A Visual Guide To Teaching Students Digital Citizenship Skills

[Timothy Gangwer]

A Visual Guide To Teaching Students Digital Citizenship Skills

By Katie Lepi on November 23, 2013

Though we’ve talked about digital citizenship in the past, since we’re constantly using technology and interacting in digital communities, an ongoing discussion about digital citizenship isn’t a waste of time, but rather a necessity.

The handy infographic below comes from Nancy White, who wrote on her site that she created the infographic when she was searching for a resource about the importance of modeling these skills for students. She noted that teaching digital citizenship as a separate curriculum is one thing, but finding ‘teachable moments’ – when they’re already performing a task where the principles of digital citizenship can be put to work – is another entirely.

I think she’s right on the mark. Talking to your students about being polite in online communities and understanding what is appropriate (or not!) to share is one thing, but having them examine these ideas in the ‘real’ context of technology use is quite another.

Themes Of Digital Citizenship

• Digital Access
• Digital Commerce
• Digital Communication
• Digital Literacy
• Digital Etiquette
• Digital Law
• Digital Rights and Responsibilities
• Digital Health and Wellness
• Digital Security

Show, Discuss, Model It!

When you’re working with your students on certain tasks, these themes of digital citizenship come up in context. Show your students what’s expected of them, discuss it with them as needed, and model it! While many of the themes will come up in more than one context, the creator of the infographic has matched the best theme with the appropriate context: What will your students need to know when they’re doing each digital activity?

• Read: digital literacy
• Watch: digital health and wellness
• Find: digital access
• Record: digital etiquette
• Curate: digital law
• Connect: digital communication
• Collaborate: digital etiquette
• Create: digital rights and responsibilities
• Write: digital communication

Katie was a teacher, graduate student, and is now the lady who makes sure Edudemic is as useful as possible. She oversees the editorial process and is basically a Swiss Army Knife of solutions.