# data[].attributes.headline
Digital Citizenship, Using Technology Appropriatley 

# data[].attributes.subject
Digital Citizenship, Using Technology Appropriatley 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome to the updated Digital Citizenship Website

Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology. Digital citizenship is the continuously developing norms of appropriate, responsible, and empowered technology use. Too often we are seeing students as well as adults misusing and abusing technology but not sure what to do. The issue is more than what the users do not know but what is considered appropriate technology usage.

The Knights of 17th Street ​is a fiction book for Young Adults that connects with the ideas of digital citizenship in an action filled format. Check out more information here.

Order the paperback or Kindle version from Amazon.

The new Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders: Fostering Positive Interactions Online by Mike Ribble and Marty Park, is now available at ISTE.org or Amazon.com

Digital Citizenship Today

I want to thank everyone working so diligently during these difficult times. With so many students now working from home - many using digital devices it makes this topic of Digital Citizenship so critical! I want to thank Ms. Amanda Brace from Regina, SK to have a conversation about COVID-19 and its relationship to Digital Citizenship. If you would like to listen to this podcast it is available in multiple options: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and voicEd.ca. She also wrote a short blog post about this conversation, which also includes some of the resource links on her website - EdTechEndeavours. With the leadership of educators like Amanda and so many of you we will get through this time. Please stay safe!

The concept of Digital Citizenship is being viewed as an important area of educational knowledge not only in the United States but around the world. Whether it is called digital citizenship, digital wellness or digital ethics the issues are the same; how should we act when we are using digital tools, interacting with others online, and what should be taught to help the next generation be better stewards of this technology.

After 15 years working on this topic there has been some updating to the nine elements of Digital Citizenship. In addition to the updates to the the Digital Citizenship definition, as well as the Nine Elements a new Framework has been created to help users to understand and organize these themes. It is the S3 Framework (Safe, Savvy and Social). Go to the Nine Elements page to learn more about these changes.

Some great materials and discussions for our 2019 Digital Citizenship week! Here are a couple of conversations on the topic: Facebook Live with Tito de Morais (Portugal) - Facebook: facebook.com/cyberbullying.pt/videos/464966610778236/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/_HbNRzyoNBc and a Podcast with LaKisha Hudson (Dr. Hudson's Counseling Corner) Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-hudsons-counseling-corner/id1433902401#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-1813330
YouTube: https://youtu.be/lF71q5x5Dn8 Buzzsprout: http://www.buzzsprout.com/152176

Working with Dr. Marty Park we have released a a new, updated book on Digital Citizenship titled - The Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders: Fostering Positive Interactions Online. Once again we will be partnering with ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Don't let the title scare you off, if you are looking for information on Digital Citizenship, you are a school leader. If you have questions or comments about the material found on this website please click on the Contact Us link to send us your information. If you are interested in reading more about Digital Citizenship please go to the Resources page then scroll down to Publications and click on the link for information you are interested in. See the latest article in Tech & Learning (Spring 2019) - Digital Citizenship Framework Updated

For those who are a member of ISTE please join the Digital Citizenship PLN (Professional Learning Network) to see how you can get involved. There is also a new initiative for everyone interested in the Digital Citizenship discussion - #digcitcommit. Go to the website - https://digcitcommit.org/ to join in. We need everyone to lend their voice to this topic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Digital Citizenship Consulting - Education, Technology Support

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the updated Digital Citizenship Website Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology.

# data[].attributes.headline
Importance of digital Citizenship in Schools

# data[].attributes.subject
Importance of digital Citizenship in Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Technology has provided administrators with some great opportunities for communication and data analysis, but for our students it means so much more.

To help our students, we need to show that with all these opportunities come responsibilities. All administrators have read, or lived through, instances of cyberbullying, sexting and even suicide that have come from the misuse of technology.

All users of technology need to come to grips with how to use the tools of today and how to become digital citizens.

Understanding digital citizenship

Humans are predisposed to connect with other people. We come together so that we can see and help each other, and enjoy one another's company. Technology has provided us with a new community, one where we may not always see one another but can share our hopes, dreams and even our disappointments.

Since we have been accessing this digital society for only about 30 years, we are still working to understand our own digital citizenship.

We have the opportunity, at the school level, to use technology to help ourselves, our families and children to become better digital citizens.

Digital citizenship focuses on using technology in an appropriate way while enjoying its vast capabilities and becoming more productive.

Digital Citizenship in Schools, 2nd Ed., identifies three main categories-respect, education and protection (or REP)-to guide the use of technology in schools, at home and in the community. These are broken down in three ways and a total of nine underlying areas of focus:

Respect: Digital etiquette, access and the law.

Educate: Digital communication, literacy and commerce.

Protect: Digital rights and responsibilities, safety and security, and health and wellness.

These are all provided to help everyone understand the complex nature of technology, social media and the internet. Each REP area has us look not only at how we use technology but how we help others as well.

Another important area, especially when cyberbullying is discussed, is empathy for others. Empathy has us think about the feelings of people, before we post something to the internet. If users are unable or unwilling to bring themselves to do this, it becomes easier to ridicule, offend or abuse others.

Understanding that such people are out there, even if we don't see them, diminishes any intentions we might have to bully them. Digital citizenship asks us to protect and include others.

Permanent record

Another issue for students is what is said or posted online about them or by them. Some call it a digital footprint, but a new term is gaining acceptance: "digital tattoo." A digital tattoo speaks more to the permanence, to the conscientious decision to share information and the difficulty of removing what has been said or posted.

One of the first steps in dealing with a digital tattoo is to search yourself. If you have not done it, or done it lately, it is important to do so.

Your tattoo is who you are-your personal brand-and if there is something negative out there, you need to address it. Even information that seems innocent may lead to problems in the future. Being a digital citizen means that you are aware of what is available about you in digital form and how it can affect you and others.

It is clear that technology use will increase within our schools. If you do not have a plan for how to teach digital citizenship, it will become a larger issue within your schools and district.

It is important for our students, and for all of us, to understand this world full of technology and how to work, play and interact within it.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "We teach the children so that it will not be necessary to teach the adults." We need to start today to help our students navigate this digital future. DA
Mike Ribble is technology director of Manhattan-Ogden School District in Kansas. He is also an international author and speaker on digital citizenship.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The importance of digital citizenship in schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Technology has provided administrators with some great opportunities for communication and data analysis, but for our students it means so much more. To help our students, we need to show that with all these opportunities come responsibilities. All administrators have read, or lived through, instances of cyberbullying, sexting and even suicide that have come from the misuse of technology.