Digital Citizenship Week: 6 Resources for Educators

Considering how ubiquitous smartphones and tablets have become, especially in high school and middle school, questions about managing use and educating students about digital etiquette are on a lot of educators' minds.

This October, Common Sense Media is sponsoring Digital Citizenship Week from October 16 to October 22. And we wanted to pull together some of the best resources to help educators talk about digital responsibility and safety online. Here, you'll find resources that cover today's digital landscape, ideas for student activities, and strategies for engaging parents. There are plenty of valuable resources for educators and parents to share, but here are six of my favorites:

• Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum for K-12: Common Sense Media’s interactive curriculum offers something for every grade level. Check out the "Scope & Sequence" tool to find the perfect lesson for your classroom. Plus, you can incorporate Digital Passport activities in lessons for students in grades 3-5. The interactive assessments and videos are super engaging, as well.
   
• Lessons for Teaching Digital Citizenship From Cable Impacts: InCtrl is a series of lessons for students in grades 4-8 designed to introduce digital-citizenship concepts. Topics covered include media literacy, copyright laws, and privacy. Teachers can browse lessons by subject and topic, and each lesson includes plans and materials.
   
• Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum From iKeepSafe and Google: Co-produced by iKeepSafe and Google, this digital-literacy curriculum for middle school and high school students provides three lessons to help kids find reliable information online, manage their reputations, and recognize scams. Additionally, check out iKeepSafe's educator resources for professional-development modules for teachers and a variety of activities to use with students.
   
• Resources for Teaching Digital Literacy From Digizen: Digizen is a repository of useful and engaging resources to teach students of all ages about becoming upstanding digital citizens. Produced by the U.K.-based child safety nonprofit ChildNet International, Digizen features videos, lesson plans, and games, and there are different sections for parents, students, and teachers.
   
• Digital Citizenship Videos From Teaching Channel: This Teaching Channel playlist of 30 videos, developed in cooperation with Common Sense Media, highlights ways classroom teachers are introducing digital citizenship concepts to students. There are resources here for every grade, and each video provides a lesson plan, as well.

• A Teacher's Guide to Digital Citizenship: Edudemic produced this brief introduction to Digital Citizenship for teachers. If you're unsure of the topic, this is a wonderful starting point. Once you've given this a read, another great Edudemic resource for exploring the subject is 15 Top Resources for Digital Citizenship.

More Resources From Edutopia

• Modeling Constructive Online Behavior by David Cutler (2015)
• How to Teach Internet Safety to Younger Elementary Students by Mary Beth Hertz (2015)
• Digital Citizenship: Resource Roundup by Edutopia Staff (2014)
• A Starting Point for Ensuring Student Online Privacy by Anne O'Brien (2014)
• The Path to Digital Citizenship by Andrew Marcinek (2013)
• Ideas for Digital Citizenship PBL Projects by Andrew Miller (2013)