I am currently in the middle of putting together our Drive Student Handbook. It is so exciting! I imagine our students getting to know each other, us, and our school. There are many intentional gaps in the handbook where we hope the students will help author our school culture and norms. I am really looking forward to having these discussions.
Today, I was working on the section that will give students helpful links to resources and information. There is a Digital Citizenship link with information that will convey our school’s online expectations. It is amazing how timely the articles are, not just for students, but for all of us. What a helpful read for me in this new era of constant, heated debate online! I wanted to share a bit because I found it so personally impactful. It is so important that we remind ourselves that our visceral reaction to others’ opinions, however inflammatory they may be, needs to be tempered by time, compassion, and intellect. I also understand how hard it is to do this in the moment. But, if we are going to expect it of our kids, we have to be willing to do the work ourselves.
On www.digitalcitizenship.net, they talk about a framework for Digital Citizenship, focusing on safe, savvy, and social guiding principles.
Safety provides the foundation for Digital Citizenship. It involves making sure you and others are protected online.
Savvy refers to educating yourself and others, having and recognizing good judgement, and continuing to learn as technology advances.
Social involves respecting yourself and respecting others as you connect.
Media has and will continue to change our world at warp speed. Regardless of opinion, position, political party, or perspective we can all make the effort to up our Digital Citizenship game. How would the conversation and collective momentum shift if we do?