Press release:
The week of Oct. 17th was Digital Citizenship week. Digital citizenship is defined as using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate. This year, all Byron-Bergen 3rd-grade students participated in a digital citizenship and digital literacy class taught by 3rd Grade Teacher Colleen Hardenbrook. The goal of the lesson was for students to use technology correctly and fluently, and included a group video PSA project.
“The class is based on Common Sense Media's curriculum,” said Hardenbrook. “It introduces fun characters that help teach students the essentials to being a good digital citizen.”
The characters are each named after a part of the human body. For example, “Head” teaches how to consume media in a critical way and “Legs” encourages students to stand up to bullies online. Each character embodies a key idea of digital citizenship.
In addition to the digital citizenship curriculum, students are learning digital fluency by practicing efficient computer use. This includes improving typing skills with a program called Keyboarding without Tears.
The students then created a group project to encompass the first unit on Media Balance. The students wrote the script, directed, and starred in the PSA-style video. “The goal of this program is to help teach young Byron-Bergen students how to participate in a digital world in a way that is safe, secure, and healthy,” said Hardenbrook. “Hopefully this video makes a lasting impression for our students and gets the message out for others.”
