What safety? Digital what? This would probably be the way my teachers and fellow students would have responded to
questions about cyber safety and digital citizenship. Nothing is going to show my age faster than reflecting back on my school experiences with technology. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, computers and the internet were in their infancy when I was in school. We had computer labs that allowed us to do basic word processing and play a few primitive games, but surfing the world wide web, cell phones, social media and texting didn’t exist and neither did the need for us to be educated about cyber safety and digital citizenship.
Raising a daughter and educating young people in our current digital age absolutely terrifies me. I want them to be safe and not make mistakes that will live in the depths of the internet for eternity, but I have no idea how to do it. Instinct tells us to resort to many of the scare tactics of the past by warning them of the dangers lurking behind each swipe or click but I know those tactics are not effective. I read a book last year, School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Classroom at a Time, that really opened my eyes to how we as educators can effectively go about educating our students with real techniques that will promote cyber safety and digital citizenship.
As Jurgenson describes in the IRL Fetish, and echoed in the Character Education for the Digital Age, separating our digital and school lives is nearly impossible and trying to do so is a disservice to students. Instead of telling them the internet is a big bad scary place, we need to educate them on how to use it safely and effectively through the nine elements of digital citizenship. While there is no easy answer as to how to teach this topic, one idea I found intriguing and that I would love to try is by co-creating with students a set of classroom values surrounding the use of technology in our school community. What makes them feel safe? Unsafe? What scares them or what worries do they have? How can we work together in our classroom community to ensure all of our members feel safe? Perhaps in doing so students will be more invested in using technology safely and appropriately in all areas of their lives, not just at school.
The more we can incorporate technology in our classrooms and teaching and demonstrate for our students how to successfully navigate the complexities of the digital age in which they live in a responsible and safe manner, the better equipped they will be to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world.
Hi Cheryl!
It was fun reading your post. I can relate to the ‘What safety?’ and ‘Digital what?’ responses. Growing up in the 90s, I had limited exposure to computers. My school similarly had a computer lab with some outdated computers and we were not even as privileged to operate.
I agree with you on how instincts tell us to resort to many of the ineffective scare tactics of the past as this has been my experience in raising my kids.
I think we figure that if we scare them enough they will listen but yet seem to forget how that never worked for us. So tricky.
Hi Cheryl,
Boy, can I connect with the “What Safety?” And “Digital What?” questions that you opened your post with. I connect with the primitive computer games, too. #oregontrailforever
It is scary to actually be one of the people to have seen the digital world evolve right in front of our eyes. I am grateful for the non-experience that I had with technology growing up because it definitely shaped me into the person that I am today, but I also often feel ill equipped when it comes to navigating the digital waters with my children and my students. That being said, I can sniff out a scam email from a mile away!
I remain (possibly sillily) hesitant to try out new apps and technology. For one, I never feel like I have the time, and two, I just don’t want to admit that I might be beginning to fall into what my kids might classify as “old person” territory when it comes to my inability to navigate tech! I am very proud of you for taking the leap, being persistent and getting that first TikTok posted! Congratulations!!
Now, maybe I need to draw some inspiration and try that myself!
Thank you