This week is jammed backed with information, writing, planning and teaching. I can't believe we are in week 7 already! Here are some take aways from this weeks discussions.

Digital citizenship is the ability to navigate our digital environments in a way that's safe and responsible and to respectfully engage online and with our communities and further. 

Although my learners are young elementary age students, they have already started a digital footprint with their google accounts at school and access to school safe site like Clever. At my school the chrome books have blocked access, and many passwords are the same for all students so that it’s earlier for the kingergarten-2nd grade to be able to log in successfully. As they go into third and fourth, they talk more about safety and passwords and the students use their own passwords to access information.

Things that I see myself talking to the older students about are engaging in behaviors like being helpful to others and not cyberbullying. Along with being kind and helpful we need to teach them the importance of sharing misinformation without fact-checking it.

There are some students in the elementary school that already have cell phones and access to the internet and social media. I haven’t really needed to deal with that yet as I work with a younger group, but I have two of my own middle school boys who do not have cell phones, oh yes, they have asked. My husband and I are standing strong for as long as we can because we see how sucked in their friends are and hearing about issues with group texts and such. My boys have apple watches that have their own phone line but doesn’t need to attach to a phone which we love! They can call and text us or friends but there is no internet and social media. We can set their watches to not be in use during school hours. Honestly my boys are really good kids, and we haven’t had any issues but my husband and I can even admit even we are addicted to our phones at certain times, we try not to but we get caught up too so I can imagine adolescents with much less self-control than he and I would have a hard time especially of everyone else around them is glued to their phones.

Teaching my own children about the scary parts of the digital world is easy because they are mine, but I think my approach would be different if I was teaching other middle schoolers. I would be more careful about what I showed or shared because not knowing a child really well (like my own) is tricky figuring out what they can handle. But I will say without a proper understanding of how to use digital technology, phones, computers, students can get themselves and others in lots of trouble if they aren’t using it correctly. Safety is a big concern with predators online. Also teaching students that what they put online today will still be their ten years from now when they are looking at colleges or a new job. Making sure your digital footprint is “clean”, not saying things that are a “joke” at the time that’s inappropriate or offensive for example.

I believe elementary social studies should encourage students to think critically, analyze information, and evaluate sources. These skills are essential for making informed decisions and understanding complex issues in society, skills they will continue through their lives.

One of most important principles in my option is making sure students get hands-on experiences, such as field trips and interactive projects. These experiences help students connect theory to practice and deepen their understanding of concepts. I always learn the most when I’m hands-on.

By embracing the social studies principles, we have learned about in this course, social studies educators (us, we) can inspire young learners to become informed, engaged, and compassionate citizens who actively contribute to a more just and equitable society. My philosophy is that elementary social studies education should prepare students to navigate our complex, modern world and be able to participate meaningfully in shaping the future.

 

Collier, A. (2016, June 16). The Heart of Digital Citizenship | Anne Collier | tedxgeneva. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uww2XHnijKw

 

 Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. Common Sense Education. (n.d.). https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship