Digital Citizenship Action Plan By Lauren Zoerhoff Presented to school board of TPCA Overview: With the advent of new

technology throughout the 21st century, the boundaries of responsible citizenship are changing. Information can be accessed and shared more easily than ever, and with that power come risk and a greater responsibility as citizens to use that power in positive ways. According to Ribble et al., digital citizenship can be defined as, the norms of behavior with regard to technology use (Ribble, Bailey, Ross; 2004). I would add that digital citizenship is also the public expectations of behavior with regard to technology use. Considering this definition, the following Covenant Eyes (2012) statistics suggest that children of today s society are not displaying strong digital citizenship: y y y 39% of social network users have been cyberbullied in some way 88% of social media-using teens say they have seen someone be mean or cruel to another person on a social network site 32% of online teens say they have been targets of a range of annoying or potentially menacing online activities

In a survey that I conducted in August 2011, of the 127 middle school students at this school, 37 students reported that they have been in a chat room before and had another person try to obtain personal information from them. Furthermore, we have had recurring issues of cyberbullying and inappropriate use of school computers. If children today are not displaying strong digital citizenship, then how can we expect them to become adults who display strong digital citizenship? Just as we begin teaching children at a young age what is right and wrong in terms of their actions and behaviors, we must begin teaching children at a young age what is right and wrong in terms of how they use technology. This is particularly true because technology use is becoming an increasingly dominant part of their lives. The majority of students in the United States today use some form of digital technology regularly whether it be the a computer, social networking site, mobile phone, or video game. The following statistics, according to Media Literacy Clearinghouse (2012), show just how prevalent technology is among children and young adults today:
y y y y More than half of teens (55 percent) have a social networking account 42 percent percent of teens with a social networking account said they also blog, while 70 percent said they read the blogs 62 percent of consumers ages 13-24 are using their cell phones as entertainment devices Nearly two-thirds of teens (63 percent) have a mobile phone Some 35% of U.S. "tweens," kids aged 8-12, own a mobile phone

Every student here at this school spends at least 45 minutes per week on a computer here at school, and the majority of these students spend additional time on a computer at school or at home. In grades, 68, nearly every student has a mobile phone and computer access at home. Given this information, it is our responsibility, as educators, to do a better job of educating our students on how to be responsible digital citizens. This includes showing them how to use digital technology safely and securely, how to exercise proper digital etiquette, and how to use digital technology for empowerment. If we can instill

these values in all students, beginning at a young age, then these behaviors will be carried with them into adulthood. Goals: In order to assess the effectiveness of this action plan and the progress of students, I propose that the school conducts a survey twice per year. This survey would be given to the students for them and their parents to fill out together and return to school. The survey would be conducted at the end of semester one and the end of semester two. After three years of plan implementationy Students can identify a variety of tools that they can use online to find quality information or empowerment y The prevalence of cyberbullying has decreased 5 percent y Students can distinguish between secure and non-secure internet behavior y Students can identify cyberbullying and its implications y Students can identify plagiarism y Students are using digital technology to communicate about academics y Students identify the modes of digital technology that they use and ways they can use that mode for an academic purpose After six years of plan implementationy Students are using empowerment tools online multiple times per week y The prevalence of cyberbullying has decreased more than 10 percent y Students are regularly engaging in only secure internet behavior y Students are reporting cyberbullying and taking the proper steps to handle scenarios where they are exposed to cyberbullying y Students know how to properly cite information they use from the internet y Students are regularly using digital technology to communicate about positive, school-related topics y Students are using modes of digital technology they use in their every day lives multiple times per week for academic purposes Plan: The action plan I propose will require participation among the technology teachers, classroom teachers, and parents. If all of these groups are able to partner effectively, according to the plan below, then it will have a tremendous positive impact on the digital citizenship and overall digital literacy of the students. The plan has been outlined for each of the groups below. I. Technology Teachers The current schedule the school has in place allows for every student in grades K-8 to have one 45 minute technology class period per week. This can be the starting point for building a foundation of digital citizenship in the classroom. I propose that every grade level is required to complete a full unit on Cyber Smarts, each year using the free Cyber Smart curriculum online. Full units with lesson plans are available at no cost for grade levels K-12 and the units naturally transition students from basic skills to more advanced skills. The scope and sequence of the curriculum scaffolds their learning in the following five areas: safety and security(S), manners and ethics (M), authentic learning and creativity (A), research and information fluency (R), and twenty-first century challenges (T). Students begin in the

early grades with a preliminary understanding of these five areas and then throughout the progress of the curriculum in later grades, they develop a more profound understanding and ability to apply the SM-A-R-T concepts. Each lesson plan is designed with a Home Connection section as well, which is a great way of connecting what they learn in class with what they do in their daily lives at home. The following link shows the scope and sequence of the curriculum: Cybersmart Scope and Sequence I have broken down the unit plans and they are outlined in the chart below. The timeframe indicated is based on the current schedule which allows one class period per week and therefore approximately 36 total technology class periods per year. All of the individual lesson plans can be found at the following link: Cybersmart Lesson Plans Grade K 1 2 Lesson Plans Go Places Safely (S), Is This Yours (M), ABC Searching (R), Good Sites (R), Spread the News (T) Go Places Safely (S), Is This Yours (M), The Library (R), Find the Ad (R), Cyberspace at School (T) What s Private (S), Everyone Wants Friends (M), Is That Fair (M), The Power of Writing (A), Subject Category Searching (R), Using Keywords (R), What s the Big Idea (T) Filling out a Form (S), Whose Property is This (M), Good Manners Everywhere (M), Finding Good Sites (R), Ask a Librarian (R), Things for Sale (R), My Cyberspace Neighborhood (T) Private Information (S), Safe Talking in Cyberspace (S), Powerful Passwords (S), The Power of Words (M), Group Think (M), Be Comfortable (M), Citizens of Cyberspace (M), Purchasing Power (A), Choosing a Search Site (R), Rating Websites (R), Homework Help in a Hurry (R), Great Communicators (T), Cyberspace Country (T) Handling Email and IM (S), Privacy Rules (S), Speak Out (M), Whose is it Anyway (M), Do the Right Thing (M), Good Email Manners (M), Emailing for Homework Help (R), What s at the Library (R), A Place to Advertise (R), What is a Network (T), Imagining the Future (T) Private and Personal Information (S), Savvy Online Talking and Messaging (S), Cyberbullying 1 (M), Cyberbullying 2 (M), Cyberbullying 3 (M), Investigating Search Engines and Directories (R), Smart Keyword Searching (R), Great Moments in Communications (T) Smart, Safe, and Secure Online (S), Strong Passwords (S), Dealing with Cyberbullying (M), Power and Responsibility (M), Using Real Time Data (A), Making Search Decisions (R), Identifying High Quality Sites (R), Cyberspace World (T) Check the Privacy Policy (S), Privacy What s the Big Deal (S), Considering Copying (M), Can you Hack it (M), Good Messaging Manners (M), Online @ the Library (R), Sticky Sites (R), How to Cite a Site (R), Information Highways (T), Debating the Future (T) Timeframe 5 class periods 5 class periods 7 class periods

7 class periods

13 class periods

11 class periods

8 class periods

8 class periods

10 class periods

II. Classroom Teachers It is important that, as a school, we are connecting the digital skills of students with what they are doing in each of their classes. We want to make sure that students don t compartmentalize technology as being separate from science, math, English, or History but rather in a partnership with these subjects and a means for them to learn more about these subjects. I propose that each classroom teacher is responsible for incorporating at least one digital assignment or task per week in each of their classes. With the younger grades, this task would be something very simple. With the older grades, this task might be something more complex. The following list includes possible examples of what these assignments or tasks might look like: y Have students create a blog at the beginning of the year and then each week add a post that relates to what they are doing in class y Have students perform research of some kind y Have students carry out a chat of some kind with a group or partner that is about a topic relating to class y Have students create a visual of some kind using a digital program y Have students make a short video y Have students email the teacher a response of some kind y Have students record a voice narration about a certain topic y Have students create a powerpoint and add a new slide each day about a particular topic or unit Furthermore, teachers should connect each of these tasks with a Cybersmart skill that the students have learned as part of their technology curriculum. The teacher could connect this either by having students individually write about it or include this as part of the assignment or just simply have a short class discussion about the topic. It would be the responsibility of lead teachers or the principal to monitor whether or not teachers are carrying out these assignments, and this would be incorporated into periodic teacher evaluations. Students who do not have computer access at home would need to be accommodated in one of the following ways: y Time set aside after school where they can access school computer y Community areas where they can find a computer need to be presented to student and parents y Modified versions of the assignments might be necessary For each lesson students complete in their technology class, students will take home a Home Connections assignment that they are to complete at home and with their parent or guardian. Student progress in completing these portions would be kept track of by their classroom teacher and they could be assessed in any of the following ways (classroom teacher s decision): y Graded y Progress chart displayed in classroom where students get a reward upon completion of all their Home Connections y Entire class gets a reward when every student completes all of their Home Connections III. Parents Another important step in building the digital citizenship skills of our students is to connect what they do on the computers at school and what they do on computers or other digital devices at home. The curriculum I have proposed incorporates a Home Connection section for every individual lesson. This portion of the lesson requires students to go home and practice various things they learned or have specific conversations about topics they learned with their parents/ guardians. As a means of

connecting the curriculum and what students do at home, I propose that students are required to complete these portions of the lesson and get a parent/guardian signature. Classroom teachers will monitor progress and completion of these. Aside from parents participating in the completion of Home Connections, this action plan would also require flexibility on behalf of parents with home computer use and/or assistance with other means of getting their student computer access. If there is no home computer, parents will need to assist their child in accessing a community computer or setting aside time where they can stay after school and use a school computer.

Works Cited: Ribble, M., Bailey, G., & Ross, T. (2004). Digital Citizenship: Addressing Appropriate Technology Behavior. Learning and leading with Technology, 32(1), 6-12. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/1stLL.pdf Bullying Statistics: Fast Facts About Cyberbullying | Covenant Eyes. (n.d.). Internet Safety through Accountability & Filtering | Covenant Eyes. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.covenanteyes.com/2012/01/17/bullying-statistics-fast-facts-about-cyberbullying/ Teenagers. (n.d.). Media Use Statistics Resources on media habits of children. Media Literacy Clearinghouse: Resources for K-12 Educators. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm CyberSmart! Student Curriculum. (n.d.). CyberSmart! Student Curriculum. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://cybersmartcurriculum.org/