Teaching digital citizenship is a bit like prepping students for a jungle trek—except instead of vines and monkeys, they’re dodging clickbait, trolls, and endless ads for things they’ll regret buying. Whether you’re helping kindergartners figure out the basics of “nice online,” or you’re trying to get high schoolers to think critically about who’s sliding into their DMs, digital citizenship is essential. Here’s a grade-by-grade guide to helping our students learn to be responsible, ethical, and, yes, a little savvier as they navigate this digital wilderness. Elementary School: Building Foundations in Media Literacy and Online Kindness Content Catalyst: Digital Citizenship for the Littles In elementary school, digital citizenship is less “What’s…
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Identity in the Age of Filters: Are We Our True Selves or Just Trending?
It’s 2024, and let’s face it—we’re all curating. We curate our Instagram feeds, our outfits, and even our breakfast. (Who knew a smoothie bowl could be so photogenic?) But here’s the million-dollar question: are we curating ourselves? When teenagers are constantly scrolling through aesthetics, micro-labels, and influencer trends, it makes you wonder—are we still searching for our true selves, or are we just cosplaying whatever’s hot this week? Welcome to the Identity Crisis, TikTok Edition As social media has wormed its way into nearly every aspect of our lives, it’s especially giving teens a bit of an identity crisis (to say the least). Gone are the days when teen self-discovery…
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Generative AI: The Ultimate Teacher’s Sidekick
Generative AI—it might sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but trust me, it’s less “robots taking over the world” and more “robots helping you not drown in paperwork.” Picture this: lesson plans created in seconds, grading streamlined, and personalized content suggestions that actually make sense! If you’re a teacher like me juggling a never-ending to-do list, ChatGPT is the sidekick you never knew you needed. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but wow, has it made my teaching life a whole lot easier and even a bit more fun. Let’s explore how generative AI is transforming education (and why I’m borderline obsessed with it). What’s Generative AI Anyway?…