Before taking this course, I had a very basic understanding of Digital Citizenship.

I knew that Digital Citizenship had to do with the rights and responsibilities when using

technology. The only real interaction I have with Digital Citizenship is at the beginning of

the year when I send home my schools Acceptable Use Policy to be signed by parents

and students, and the occasional reminder when I take my students to the computer lab

not to be on inappropriate site. During the first week of this class I learned that there

are nine elements or themes of Digital Citizenship: Digital Access, Digital Commerce

Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights &

Responsibility, Digital Health & Wellness, and Digital Security. Each element focuses on

a different aspect, all reinforcing the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior when

using technology. After spending the first few weeks reading about Digital Citizenship, I

took the time to read my school’s Acceptable Use Policy and learned that it comes up

short. While it does cover the basic dos and don’ts of using technology, it does not

teach them what is appropriate and why.

My school’s current policy is in desperate need of growth, especially since they

have decided to implement the Bring your own Technology/ Device program. When they

announces this a week ago, the sent an email requesting any advice/ information to be

shared with the technology director. I am planning on compiling a list of resources and

information to send to our technology director. I also believe it will be most beneficial if

Digital Citizenship is taught through Professional Learning and New Teacher

Orientation. I also believe that because our school is so large (1800 students) it would

be best to offer some type of student professional learning before students can bring

their own technology to school. I believe this would work a lot better than having to send

home a piece of paper that gets signed without being read. I hope that the information I

have learned in this course will prove beneficial to the Technology Director of my school

system, and maybe help influence how Digital Citizenship will be taught in my district.

http://www.prismnet.com/~kinnaman/aupessay

This site is a great resource for Technology Directors who may need to revamp their

current policies or are needing insight to create a policy. It provides much need to know

information, as well as links to several policies that are in use. I was personally

impressed with the specific questions this site provides. They questions really force

someone to think in detail before creating a policy.

http://education.illinois.edu/wp/crime-2002/aup.htm

This website is another excellent resource for district’s looking at creating or

revamping their Acceptable Use Policy. This site focuses on the enforcement of these

policies and how to keep violations at a minimum. This site emphasizes language and

the use of precise easy to understand wording and explanation of the policy, so that

there is less confusion with the students and therefore, less violations.

http://www.library.illinois.edu/uni/computerlit/scenarios.html

This site would be very useful for teachers teaching Internet Ethics. This site

provides a list of scenarios focusing on ethical or not ethical internet practices. These

scenarios would be a great way for students to gain understanding of Internet Ethics,

but without committing the violations themselves.

http://www.p21.org/our-work/resources/for-educators#LearningEnvironments

This website focuses on the implementation of 21st century skills for students. It

provides information and resources for educators, students, and the community. The

most impressive focus of this site was resources links to implement professional

development in schools for educators.

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv.html

This website provides a list of archived information on digital divide. They provide

information on how to bridge the gap between people without having to worry about

income, education, geography, disability, or race. There are also several links to internet

safety, budget, and legislation.