Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1480924
to teach digital citizenship lessons now that they 're back in the classroom. " Students must make smar t choices to build a strong, p o sitiv e o n li n e pre s e n c e a n d n o t b e c o m e th e ke y b o a rd bully or seek a dif ferent identity onlin e. We must teach them that there are some people out there trying to get them to click on things, so they must be mindful of what they click on. They need to be cautious, aware and smart to avoid potential hackers and frauds." Her school uses GoGuardian, a program that monitors student activity on school accounts to support appropriate internet usage. Students are aware that this program allows teachers to view their screen during set hours. "GoGuardian is a great tool to support digital citizenship as it promotes healthy online engage- ment and monitors activity that could potentially be harmful to students," says Andrade, a member of Val Verde Teachers Association. "We take great pride in building relationships with students. But hopefully, by emphasizing the importance of a student's digital footprints, it will translate into what they are doing on their own devices. Our goal is for students to take ownership of online activity and care about each other." Confronting, dealing with the negatives Olivia Davison, a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) for Redlands Unified School District, holds discussions about stand- ing up to bullies online, just like students should do in person. "We discuss the impact of online bullying and using unkind words about someone, and that it can make them not want to come to school. And that what you think you are sending to just one person might be shared with the entire school. Being bullied can transfer over into the classroom and someone's ability to do schoolwork. We talk a lot about empathy. It's so important." Also important is learning to evaluate online information for accuracy, says the RTA member. "It's so easy to make a website look legitimate. And if something is retweeted often enough, it might seem true when it's not. So, we ask stu- dents to be 'fact checkers' which can be as easy as doing a Google search multiple times to see if articles have an author or a date or a reliable news source." She encourages students to keep a " healthy balance" in their lives by not overusing technol- ogy and becoming overwhelmed by it. "It's OK to step away," says Davison, a CSM certified educator who offers professional devel- opment on technology in her district. "You don't have to be connected 24-7." Due to social media, students may experience low self-esteem and feel that everyone else is having more fun, says John Toledo, a computer science teacher at Camino Nuevo Charter Acad- emy in Los Angeles. He has seen students create an avatar (online persona) because they feel more comfortable in their digital life instead of their own. " There's this expectation to look and behave in a certain way that causes stress at school," says Toledo, a member of the "We discuss the impact of online bullying and using unkind words about someone. We talk a lot about empathy. It's so important." —Olivia Davison, Redlands Teachers Association Katie Gillespie's third grade students (at left) learn that, like toothpaste squeezed out of its tube, once something is online it's impossible to put it back. 20 cta.org Feature