Teaching Digital Citizenship can feel a bit overwhelming at times. There are lessons, games, websites and videos to teach children about all of the ways to be safe online. Safety is just one component of living a digital life.
Today, 42% of children under the age of 12 have their own mobile device. Interestingly, 50% of that same age group have their own social media account.
As younger and younger children are acquiring and accessing social media, it is critical to teach our youngest students to create and communicate online. Where we begin teaching elementary students digital communication starts with our own digital lives.
My social media accounts have made me better at teaching Digital Citizenship.
Opening a Twitter account made me realize just how powerful social media is. Twitter wasn’t my first social media account. Other social media platforms that I had used up to that point highlighted the things I really did not like about social media. The things that made me want to quit their platforms and social media all together.
Since being on Twitter, my eyes have opened to another side of social media.
I quickly learned that there were communities filled with people eager to help others. It’s a 24-7 professional development center with continuous opportunities for learning. The openness for sharing makes it a safe place for inquiry.
Having and maintaining a personal and/or professional social media account is imperative.
Even if we are not explicitly teaching Digital Citizenship, we are most likely embedding it or touching upon it in our daily lessons. It is helpful to know how students are engaging online so that we can connect school experiences to home experiences.
Having at least one social media account is the most important thing to do. It is the one thing that you should have checked off before you teach Digital Citizenship.
Having an account puts us into a place of knowledge and understanding. Understanding how it works, potential uses, and current misuses allows us to teach into that. We are better equipped to teach our students how to use it well, with intention, and transformation.
If you already have a social media account and use it regularly, start thinking about the ways you can make connections between those platforms and how students engage in learning. Perhaps you have a social media account, but all you do is lurk. If that’s the case, start creating and sharing content on your account.
If you don’t or hardly use your account, it is time to start. Begin by lurking around. Seek out people with similar interests. Look for topics that you are interested in. Look for other educators and used the hashtag #elemchat to look for elementary teaching ideas.
There’s no time like the present to start creating your own content. Explore. If you are on Instagram, start posting images, stories, and reelz. If you are on TikTok, start creating those 16s second videos or challenge yourself to participate in a challenge.
If you are brand new to social media, find a platform and sign up. Are you unsure about where to start? Start with the recommendations below.
Social media is here to stay. Our youngest students understand that and are migrating towards it at younger and younger ages.
Kids can be on social media and not know how to use it well, or engage in digital citizenship skills. We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on their love for all things social.
Maintaining our own social media accounts gives us a unique perspective. We intuitively understand the skills our students need to acquire. We can teach them how to thrive in digital environments.
It is because of this, that when we teach students to use social media, we change the tone and intent of digital platforms.
There is one easy way, that requires practically no prep to do just that. I share that gem in my digital course DIGCIT QUICKSTART. It is the easiest way to teach Digital Citizenship. Click the image below to learn more.
Resources used in this post below ⤵️
