Digital Citizenship in my Future Classroom

This week in our EDTC 300 class we learnt about Ribbles nine elements of digital citizenship. When thinking about the relationship between digital citizenship and the Saskatchewan curriculum I think they are very connected, depending on how a teacher looks at it. Although some places in the curriculum may not explicitly refer to digital citizenship, there are many places where you can slip in a lesson that connects to the outcome/indicators and involves the digital world. Not only are there opportunities within the outcomes for teaching it but you almost have to use the digital world to teach nowadays. There are so many great resources and tools online that can help with teaching. When thinking about how one can integrate digital citizenship into your own classroom I picture the very first day, going over the syllabus and the expectations in the classroom, right there is a perfect opportunity to start discussing Digital Etiquette. I’ve found a more specific example in Psychology 20, I have a screenshot here:

Indicators h and i seem like great places to talk about the digital world and technology. When teaching Indicator h I could see myself talking about Digital Access-how some people have access to it and some don’t and why that is.  With indicator i, any of the Ribbles 9 elements are fair game, because I feel like any of them could connect to friendships, making connections, and bullying.

Grade 8 Health is another great place to bring this in. I think this grade, right before entering high school, where life can really change for students, is such an important grade to make sure students have a good understanding of what to expect and how to act online. Here is a screenshot of the outcome:

You could connect this to Digital Health and Welfare, and even Digital Etiquette. Students should know that taking care of themselves and others is very important.

I believe talking about digital citizenship with students is so important. As I said I think there are lots of great opportunities in all grades and subjects to teach and talk about it. Digital citizenship is a part of our lives now and it’s key that students know how to properly navigate the digital world so they can have a bright future.