Cybersmart

Last week in the Manaiakalani Digital Fluency Intensive Dorothy talked about cybersmart weaving throughout the curriculum, built on each year as the students move through our schools.

Manaiakalani Cybersmart

We compliment those children listening during mat time, focus on positive behavior in our classrooms and playgrounds,  knowing that this has far better results than highlighting the negative. Yet with Cybersmart we are often focused on the things that could go wrong, the big scary world that students can be exposed to.... are we almost dangling a carrot under their noses?

I must say this is something I hadn't contemplated until now.

This article ISTE- Empowering Student Voice Through Digital Citizenship  discusses turning the focus of digital citizenship around from what students shouldn't be doing online to what they should be doing. This turns Digital citizenship into a positive instead of a negative.

As LeeAnn Linsey (ISTE) points out as citizens within a digital world we have 'rights, privileges, and duties'.  Focusing on the opportunities that the digital world offers we can empower students to navigate through the digital world developing healthy interactions, a positive digital footprint and increased learning opportunities. Teaching digital citizenship in a positive manner allows students to be empowered. Technology and an online presence can amplify student voice and give students digital tools to make a difference in their communities in the physical world and online.

So what does this mean for my practice?

I will:

• See cybersmart as positive, and empowering and transfer this belief to my students.
• Make sure that once a week I take a lesson on cybersmart (thanks Manaiakalani for the resource bank of lessons), and make sure cybersmart is entwined within our daily curriculum. 
• Allow students the opportunities to share their voice online through blogging and commenting on the blogs of others, using communication opportunities to learn from the global community as resources, and give feedback to each other and me through online tools. 
• Students can not only use technology to create but to share their ideas and learning with the world.