Sunday, February 26, 2012

3 Tips to Improving UR Netiquette

Technology is wonderful. We have instant access to news, videos, and music. I love Christmas shopping with a click of a button. But with all this access comes a lot of responsibility. This blog is a call to action to educators to step up and teach students how to be kind, gentle, and supportive while online. The following video will help activate your schema.

1. Teach students what it means to become digital citizens. A quick youtube search of "digital citizen" will produce over 2,800 videos you can use to begin a discussion. Post the videos on your moodle and put links in parent newsletters to help the conversation continue at home.
2. Establish norms for online responses to blogs, reviews, and other social communities like facebook and twitter. The digital fingerprint students leave could cost them friends and even jobs.
3. Infuse the revolutions that have taken place through social media in your history class. Make sure to include cyberbullying into your school wide acceptance plan. Increase awareness about online societies that support anorexia, suicide, and child abuse during health class.

Let's take back control and teach students positive netiquette. If we won't do it, someone else will. We can't afford to ignore this any more. What are your thoughts on our professional responsibility of creating digital citizens? Join the discussion on facebook.com/myreadingsecrets.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting, infusing revolutions, I prefer to say protecting human rights is good netiquette. The truth is an absolute defense in the U.S. which makes things tricky sometimes. Thanks for sharing your interesting ways to teach netiquette.

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    1. Hi David, I agree that there is a fine line between protecting our rights and protecting our country. I would love to hear some ways you teach students how to be kind to each other.

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  3. This is really important for kids to pick up. My students and I had a discussion the other day about privacy settings, they did not realize just anyone can look at their facebook, even if they aren't friends unless they adjusted their settings. I think they don't think about where their information is going and this is a very good topic to bring up to students, as they don't think ahead.
    I like the point of establishing norms. I did a little of that when I signed my students up for edmodo. However, I'd like to expand upon that in the future. I find I have to remind them of the proper way to type and respond to a fellow student, I would like to teach a whole lesson on that next year.
    Thanks for the post and the video, I definitely want to use that in my class!
    Joanna

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  4. I completely agree that digital citizenship must be taught.

    In third grade, I would hesitate to use the YouTube clip above ("HCS Digital Citizenship Teaser") in school because it is somewhat suggestive, and I do not think that all parents would approve of my showing it to their child. However, I think it could be shared with parents who want to begin that discussion with their child at that age at home. At the minimum, before using it or sharing it with parents, I would want to have a discussion about it with my principal to make sure we are "on the same page." I do think that it would be more widely-accepted to show it at the intermediate school, and certainly at the middle and high schools.

    I have started teaching a little bit about digital citizenship in that when my students blog, they know they must only use their first names, since anyone can view our blog. I am also fortunate in that we use Moodle in my class, so much of what they do online is protected by having to enroll in my course in order to engage in chats and discussion forums. I can also view all of my students' activity to ensure that they are using it appropriately. When I first introduce Moodle during the school year, especially when I introduce the "chat" feature, we have a class discussion about respect, and the use of kind words, even when we are typing.

    I feel that it would be relevant and important to have an inservice school district-wide on what teachers are expected to address at each grade level to ensure that all students are being taught digital citizenship with the same message about acceptable usage of technology in AND out of school.

    Katie

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    1. Also, I found this on Twitter: http://www.bpl.org/kids/netiquette.htm

      Katie

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  5. As a step-parent to 3 children, ages 14, 12 and 10 I definitely find it important to discuss this topic. We have discussed it with all 3, but I think showing them videos would also help them to better understand. I think it's a very scary thing as a parent to imagine what your children are posting in the digital world!!! It is our duty to educate them to make smart digital decisions!
    I know in my school, there have been problems with cyber bullying and such in the older grades (4th and 5th), so I don't think it is too early to begin the discussion of netiquette! Maybe not the "sexting" topic this early (1st grade), but definitely other important topics!

    Kristin D.

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