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Be kind, respectful, responsible, and participate in activities that make the world a better place

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T-is is it true?
H-is it helpful?
I-is it illegal?
N-is it necessary?
K-is it kind?

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Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc)

Email

Text

You Tube

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Follow these five tips on how to stay safe online!

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As adults, we do everything possible to keep our computers, bank accounts and families safe. Our list of to-do's continues to grow as our use of digital technologies increases. While these tasks are rote to most adults, we can't expect that our students will follow our lead.

It is our responsibility as educators to make sure our digital age learners know how to do more than surf the web and consume media. All educators - from classroom teachers to technology coaches and administrators - should lead the discussion on digital literacy.

Here are some ways to make sure our students stay safe and secure online:

Teach students to conduct data mines (on themselves).

Students should do this every 3-6 months. While many will Google their names, we need to teach them to dig deeper. Here are some general guidelines to follow:

Log out of internet browsers before searching (staying logged in can affect the results).

Search (using quotation marks) full legal names, nicknames and usernames.

Search Google Images with names/usernames.

Use multiple browsers, such as Chrome, Bing, Yahoo, Safari and Firefox.

Look beyond the first page of results. Go at least five pages deep until the name/username no longer appears. Take note of what kind of results appear (presentations/social media/images/etc.).

Here's an exercise I give to graduate students, but it can easily be replicated for high school students.

Check privacy settings on social media accounts.

Because many sites may be blocked during school hours, allow students to check privacy settings on those that are not. At a minimum, show students how to access privacy settings (perhaps through a screencast or screenshot). On each social media site, students should:

Check privacy settings to see who can view posts.

Go through "friends" lists and remove people who should not be there.

Search posts and remove any that they wouldn't want a parent, teacher, employer or college official to see.

Look at tagged images that others have posted.

Teach digital literacies.

Digital literacy is a term that has many moving parts. Students need guidance on varying types of literacy, including media (how to "read" media), social (how to interact in an online environment), and information (the ability to locate, evaluate and properly use information).

Safety falls into this category as well. Students need to know, understand and apply password algorithms as well as recognize scams and understand how their data is being tracked and used by companies.

Stress the importance of digital maintenance.

This is the spelling list or cursive practice of the digital world. It's not glamorous to teach but essential for students to know:

Teach students how to download Google Drive files to an external drive.

Remind them to backup Drive files, important emails, smartphone photos/apps/etc. at least once a month.

Make sure parents have access to account passwords in the event of emergencies. Have them write the accounts/passwords on a piece of paper and place it in an envelope in a safe yet visible place.

Reiterate the importance of logging out of accounts, not simply closing the browser window.

Start early.

Teaching digital responsibility is not just for middle school or computer lab teachers. It's everyone's duty, and we must start with kindergarteners. Consider developing a digital media scope-and-sequence to address what should be taught at each grade.

This is something that can be developed by teachers, students and parents alike. At a minimum, make a commitment with grade-level colleagues that you'll help teach students how to be safe and secure digital citizens. A good place to begin is by reviewing the ISTE Standards for Students.

Nicole M. Zumpano is a National Board Certified teacher and technology coach in a Chicago Public School as well as an adjunct instructor at three universities. She has master's degrees in instructional technology, and administration & supervision and is the immediate past president of Illinois Computing Educators, an ISTE affiliate. Nicole is a co-chair for posters for #ISTE18. Read her blog and follow her

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5 things students should do to stay safe and secure online

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It is our responsibility as educators to make sure our digital age learners know how to do more than surf the web and consume media. All educators - from classroom teachers to technology coaches and administrators - should lead the discussion on digital literacy.

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This is a great short video that explains why digital literacy is important and why it matters.