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This is a fun video for teachers and students to learn a bit more about digital citizenship.

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Common Sense conducts independent research on children’s use of media and technology and the impact it has on their development. Read our latest reports.

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"Digital Citizenship refers to the ability to engage positively, critically and competently in the digital environment, drawing on the skills of effective communication and creation, to practice forms of social participation that are respectful of human rights and dignity through the responsible use of technology."

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Supporting children and young people to participate safely, effectively, critically and responsibly in a world filled with social media and digital technologies is a priority for educators the world over. The notion of digital citizenship has evolved to encompass a range of competences, attributes and behaviours that harness the benefits and opportunities the online world affords while building resilience to potential harms.

Young people today inhabit a world that has been transformed by digital technologies, effortlessly enabling connectedness through social media and access to vast quantities of information. Making sense of this hyper rich information and engaging effectively and responsibly poses a whole set of new challenges for educators as they seek to prepare young people as citizens, exercising their rights and participating effectively in the affairs of the community.

Our working definition of digital citizenship places particular emphasis on the role of education, emphasising the continuous process of lifelong learning affecting all contexts in which educational support for digital citizenship takes place, transversally and seamlessly. The notion of Digital Citizenship Education (DCE), therefore, views education as both the spark and as effect of a process of citizenship. In this section, we focus on three aspects of digital citizenship education - stakeholder roles and responsibilities; scenarios for school organisation and preparing teachers - as the basis of an implementation strategy.

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship refers to the ability to engage positively, critically and competently in the digital environment, drawing on the skills of effective communication and creation, to practice forms of social participation that are respectful of human rights and dignity through the responsible use of technology.

A more elaborate definition of Digital Citizenship is:

The competent and positive engagement with digital technologies (creating, working, sharing, socializing, investigating, playing, communicating and learning); participating actively and responsibly (values, skills, attitudes, knowledge) in communities (local, national, global) at all levels (political, economic, social, cultural and intercultural); being involved in a double process of lifelong learning (in formal, informal and non-formal settings) and continuously defending human dignity.

The Council of Europe's Competences for Democratic Culture (Council of Europe, 2016) provides the starting point for this approach to digital citizenship, noting that the competences which citizens need to acquire if they are to participate effectively in a culture of democracy are not acquired automatically but instead need to be learned and practised. As such, education has a vital role to play in preparing young people to live as active citizens and helping them acquire the skills and competences needed.

Digital Citizenship Education

Digital Citizenship Education is the empowerment of children through education or the acquisition of competences for learning and active participation in digital society.

This is the knowledge, skills and understanding required for users to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities online, and to promote and protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in cyberspace.

At its simplest level, it seeks to ensure that those who are not "digital natives" or do not have opportunities to become "digital citizens", or "digizens", are not marginalised in future society. With the development of relatively inexpensive technology, the "digital gap" is more likely to be a gap in skills required to make advanced use of the technology than access to technology per se.

In a number of countries, schools are introducing "Digital Citizenship Education" to encourage young people to develop their online proficiency, engagement and creativity as well as an awareness of the legal implications of their online activity.

Digital citizenship represents a new dimension of citizenship education that focuses on teaching students to work, live and share in digital environments in a positive way.

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xxDigital Citizenship and Digital Citizenship Education

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Supporting children and young people to participate safely, effectively, critically and responsibly in a world filled with social media and digital technologies is a priority for educators the world over.

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"Critical thinking and ethical choices about the content and impact on oneself, others, and one’s community of what one sees, says, and produces with media, devices, and technologies."

Anne Collier,
NetFamilyNews.org

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Educators have to inform parents about digital citizenship but they also have to give them tools to help their children at home. Here are great tips and ideas for parents.

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It has now become a fact that kids receive tremendous health benefits when they ditch their electronic devices and play outside with nature. Scientific studies have proven that our digital natives are suffering from diabetes, depression, obesity, and ADHD. All of these health issues stem from to much screen time indoors.

In order to get kids to play outside more, I reached out to my friend Diana Graber to join the Digital Parent Podcast. Diana is a recognized expert on digital literacy. She writes for, is interviewed by, and appears often in the press on topics related to how technology impacts human behavior.

Graber has a B.A. in Communications Studies from UCLA, an M.A. in Media Psychology & Social Change from Fielding Graduate University/UCLA. Her Cyber Civics program was recently recognized as an "Innovation in Education" finalist by Project Tomorrow and the O.C. Tech Alliance and is now being taught at schools in 20 states and internationally .

Diana and I discussed some of the following questions on the episode:

Questions I Asked Diana on Outdoor Digital Citizens:

1. How Can Kids Become Great Digital Citizens Outdoors

2. What Are Some Constructive Ways for Kids to Use Technology Outdoors

3. Describe Some Ways Parents Can Set Good Boundaries Online

4. How Do We Prepare Kids for Summer Camps

5. Should Kids Leave Their Devices at The Hotel During Vacation

In this Episode, You Will Learn:

1. Why Teens Should Develop Social and Emotional Skills Outdoors Without Tech

2. Top Reason Kids Look For Parents for Guidance

3. How Kids Model Parents Online Behavior

4. Why Having Cellphone at Summer Camp Hurts Their Development

5. The Reason Teens Look Up Their Parent's Health Online

Suggested Reading Articles from Dana on Digital Citizenship Outdoors

1. 8 Rules for Good Digital Citizenship Outdoors

2. 11 Apps to Lure Kids Outside for the Summer

Contact Diana Graber

Cyber Civics | Creating Ethical, Thoughtful, Competent Digital Citizens

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Become Digital Citizens Outdoors with Diana Graber

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It has now become a fact that kids receive tremendous health benefits when they ditch their electronic devices and play outside with nature. Scientific studies have proven that our digital natives are suffering from diabetes, depression, obesity, and ADHD. All of these health issues stem from to much screen time indoors.

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These are great ideas for teachers on how to bring digital citizenship into the classroom.

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This document discusses ten ideas for classroom activities that educators can utilize to teach digital citizenship to their students.

Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J.W. (2015). Digital Citizenship Activities: Ten Ideas to Encourage Appropriate Technology Use Among Students. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved , from http://cyberbullying.org/Digital-Citizenship-Activities-Educators.pdf

Keywords: cyberbullying; online safety; online responsibility; online integrity; cyberbullying; classroom activity; teachers
Download PDF

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Digital Citizenship Activities for Educators

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This document discusses ten ideas for classroom activities that educators can utilize to teach digital citizenship to their students. Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J.W. (2015). Digital Citizenship Activities: Ten Ideas to Encourage Appropriate Technology Use Among Students. Cyberbullying Research Center.

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Every teacher has the responsibility to teach digital citizenship. Here's a very useful article on how to implement digital citizenship into our lesson plans regardless of our specific subject area.

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The ISTE Standards for Educators encourage teachers to "create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community." As a result of these learning experiences, the ISTE Standards for Students describe young people as digital citizens who are responsible, ethical and empathetic in their digital communities.

Empathy, social responsibility and relationship-building can be difficult things to teach and are almost impossible to assess. Schools recognize that there must be an all-hands-on-deck approach when helping students achieve these goals in classrooms, on the playing field and in the hallways of their school, but such an approach seldom helps students achieve the goals of empathy and ethics in their online communities.

According to a 2011 survey of 5,000 teacher librarians conducted by the American Association of School Librarians, 52 percent of digital citizenship education was being conducted by the school librarian in isolation from other educators in their organizations. Another 28 percent of respondents said that the technology teacher was the only one responsible for delivering these lessons in the school community.

Additionally, 42 percent said the biggest barrier to teaching digital citizenship in schools is a lack of an integrated curriculum.
We recognize the importance of responsible, ethical and empathetic citizens for a healthy democracy, and in a tumultuous political season that has opened up dialogue about race relations, police relations, gun rights and immigration, it's clear that much of our civic discourse has moved into digital spaces. However, many digital citizenship programs are simply covering topics related to behavior management in an effort to remain compliant with state and federal regulations.

So how can schools move beyond digital citizenship education that's awkwardly tacked onto a student's day for the sake of compliance? How can schools embrace a more holistic all-in approach to help students explore the intersections of humanity and technology, the role of media and algorithms in our political socialization, and the moral questions humanity will face as new technologies push the boundaries between what's possible to create and what's ethical to introduce to the world? How will schools ensure that as a result of their digital citizenship efforts, students emerge as more responsible, ethical and empathetic people than they were before?

The answer is to stop thinking about digital citizenship as a stand-alone technology topic and begin thinking about it as an essential component of a well-rounded humanities curriculum.

In my ISTE book Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities, I write about "hacking learning standards" to create opportunities to weave digital citizenship education into content-area classes. I'd like to share some ideas for how to do just that to help you see that every adult in a school can have an influence in this important work.

The College, Career and Civic Life Framework (C3) for Social Studies Education says that by the end of fifth grade, students should be able to: "Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families" (D2.Civ.6.3-5).

A social studies educator can add a layer of digital citizenship to the standard by "hacking in" wording related to online spaces. Take a look at this hacked standard: "Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, through digital communities and families."

By adding the words "though digital communities," educators aren't taking anything away from the standards they're required to teach. Instead, they're helping students dive a little deeper into what it means to be a community member - both offline and on. Countless numbers of social studies, English language arts, health and social emotional learning standards can be enhanced in much the same way to help students explore what it means to be human in our increasingly technological society.
Here are a few more ideas.

1. Students in an elementary math classroom collect data from their peers, create a bar graph to display average daily minutes of screen time and discuss how their own use is greater than or less than that of their classmates. (CCSS.MATH. CONTENT.3.MD.B.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.)

2. Students in a middle school social studies class brainstorm and explain the specific roles people play in digital communities, such as contributors, consumers, moderators and tech companies (D2.Civ. 2.6-8. Explain specific roles played by citizens, such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, etc.)

3. Students in an English language arts classroom read, compare and contrast social media posts that have gone viral after a major event. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.)

4. Students in a health class research and report on the impact of wearables, such as step counters, on the overall health and wellness of the population (National Health Education Standard 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and other factors on health behaviors.)

Of course, many digital citizenship topics are not so black and white or neatly covered in a single lesson or activity. We also need to give students the opportunity to explore varied viewpoints, reflect on their own relationships with technology tools and digital communities, and wrestle with ethical questions that arise in the digital age. Educators can engage students with these questions by offering up conversation starters, space, time and opportunity for reflection.

This short writing exercise, completed in an English or health classroom, allows students to explore the impact of social media on our perspectives of one another both online and off. Give students a copy of the image on the following page that includes metrics on the social media likes each person pictured recently received.

Have them write a short one- to two paragraph response to each of the three prompts below:

1. Choose a person in this image. Write a third-person narrative account of their morning leading up to this point.

2. Choose a person in this image, write a first-person account of the thoughts going through their head right now.

Choose two people in this image. Write a first-person account of what person No. 1 is thinking about person No. 2.

Once the students have completed their writing, ask them to reflect:

How did the numbers above people's heads influence the stories you wrote?

How do social media numbers influence the way we feel about ourselves?

How do they influence the way others see us?

Is it fair to make assumptions about people based on numbers?

Students in a science or engineering course might be introduced to a new type of technology, like Google Pixel Buds, which promise to offer real-time, in-ear translations of up to 40 languages. Essentially, someone who speaks only English could hold a conversation with a Spanish speaker as the Pixel Buds, paired with Google Translate, immediately turn those Spanish words into English ones. On the surface, this sounds like a fantastic feat! A few questions to your students, though, might help them dig a little deeper into the humanity behind a new technology:

How might this new technology impact humanity, both positively and negatively?

Who benefits from this new technology?

Beyond monetary, what is the cost to users?

Who might be harmed, isolated or otherwise marginalized by this new technology?

Helping students explore the fine line between our technology and our humanity can be the work of every educator if we're willing to be creative in the ways we think about curriculum and the ways we think about digital citizenship.

Kristen Mattson, PH. D., is a library media specialist at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois, and an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois. She holds an ED.D. from Northern Illinois University, and her research interests include digital citizenship, media literacy, social justice, discourse analysis and the intersections among them.

To take a deeper dive into digital citizenship education, check out the new ISTE U course "Digital Citizenship in Action."

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Embed digital citizenship in all subject areas

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The ISTE Standards for Educators encourage teachers to "create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community." As a result of these learning experiences, the ISTE Standards for Students describe young people as digital citizens who are responsible, ethical and empathetic in their digital communities.

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We should encourage students to be digital citizens all the time they interact online.

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Digital Citizenship at Home - Portola Valley School District

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Parents need to be educated on digital citizenship as well.  This article is a great tool.

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Spread the loveAnytime we are online we leave a trail of information. We leave some of this behind intentionally. But, some of the information is collected without our knowledge. The students of today have spent their entire lives online. In fact, they have intentionally shared most of their life experiences online.

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As teachers, we must be digital citizens ourselves and then mentor our students. Here's a great article for teachers on how to become digital citizens themselves.

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5 Ways to Teach Digital Citizenship to Your Students

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Spread the loveJust as students have to learn how to be good citizens within their community, they need to know how to behave and be a positive part of the digital community. Digital citizenship is an important responsibility that everyone needs to understand as it encapsulates as many aspects of behavior and actions as physical interaction does.

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Here's a simple, useful guide for teachers on why, what, and how to teach digital citizenship.

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This is a lesson plan that helps students learn to think critically about the user information that some websites request or require. Students learn the difference between private information and personal information, distinguishing what is safe and unsafe to share online.

Students will also explore what it means to be responsible and respectful to their offline and online communities as a step toward learning how to be good digital citizens.

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Some information is not safe to share online. This lesson will help you learn the difference between safe and private information.

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Digital citizenship can be defined as "engaging in appropriate and responsible behavior when using technology. It encompasses digital literacy, ethics, etiquette, online safety, norms, rights, culture and more. A digital citizen is one who knows what is right and wrong, exhibits intelligent technology behavior, and makes good choices when using technology."
https://www.virtuallibrary.info/digital-citizenship.html

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"Digital citizenship is a concept which helps us understand what all technology users should know to use technology appropriately and responsibly. Today, billions of people all over the planet interact using various technologies. This interaction has created a digital society that affords its citizens opportunities for education, employment, entertainment, and social interaction. As in any society, it is expected that digital citizens act in a certain way according to accepted norms, rules, and laws. Most of today's students are entirely comfortable with technology, but are they using it appropriately? Do they understand their roles and responsibilities in digital society?"https://www.virtuallibrary.info/digital-citizenship.html