Digital Citizenship

My article for this week is titled: Students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety by Jesse Morehouse. This article describes a lesson plan a teacher in Colorado used in his high school technology class. The lesson was designed to 'scare' students and make them aware of how harmful it is for us to release our personal information to the internet. Anyone can access this information as soon as it becomes 'virtual'. I was intrigued by this article and I believe it is a great way to not only inform students of the dangers of the internet, but also to help them become aware of who can access this information.


Cyber threats are a constant problem, because our information can be so public, we should be on the offense and think about what we are putting out there before we do it. Children do not always understand that many sites are far from being private. It is sad because some sites are great for social networking, media, or keeping in contact with friends and family. There are many easy ways to protect our information such as using the privacy settings on our accounts to limit who can see certain pieces of information about ourselves.


I think this lesson plan is a great way to teach students about the scary/negative sides to being online. It let the students find the information themselves, which is more beneficial in the end for them because I feel most students of this age group learn better while doing things themselves rather than just be told in a lecture. Hands-on experiences are my favorite way of learning and I will use techniques such as this in my future lesson plans. I am a kinesthetic and visual learner, so activities such as the one this teacher gave his students, would work great for me and my learning preferences.
 
 
It is great that there are so many social media and networking sites available for our children today, but there are many dangers that come along with it. Just like everything else in life we must stay alert and be aware of the consequences of our actions. For future events, jobs, relationships, or anything to do with your life, things put onto the internet of or about you can hurt the way people view you. Anything can be posted onto the internet and once it is, there may not be a way to change it. As teachers it is our responsibility to teach our students lesson plans, and help them succeed, and I fully agree this activity is a great way of doing this as well as helping them stay safe.


Thank you for reading and stay safe fellow internet users!

Brianna Adair



Morehouse, Jesse (Sept/Oct 2011). Students dig up dirt to learn about internet safety. Learning & Leading with Technology. Retrieved from ISTE October 5, 2013. (pg. 34-35).