The modern classroom has adopted the tools and technology needed to advance a student’s knowledge in the digital world, but have the curriculums kept up to speed? Are we providing students with the right information to best utilize the digital technology available to them? Are students, and even teachers, aware of the risks they could encounter online and how to avoid them? In this blog post, we will be exploring the Saskatchewan curriculum to identify its connections with Mike Ribble’s nine elements of digital citizenship.

Mike Ribble’s nine elements of digital citizenship are essentially the nine factors that we should abide by when using digital technology to ensure “appropriate, responsible, and empowered technology use” (Ribble) for all. They encapsulate our access, use, etiquette, security, and privacy of our digital identities. An identity that many students take more seriously than their real-world ones. As teachers, we must ensure students are smart and safe about their online use and allow them the opportunity to practice their use of digital technology any chance we can.

In the Saskatchewan curriculum, there are many connections with Ribble’s nine elements. However, for this blog post, I focused on the two subjects and grade levels I anticipate to be teaching in the near future (and wellness 10).

ELA A10

• Outcome – CRA10.4: “Read, interpret, and draw conclusions about the ideas, information, concepts, and themes presented in a variety of literary (including poems, plays, essays, short stories, novels) and informational (including magazines, newspapers, and on-line information) texts.”
  • Indicators – (a): “Read, comprehend, and explain the human experiences and values reflected in various literary and informational texts created by First Nations, Métis, Saskatchewan, Canadian, and international authors from various cultural communities.”

This ELA A10 outcome and the chosen indicators connect with two elements of digital citizenship; digital communication and collaboration and digital fluency. By having students explore stories, blogs, and journals online, they are able to find stories and resources tailored specifically to their interests. A student who may not have been inclined to read or explore literature may find a pathway, which in turn with literacy education could be channeled into finding their own voice through an online source. We must create pathways to help students realize the opportunities at their fingertips. In guiding students to finding stories and resources of their interests, we are also helping build their digital fluency by advising where to look and why, which would be to “discern good information from poor” (Ribble).

Social Studies 9

• Outcome – IN9.2: “Compare the factors that shape worldviews in a society, including time and place, culture, language, religion, gender identity, socio-economic situation, and education.”
  • Indicators – (d): “Construct a comparison of the worldviews of the societies studied.”
  • (e): “Determine reasons for the similarities and differences between the worldviews of two societies studied.”

The chosen social studies 9 outcome and indicator connect with three elements of digital citizenship; digital law, digital fluency, and digital rights and responsibilities. By examining societies through online resources students are constantly improving and practicing the lengths of their digital fluency. Through searching for information on specific societies, students will be able to learn and compare the digital laws between societies. Specifically comparing the digital freedom we have in Canada, with societies from around the world. Teachers should use the information the students find a lesson that students must be careful and responsible with the amount of access they have available to them.

Health Education 9

• Outcome – USC9.6: “Analyze the health, economic, and social supports and challenges of addictions (e.g., tobacco, shopping, alcohol, gambling, Internet, drugs) on self, family, community, and the environment.”
  • Indicators – (c): “Evaluate and respond to sources of, and information about, addictions.”
  • (e): “Examine possible consequences of addictions on the health of self, family, and community.”

The chosen health education 9 outcome and indicators connect with two elements of digital citizenship; digital health and welfare and digital fluency. Through the outcome and indicators, students will learn about healthy internet use in terms of how long they use the internet and how they use this time. Students can use this information to evaluate their own internet use and determine whether or not they need to adjust their habits and the consequences that could happen if they do not.

In my classroom, I will integrate digital citizenship whenever I can. Students will be encouraged to explore online resources to find literature that piques their interest in a way that the stories I present to them cannot. Students will also be asked to use online resources to find newspaper headings and articles from around to see how different societies react to major events and how the presented information differs. The key goal in my classroom is to expand my student’s worldview’s through online resources. Whether it be through stories, articles, ways of life, or digital law, my students will grow the skills to grow alongside and responsibly interact with the world online.