Common Sense Media- Citizens of the Digital Community

As educators, we are inundated with new resources and programs on a daily basis. Learning about these resources can be overwhelming and frustrating at times. For our Learning Commons, I would like to experiment with a few new resources and discover what is useful to us and what our students enjoy.

I was introduced to Common Sense Media at a training session for new librarians at the District Learning Commons here in Prince George, BC. I was immediately drawn to this resource as it appeared to be modern, relevant and fit many of the things I would like to achieve in the Learning Commons at Southridge Elementary. I feel that I have only touched the surface in terms of my understanding of what this resource can be used for, but it is a start!

Common Sense Media can be used to teach students about online safety, digital citizenship, how media and the online world affects their lives, and most importantly, (in my opinion) their digital footprint. This resource is suitable for students in grades K-12 and includes full lesson plans that can be adapted for your needs.

In the Learning Commons at Southridge, I want students to utilize technology as much as possible. However, I think it is crucial to teach our students how to use these technologies safely, how to be positive online citizens, and to think critically about how their digital footprint might impact their lives.

So, what is our digital footprint? You can think of your digital footprint as all of the data online available about you. This can be data such as Facebook posts, blog posts, YouTube videos, online game interactions, etc. It is so important to explain to our students (as early as possible) that once something is posted online it is a part of the online community and may be difficult or impossible to remove. I never really considered my digital footprint (even in high school) until I started my teaching degree. I cringe when I see what some young people post and the attitude they have about their online activity. Below is a good video to start off a discussion about digital footprints with students taken from Common Sense Media.

I would really like to use this resource in the Learning Commons and collaborate with you as to how it can be used. This resource would provide some good foundational media literacy skills for some of the project-based learning we will be doing later in the year. I think students will respond well to the lessons that are outlined, as they are relevant to their daily lives.

Please explore Common Sense Media and contact me if you would like to book a Learning Commons block to team-teach using this resource. A lot of the work has been done for us with this resource- the lesson plans are very good! In order to see the resources intended for educators, you will need to register and create an account. It is free and there are settings to ensure you do not receive emails, should you not want messages coming to your inbox from them.

Some videos that provide some good food for thought and provide more information about some of the ideas Common Sense Media can be used to teach students.

I hope this gave you some ideas for ways to teach digital citizenship in your classrooms.

See you in the Learning Commons!