Thing 7.2 -- Digitial Citizenship -- Activities

People talk a lot about keeping kids safe online. It may just be semantics, but I think there should be more focus on teaching kids to be aware and vigilant online. 
Scary things don't happen online. Scary things happen as a result of your online habits. 
Even adults get lulled into thinking they are less visible online, even though the opposite is true. Look at how many people post blog comments, Facebook updates, and pictures for the world to see, that, under F2F (face to face) circumstances they would never even consider. Perceived anonymity is what gets you in trouble. 

Raising Awareness:

One of my favorite online awareness resources is Netsmartz.org Produced by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Activities cover everything from publishing too much info, to how predators groom kids, and how to avoid cyberbullying. Resources are targeted to parents, community, teens, tweens, and educators. There are great, kid-engaging videos, lesson plans, and discussion tips, contracts, tips sheets and more. Info and videos produced in Spanish and English. 

Learn more about the program

I have used these resources to educate students, parents, district staff and community partners in conjunction with the Believe 2 Become program. 

visit the site

Another good awareness training tool for schools is Onguard Online produced by the federal governement. The materials are a bit drier than NetSmartz, but you can order unlimited print resources for free, again in both English & Spanish.

Neither of these resources covers analysis of Websites. I plan to create some Moodle resources within my district with pre-made lesson plans for staff at all levels, similar to what was covered in 21 Things. I'd like to develop something in Spanish as well, and perhaps work with our ELL / bilingual program to create companion resources in a variety of languages.