Digital Citizenship Integration Model - Building a Culture of Care

 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHy4SqmxgsM

I want to share my "Digital Citizenship Integration Model." My goal with this framework is to help you integrate digital citizenship concepts easily and meaningfully into your students’ learning experiences. Ultimately, it’s about developing a culture of compassion, responsibility, and well-being within our digital lives.

What is Digital Citizenship?

According to Common Sense Education, digital citizenship is "the responsible use of technology to learn, create, and participate." While technology offers our students incredible opportunities to connect and discover, it also brings challenges—from cyberbullying and privacy violations to digital distraction.

To truly help our students, we need to move beyond isolated lessons and build a Digital Citizenship Culture. This consists of shared attitudes, beliefs, and practices for responsible technology use championed by every stakeholder in the school.

Here is how my two-part integration model works.

Part 1: A Community Effort (Who and When)

I utilize the free curriculum from Common Sense Education (developed in partnership with Harvard’s Project Zero). For my 4th grade plan, I mapped out the lessons so that topics like Privacy, Cyberbullying, and Media Balance are covered before the start of the second semester. This ensures students have the background knowledge they need early on.

But here is the key: It is a collective approach. In my model, lessons aren't just taught by the homeroom teacher. The counselor, the librarian, and the EdTech specialist all step in to teach specific lessons. This shows students that digital citizenship is a common objective. It reinforces that every adult in the building shares the same values regarding safe technology use.

Part 2: Meaningful Integration (The Essential Questions)

The second part of the model is about application. We don't want these skills to be forgotten once the lesson ends. I use a poster that displays the Essential Questions for each "Dig Cit" topic to spark spontaneous, relevant discussions during daily learning activities.

  • The Scenario: Students are asked to post a personal reflection on a learning platform like Seesaw.
  • The Integration: Before they post, I point to the poster and ask the Privacy & Security question: "How do we know if our information is okay to share online?" This immediately prompts a discussion about safety and applies the skill to the task at hand.

  • The Scenario: Students are researching articles for an environmental project.
  • The Integration: We pause and ask the News & Media Literacy question: "What rights and responsibilities do you have as a creator?" This leads to a conversation about attribution and plagiarism right when it matters most.

Making it Everyday

By using this model, "Dig Cit" doesn't happen at just one moment in the unit. It happens daily. It becomes part of the everyday culture of the school.

I hope this model helps you foster a community where students are empowered to use technology responsibly. Let’s work together to build that culture!

Digital Citizenship Essential Questions Poster

Resources Used:

Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/

Digital Citizenship Curriculum: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/curriculum

Research Behind Digital Citizenship Curriculum: http://bit.do/dig-cit-research

Music from epidemicsounds.com "Duck in the Box" by Jobii

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