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This is a wonderful article pertaining to the importance of digital citizenship. This article goes into detail about digital citizenship.

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In an era where technology and digital platforms are integral to our everyday lives, the role of digital citizenship is ever more critical. This is especially true in educational settings, where equipping students with digital citizenship skills is essential for their safe and responsible navigation of the digital landscape. On February 13, 2023, the Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy Act was introduced in the Senate. The bill is aimed at increasing media literacy education and helping students navigate disinformation, ultimately strengthening digital citizenship.

Digital citizenship is about far more than just helping kids be safe online; it's about empowering them to use technology to solve real-world problems, to know how to balance their time between a variety of online and offline activities, to be curious learners and to use digital tools to deepen their relationships with their family and friends.

- Richard Culatta

The urgency of such educational initiatives is underscored by a Pew Research Survey revealing that 44 percent of adults aged 18 to 49 report they are online almost constantly. Schools are thus faced with ensuring students are adept at engaging with digital tools in a manner that is both ethical and informed, regardless of their starting level of digital literacy or the extent of their technology access outside the classroom.

"As more and more of our important life moments happen in online spaces, it is critical that we are also preparing young people to be meaningful contributors to our digital world. Digital citizenship is about far more than just helping kids be safe online; it's about empowering them to use technology to solve real-world problems, to know how to balance their time between a variety of online and offline activities, to be curious learners and to use digital tools to deepen their relationships with their family and friends," says Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE and ASCD.

Understanding the importance of digital citizenship led to the development of five competencies by the ISTE-led Digital Citizenship Coalition: balanced, informed, inclusive, engaged and alert. Beyond the digital citizenship competencies, ISTE provides a variety of resources aimed at helping educators prepare students to use technology safely, ethically and effectively. Digital Citizenship in Action is an ISTE U course eligible for graduate-level credit.

Recently, EdSurge spoke with Christina Scheffel, an instructional technology specialist supporting teachers across the Indian River School District in Sussex County, Delaware, about the importance of teaching digital citizenship. All students in her district, which has approximately 11,000 students and 900 staff members, are provided with Chromebooks that they can take home. The state of Delaware has made significant strides to ensure that students have access to technology at home, primarily through the provision of Wi-Fi hotspots.

Christina Scheffel
Instructional Technology Specialist, Indian River School District, Sussex County, Delaware

EdSurge: Why is digital citizenship so important?
Scheffel: Teachers, students - really everyone, at this point - we spend a lot of our time online, and because we spend so much time online, technology is not really an extra thing anymore; it's completely ingrained into our everyday lives. Even our youngest students do some activities on the computer. So it's really important for us to help them understand how to be safe online at an early age, how to interact appropriately online and how to apply the rules of technology etiquette.

I think it's important to start digital citizenship as early as possible. I have a three-year-old, and he sees me use my phone regularly. Something as simple as his understanding that I will put my phone away to pay attention to him is important. That's part of digital citizenship; that's part of that balanced competency. So, any way that we can model appropriate behavior starting as early as possible is key.

Richard Culatta discusses what it means to be an effective digital citizen.

How do you and your technology team support digital citizenship?
It has been a huge work in progress. At first, because of the pandemic, our primary goal was just getting staff and students to understand how to use the technology. We caught everyone up to speed by providing professional learning about technology and how it is incorporated into all aspects of the curriculum.

We interact with technology as a key aspect of our daily activities. If we're going to ask students to use technology and prepare them for this world filled with technology, it's our responsibility as schools [and teachers] to help them use it safely, effectively and for good purposes.

- Christina Scheffel

We've moved past that and need to start learning to use technology responsibly as staff, students and families. We interact with technology as a key aspect of our daily activities. If we're going to ask students to use technology and prepare them for this world filled with technology, it's our responsibility as schools [and teachers] to help them use it safely, effectively and for good purposes.

To support staff, we model digital citizenship during professional development, showing teachers things they can do with their students to promote good online behavior.

Our approach to engaging families has been a learning process. Initially, our district organized digital citizenship nights and distributed promotional materials to involve families, but attendance was weak. So we shifted our strategy.

Integrating digital citizenship into existing school events proved more successful. We realized that parents and caregivers will receive the information better if it comes from their child's school or someone they trust: their child's teacher. They aren't going to listen to an IT person from the district office.

The technology team designed packets with technology tips for students, including rewriting the acceptable-use policy in student-friendly language, and distributed them to schools. I walked into a classroom to fix an unrelated issue, and I saw that a teacher had printed out that packet to send home and added a signature line for parents to sign. That is how we can reach families!
What trends do you notice with your students about digital citizenship and well-being?
Last school year, we interviewed students from various schools across the district, elementary through high school, about their technology habits at school and home. One trend that kept coming up was that a lot of students feel like they must always be on their devices because they don't want to miss out. That fear of missing out keeps students glued to their phones, which just builds up into anxiety. That behavior is something I've seen in a lot of adults, including me. Our technology team is brainstorming ways to address it, even if it's just making people more aware of it so we can discuss it in more depth.

Recommended Resources:
What is the importance of the five digital citizenship competencies?
Balanced is about that balance between what you're doing online and offline. That behavior can influence whether it's hard for a student to close a device when they're not supposed to have it or whether or not they're trying to sneak a glance at their phone when they're supposed to be engaged in class.

Informed is about gathering credible information to process what you see online. That one is really important in schools, especially in content areas where you're doing research papers or citing sources. Being informed was a big part of my class when I was an English teacher.

Inclusive is really the citizenship part of digital citizenship: treating others with respect and empathy.

Engaged is all about using technology for good. A lot of times, we tend to focus on the negatives, which is understandable because the negatives can be very scary, especially things like cyberbullying or other sorts of unethical online behaviors. But there is a lot of good we can do with technology as well.

Alert is about safety, which previously seemed to be the primary focus of a lot of digital citizenship initiatives, right? There are a lot of places online where all people - students and adults - can get into trouble, and it's important to know how to be safe.

The five competencies are so essential for students to navigate the digital world, and the general public is recognizing that. Delaware passed a media literacy bill, which was partly created because of issues that have arisen in digital citizenship. The existence of that law and the push for more media literacy in classrooms show that communities realize the importance of digital citizenship in our society.

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The Growing Importance of Digital Citizenship - EdSurge News

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In an era where technology and digital platforms are integral to our everyday lives, the role of digital citizenship is ever more critical. This is ...

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This is a YouTube video about digital citizenship. This is a brief, informative video about the subject.

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This poster can be posted in all classrooms. Digital Citizenship poster can be posted for all grade levels as well.

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Digital Citizenship Poster Set Printable Classroom Posters for ...

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Autumm Caines shares about digital citizenship on this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed. This 34-minute audio file goes into detail about the importance of digital citizenship.

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Digital Citizenship – Teaching in Higher Ed

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Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to…

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This is an amazing activity lesson that teachers can use to help K-2 students become more alert about digital citizenship. This could also be used to help other students from different grade levels as well.

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Article with Educational Technology Trends

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Article with Educational Technology Trends

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This is a great article pertaining to 5 essential tech talks teachers should have with their students. This article goes into detail about educational tech trends as well.

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5 Essential Tech Talks to Have With Students

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To set the stage for successful student use of technology, start the year by discussing expectations around how tech like AI should and shouldn’t be used in your classroom.

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Educational Technology Trends YouTube Video

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Educational Technology Trends YouTube Video

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This is a YouTube video about 5 great educational technology trends. This video highlights educational tech trends that teachers can use in their classrooms.

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5 Educational Technology Trends in 2024 | Future with eLearning | Digital learning in 2024

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This picture highlights about 10 educational trends. This picture doesn't do in depth about each educational trend, but it shows how technology has made its mark on education due to so many tech trends.

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This podcast is hosted by Rose Luckin, who is a professor of Learner- Centred Design as UCL. This podcast consists of education leaders from around the world to improve the dialogue between "ed" and "tech" through storytelling for better innovation and impact.

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#274 - Managing Your School’s Digital Transformation

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The mission of The Edtech Podcast is to improve the dialogue between ‘ed’ and ‘tech’ through storytelling, for better innovation and impact. Hosted by Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner-Centred Design at UCL and Founder and CEO of EDUCATE Ventures Research, using AI to measure the unmeasurable in education. The Edtech Podcast audience consists of education leaders from around the world, plus startups, learning and development specialists, bluechips, investors, Government and media. The Edtech Podcast is downloaded 2000+ each week from 145 countries in total, with UK, US & Australia the top 3 downloading countries. Podcast series have included Future Tech for Education, Education 4.0, and The Voctech Podcast, Learning Continued, Evidence-Based EdTech, and the upcoming AI in Ed: Our Data-Driven Future series on AI. Send your qs and comments to @PodcastEdtech, theedtechpodcast@gmail.com, or https://theedtechpodcast.com/ or leave a voicemail for the show at https://www.speakpipe.com/theedtechpodcast

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Interactive Activity Website for Teachers 

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Interactive Activity Website for Teachers 

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This interactive website is Nearpod. This can be used as an interactive website for an educational technology trend.

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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This is a lesson plan for students learning about VR. This can be a great lesson plan on showing students on how to effectively use virtual reality.

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Article about Effective Teaching Strategies 

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Article about Effective Teaching Strategies 

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This is an article about effective teaching strategies. This article goes into detail about each teaching strategy that help teachers the most.

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10 Evidence-Based Teaching Strategies for 2023

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Some teaching strategies have more impact on your students’ results than others. Discover this core list of 10 evidence-based teaching strat…

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Effective Teaching Strategies YouTube Video 

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Effective Teaching Strategies YouTube Video 

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This video highlights 3 effective teaching strategies. These video goes over how teachers can use these techniques while teaching.

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3 Effective Teaching Strategies | Classroom Management

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This picture highlights different effective teaching strategies. It shows how each teaching strategy can have multiple benefits for the students.

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This podcast is hosted by Dan Jackson. This podcast talks about all things education in order to help teachers implement strategies that focus on making students more independent.

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Episode 154 - Teaching Tips & Strategies: Eddie Woo’s Guide to Teachers’ Growth

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Podcast · Dan Jackson · Through research and interviews Dan looks at all things education in order to help teachers implement strategies that focus on developing student capacity to be self-sufficient learners as well as providing other tips for teachers to enhance their effectiveness.

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Interactive activity website for teachers

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Interactive activity website for teachers

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This website is called ABCya!! It covers K-6th grade. This can be used as an interactive website for teachers who want to make learning process engaging and fun.

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ABCya! • ABCya! • Learning Games and Apps for Kids

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Educational games for grades PreK through 6 that will keep kids engaged and having fun. Topics include math, reading, typing, just-for-fun logic games… and more!

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Effective Teaching Strategy Lesson Plan 

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Effective Teaching Strategy Lesson Plan 

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Collaborative learning is an effective teaching strategy. This is a lesson plan that teachers can use to promote student collaboration.

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This is an article discussing the technology tools that enhances teaching. This goes into detail about different tech tools that teachers can use.

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This is a YouTube video about technology tools. This is a brief informative video about how teachers can find free and effective tech tools.

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30 Free Tech Tools for Teachers | 2022 Edition

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This picture shows the different top tech tools for teach. It shows how technology has made its mark on education due to so many tech trends.

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This podcast is great for teachers who want to utilize free educational technology tools that can be used in the classroom. Shanna Martin is an instructional and technology coach who will assist teachers to find amazing tech tools.

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Podcast · Shanna Martin · The Tech Tools for Teachers Podcast is hosted by Shanna Martin, an instructional and technology coach focused on helping you find and understand free educational technology tools that you can use in your classroom. Free resources are available at https://smartinwi.com (smartinwi.com).

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Interactive Activity Website for Teachers 

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Interactive Activity Website for Teachers 

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This is Pear Deck. This is a technology tool for teachers to make the learning environment more interactive and fun.

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Pear Deck is on a mission to help teachers create powerful learning moments for every student, every day - using the tools you already know and love.

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This tech tool can be used by teachers to create lessons plans for their students. I believe that this tool can help teachers with their increasing workload as well.

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Build engaging lesson material, track real-time student learning and share best practices online with thousands of other educators.

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This is my Final reflection about Padlet.