Blog #8 - Digital Citizenship

I chose to focus my Glogster on the ideas from the badges on the Mike Ribbles article. I did so because they seemed to be important guiding factors which direct the rest of his concepts concerning digital citizenship. I combined them into three main points: Ethics, Literacy, and Safety. These three sections seemed to encompass Ribbles' twelve badges fairly well and illustrate the main things that must be considering in terms of digital citizenship. Some ways that these can be presented in the classroom would be via a visual illustration similar to this one, and simply make these issues known to the kids. It would also be helpful to allow them to practice in some way. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to use sites such as the Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network examples to allow the kids to learn these concepts by actually using the technology. These resources could also be given to parents so they can help their kids learn as well.
One big issue that arises as a result the increasing digital citizenship is cyber bullying. This put simply is bullying which occurs via the interactive social websites. The main weapon to use against cyber bullying is knowledge and awareness. To do so, I would instruct the kids on the dangers, guide them to resources such as the Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network sites, and inform the parents on the issue. Also, I would not allow the use of those social network sites in the classroom, aside from instructional purposes. This will ensure that anytime they are on the site, they are using it for education and not personal, bullying purposes. I am hopeful that these strategies will be beneficial in preventing cyber bullying among my future students.