took place down the school hall, under the watchful eye of the librarian, we had the illusion, at least, that the information students were reading was reliable. Now, suddenly, it seems, we have a huge buffet of information available at the click of a mouse." As a result, Patterson urges us to help our students "become literate in the ways of the Web" by analyzing and evaluating each Web page closely, using techniques such as those explored in this lesson plan, before including it as a resource in any project.

Further Reading
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Patterson, Nancy. "Becoming Literate in the Ways of the Web: Evaluating Internet Resources." Voices from the Middle 10.3 (March 2003): 58-59.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D. "Inquiring Minds Use Technology!" Voices from the Middle 11.3 (March 2004): 45-46.

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Inquiry on the Internet: Evaluating Web Pages for a Class Collection - ReadWriteThink

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.