Digital Citizenship Within Standard Curriculum

The task of connecting digital citizenship with traditional curriculum is part of every educator’s job. Whether a teacher loves technology or is intimidated by it, technology is part of our society. Creating students that can successfully harness technology as part of their educational arsenal requires intentional efforts to weave digital citizenship principals into every day education. Some educators are concerned about the additional time and resources that teaching digital citizenship would entail. However, there are some easy methods for teaching responsible technology stewardship within traditional school assignments.

One of the easiest ways to teach students to “critically navigate and evaluate” online information is through assignments that require online research (Carey, 2014). The skills needed to find and critically evaluate research are the same whether the student utilizes paper books or a digital format. We can teach our students the CRAAP (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) method for determining whether or not the online content they have found is credible (Nbarker, 2017). The skills needed to find and filter through online content will be useful for a student’s entire academic life and any career he/she undertakes later.

Additionally, the online research assignment can then be used to produce a written artifact, such as a blog. Digital communication requires some slightly different parameters from simply writing a paper to hand in to only one person. Students must learn to communicate with clarity, briefness, and a view that will be mindful of a much wider audience. Writing blogs for my media and technology course has forced me to alter my traditional writing style to include less wordiness and more attention grabbing content. When I am searching for pertinent research to write about, I am not just considering the content from my point of view. I am learning to consider the people who will be reading my writing to a greater extent. The digital format is stretching my writing and interpersonal skills.

Another way to easily teach digital citizenship within traditional paradigms is through use of creative projects. By assigning students to make a short film or video about a particular subject, teachers can push their students to higher levels of cognitive learning (Carey, 2017). The teacher can choose the format for the assignment and let the students work through it. Most of the newer methods for creating video content are user friendly, so students should be able to make progress without lengthy explanations. While students are learning about whatever they are assigned, the students will also be learning how to teach themselves a new technology. The ability to assimilate new technology quickly and correctly will be invaluable to their future as well. Although I struggle with most digital applications, I am now comfortable using Google slides and Google Docs. Every class I have taken in college requires the use of Google Applications, but none of my instructors have ever taught me to use those applications. Despite not being formally taught about digital citizenship, I am still able to practice digital citizenship through thoughtfully planned course work.

References

2017). Nbarker.wikispaces.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017, from

http://nbarker.wikispaces.com/file/view/CRAAP+Test+handout.pdf

Carey, J. (2014). How to Infuse Digital Literacy Throughout the Curriculum. Powerful Learning Practice. Retrieved 22 September 2017, from http://plpnetwork.com/2014/03/26/infuse-digital-literacy-curriculum/ ital-literacy-curriculum/