This week I had the opportunity to observe an edtech coach teaching digital citizenship lessons for classrooms full of students. While the topic of the learning revolved around the use of technology, not one student utilized a digital device during the lesson. In an age in which students are surrounded by screens throughout the day and perhaps into the evening, it was refreshing to see hands on engagement, paper-pencil activities, and peer to peer conversations. I appreciate and advocate for student use of technology to spark creativity, document learning, and connect with others. However, a healthy mix of analog and digital tasks supports contextual learning by activating multiple portions of the brain.

Are you looking to promote safety online for students? Consider the following strategies to connect digital citizenship learnings to students’ lives – without the need for students to access tech during the lesson.

1. Know Your Students to Make it Real – What digital media platforms do your student use? What do they see on screens at home and when they are outside of the school grounds? In the aforementioned lesson I observed this week, the edtech coach related the risks of giving a way a password to losing tokens in Roblox, Fortnite, or the Dreambox program they use at school. Because this coach has taken the time to listen to her learners, she knows how to make connections between the lessons she is teaching and the context of student lives. I witnessed joy and validation on students’ faces when the lesson became real…when they were invited to speak to how their own digital life would be affected via digital citizenship.
2. Let Learners Talk – In a classroom, talk is not cheap…it is a valuable strategy and necessary for student engagement. We are not speaking about teacher talk, but student talk. Peer to peer conversation about content aids processing as students build upon each others’ ideas. And yes, peer to peer communication could be done via a digital platform, but in today’s digital world it is more important than ever before to ensure that students build skills in verbal conversation.
3. Get Them Moving – Research has shown that movement aids mental health and supports learning. This is the case for students and adults alike, and especially relates to conversations regarding healthy balance in our digital lives. Consider the lesson I observed in which students stood up and created motions to help them remember components of digital citizenship. As pictured, students are moving their arms to denote “balance”. If you are wondering about your own digital wellness and looking for resources for students regarding balance, consider visiting the Digital Wellness Institute and take their digital flourishing survey.
4. Sketch & Write – While students are learning about digital citizenship, they need not demonstrate their learning via digital means. Sticky notes are a simple way to engage students in an exit ticket. Consider asking students to create a quick sketch and sentence or phrase about their learning from the lesson. These sticky notes can be placed collectively on the board to be reviewed, handed to the teacher upon leaving the room, or kept with students as a reminder of their learnings. There are myriad possibilities that stem from a sticky note closure activity.

As you support students in navigating our digital world, seek ways to connect with students and the physical realm that surrounds them. And remember, even when you teach about the tech, it is not about the tech. We teach students, not content, and our goal is to empower our learners to make safe, responsible choices.

Need more FREE digital citizenship resources? Check out Common Sense Media and Google’s Internet Awesome.