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Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship - Teaching responsible media useDigital Citizenship is a holistic and positive approach to helping children learn how to be safe and secure, as well as smart and effective participants in a digital world. That means helping them understand their rights and responsibilities, recognize the benefits and risks, and realize the personal and ethical implications of their actions. Helping a child become a good digital citizen cuts across all curricular disciplines and includes knowledge, awareness, and skills in three key areas:

Safety & Security:  Understanding the risks that we face from others as well as from our own conduct, and the dangers posed by applications like viruses and phishing.

Digital Literacy: Learning how to find, sort, manage, evaluate and create information in digital forms.  These literacy skills build on but are somewhat different from the traditional literacy of reading and writing.

Ethics & Community:  Becoming aware of and practicing appropriate and ethical behaviors in a variety of digital environments. This area includes shaping your digital reputation and being a responsible citizen of the communities in which you participate, from social networks, to games, to neighborhood civic forums.

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Biography: Pocahontas: Ambassador to the New World
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History, Social Studies
6-8, 9-12
Through location footage, interviews, realistic reenactments, and original period accounts, this documentary chronicles the life of the Native American princess who forged an improbable peace between two nations.
Biography: Greta Garbo: The Mysterious Lady
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Arts
9-12
This program traces this mysterious star's life -- from her poor childhood in Stockholm through her early years in Hollywood silent films to her smooth transition to talkies with her low, throaty voice.
Biography: Eleanor Roosevelt: A Restless Spirit
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History, Personal Development
6-8, 9-12
Portrait of the architect behind the now well-established tradition of First Lady activist.
Using Twitter Wisely
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Digital Literacy, Ethics & Communities, Internet Safety & Security, Personal Development, Technology
Learn how teens are using Twitter and how can they minimize privacy concerns in this iKeepCurrent lesson.
From Phone time to Face time—No Disconnect Here!
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Digital Literacy, Ethics & Communities, Internet Safety & Security, Personal Development, Technology
Learn how new technologies bridge the generation gap and promote closer bonds in this iKeepCurrent lesson.

Safety & Security

Knowing the risks

PointSmart.ClickSafe.
Information for parents about using concepts of choice, control, and education to help kids be smart and safe when online

Cyberbullying: Damage in a Digital Age
A white paper from Common Sense Media explains and suggests actions to deal with and prevent cyberbullying.

Using Twitter Wisely
Learn how teens are using Twitter and how can they minimize privacy concerns in this iKeepCurrent lesson.

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Digital Literacy

Thinking critically

Above & Beyond: The Story of the 4 Cs
A video from the Partnership from Fablevision and the 21st Century Skills illustrates the 4 Cs.

Center for Media Literacy
The Center for Media Literacy originated the 5 core concepts and 5 key questions of media literacy and is a comprehensive site, complete with research, articles, teaching kits, professional development and more.

Admongo
Engaging game from the FTC that teaches about how advertising works.

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Ethics & Community

Acting appropriately

Digital Citizenship: Using Technology Appropriately Website
Explore nine elements of digital citizenship and find resources that help teach responsible and appropriate technology use at this website.

Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World
New collection of free teaching units about ethical thinking in digital spaces from The Good Play Project at Harvard and Project New Media Literacies at USC.

iKeepSafe C3 Matrix for Digital Citizenship
Matrix for including digital citizenship topics and concepts across the curriculum.

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