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Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities
Discover ways to help students develop relationships based on mutual trust and understanding in digital spaces and become active, participatory citizens in these spaces.
For years, much of the available curricula for teaching digital citizenship focused on “don’ts.” Don’t share addresses or phone numbers. Don’t give out passwords. Don’t bully other students. The conversation then shifted, with digital citizenship curriculum moving toward teaching students how to positively brand themselves so that they would stand out for future scholarships and job opportunities.
In the end, both messages failed to address one of the most important aspects of being in community with others. As citizens, we have a responsibility to give back to the community and to work toward social justice and equity. Digital citizenship curricula should strive to show students possibilities over problems, opportunities over risks and community successes over personal gain. Digital Citizenship in Action aims to do just that.
This book
In this book, you’ll find practical ways to take digital citizenship beyond a conversation about personal responsibility so that you can create opportunities for students to become participatory citizens in online spaces.
6-12 educators, curriculum directors and library media specialists
For years, much of the available curricula for teaching digital citizenship focused on “don’ts.” Don’t share addresses or phone numbers. Don’t give out passwords. Don’t bully other students. The conversation then shifted, with digital citizenship curriculum moving toward teaching students how to positively brand themselves so that they would stand out for future scholarships and job opportunities.
In the end, both messages failed to address one of the most important aspects of being in community with others. As citizens, we have a responsibility to give back to the community and to work toward social justice and equity. Digital citizenship curricula should strive to show students possibilities over problems, opportunities over risks and community successes over personal gain. Digital Citizenship in Action aims to do just that.
This book
In this book, you’ll find practical ways to take digital citizenship beyond a conversation about personal responsibility so that you can create opportunities for students to become participatory citizens in online spaces.
6-12 educators, curriculum directors and library media specialists
134 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2017
13 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 27, 2018
"Leave behind a legacy." This quote is from an example featured in Kristen Mattson's book. How are educators encouraging students to leave behind a legacy? How can we teach students to use digital citizenship in their endeavor?
Mattson discusses the roles we have as citizens in a digital community, not as a list of "don'ts" or simply a guide to creating a positive digital footprint. Mattson focuses on the importance of modeling meaningful conversations and how to disagree online. She discusses the importance of creating or finding opportunities for students to use digital community as a tool for learning and broadening connections.
Great ideas for activities that most middle and high school teachers could implement tomorrow.
Mattson discusses the roles we have as citizens in a digital community, not as a list of "don'ts" or simply a guide to creating a positive digital footprint. Mattson focuses on the importance of modeling meaningful conversations and how to disagree online. She discusses the importance of creating or finding opportunities for students to use digital community as a tool for learning and broadening connections.
Great ideas for activities that most middle and high school teachers could implement tomorrow.
March 21, 2019
Very informative. This book contains a wealth of information on how we can help our kids become the best digital citizens. Lots of practical ideas and tips.
March 2, 2023
A very informative book about digital citizenship and fostering young minds to use digital media in an impactful way.
August 1, 2018
Good, practical advice for revamping Digital Citizenship curriculum. Provides sample activities for empowering students to engaging in online communities, stories from educators who have had success with their own curriculum, and an overview of why we should stop giving canned lessons to kids. Good for general education teachers, tech integrators, and librarians!
November 6, 2018
Quick read with many ideas for how to adjust current classroom activities to include digital citizenship. Instead of giving students a list of "don'ts" the author suggests including real-world, digital situations in regular assignments.
"For years, much of the available curricula for teaching digital citizenship focused on “don’ts.” Don’t share addresses or phone numbers. Don’t give out passwords. Don’t bully other students. But the conversation then shifted and had many asking, “Why aren’t we teaching kids the power of social media?” Next, digital citizenship curriculum moved toward teaching students how to positively brand themselves so that they would stand out when it came to future scholarships and job opportunities. In the end, both messages failed to address one of the most important aspects of citizenship: being in community with others. As citizens, we have a responsibility to give back to the community and to work toward social justice and equity. Digital citizenship curricula should strive to show students possibilities over problems, opportunities over risks and community successes over personal gain. In Digital Citizenship in Action, you’ll find practical ways for taking digital citizenship lessons beyond a conversation about personal responsibility so that you can create opportunities for students to become participatory citizens, actively engaging in multiple levels of community and developing relationships based on mutual trust and understanding with others in these spaces."
"For years, much of the available curricula for teaching digital citizenship focused on “don’ts.” Don’t share addresses or phone numbers. Don’t give out passwords. Don’t bully other students. But the conversation then shifted and had many asking, “Why aren’t we teaching kids the power of social media?” Next, digital citizenship curriculum moved toward teaching students how to positively brand themselves so that they would stand out when it came to future scholarships and job opportunities. In the end, both messages failed to address one of the most important aspects of citizenship: being in community with others. As citizens, we have a responsibility to give back to the community and to work toward social justice and equity. Digital citizenship curricula should strive to show students possibilities over problems, opportunities over risks and community successes over personal gain. In Digital Citizenship in Action, you’ll find practical ways for taking digital citizenship lessons beyond a conversation about personal responsibility so that you can create opportunities for students to become participatory citizens, actively engaging in multiple levels of community and developing relationships based on mutual trust and understanding with others in these spaces."
January 29, 2018
Through personal, positive, and practical advice and anecdotes for all educators, Mattson uses her extensive research to fill the gaps in traditional digital citizenship lessons which tend to deliver "what not to do" messages devoid of student voice. I particularly liked the chapter on "Participating through Respectful Discourse" which gives teachers easy-to-follow examples of how to teach students to think critically and respond respectfully to each others' ideas. My copy has highlights on nearly every page and plenty of notes to re-visit. Highly recommended! Pair this with Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership by Jennifer Casa-Todd.
July 24, 2020
Fantastic! This was well-written, easy to understand, and a great intro and rationale of the participatory digital citizen approach. There were lots of great examples and social media accounts to follow! I don't always purchase these kinds of books given the expense, but this was well worth it!
I would highly recommend this to any educator, but especially media specialists (or school librarians), middle through high school teachers, and anyone working with students 4th and up, and technology.
I would highly recommend this to any educator, but especially media specialists (or school librarians), middle through high school teachers, and anyone working with students 4th and up, and technology.
June 15, 2018
Lots of great strategies for teachers to implement small and big changes in their classrooms to help students become digital citizens and take control of the digital communities they are a part of. Lots of vignettes that highlight how teachers and students are contributing in positive ways to digital communities. Each chapter ends with a few things for teachers to do to implement the strategies discussed in the chapter. Short and easy to digest chapters.
December 19, 2018
Knowledge of digital citizenship is essential for all generations to come! All educators and parents are responsible for helping our children navigate our digital world. Instead of handing them a list of “ Thou shalt nots” we need to model the power of digital connections while teaching them to do it safely. This book presents excellent philosophy and is peppered with great, hands on examples to give our children opportunities to practice the power of online connections. Highly recommended!
March 4, 2018
In this book, the author suggests a shift in the way we approach digital citizenship instruction from predefined rules and negative effects to positive participation and empowerment. This accessible book is loaded with teaching ideas, practical tips, and useful resources.
February 18, 2020
Excellent read for anyone who teaches digital citizenship to middle or high school students. Dr. Mattson uses a "participatory" approach to teaching digital citizenship instead of emphasizing the pitfalls of social media that we see in most digital citizenship lessons.
April 16, 2018
This was a quick read that highlighted the importance of teaching digital citizenship in a positive light while providing realistic lessons and case studies in the process.
December 13, 2018
Tremendous guide for reframing digital citizenship curriculum in your school. Great practical advice & specific suggestions and examples for modeling.
June 10, 2020
excellent resource; informative and practical
December 29, 2020
Pretty excited to enact some of this stuff
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews