Digital Citizenship
What is Digital Citizenship?
The nine elements of digital citizenship are:
- Digital Access: full electronic participation in society
- Digital Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods
- Digital Communication: electronic exchange of information
- Digital Literacy: process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology
- Digital Ettiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure
- Digital Law: electronic responsibility for actions and deeds
- Digital Rights and Resposibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world
- Digital Health and Wellness: physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world
- Digital Security: electronic precautions to guarantee safety
Source: http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Home_Page.html
| o Media Folder ("M Drive") | o Protecting Yourself Online | |||
| o You Tube | o Media Literacy | |||
| o Fair Use | o Handheld Devices | |||
| o Social Media |
Online Information
When something is posted on the internet it is not freely available for you to use as you wish. Owners of creative works such as photographers, musicians and graphic artists should be able to publish their work on the internet without the risk of having that work used without their consent. It's both a moral and legal responsibility to be a good digital citizen.
Examples include:
- Text and pictures posted on websites. Say, for example you need a picture of a panda bear to include in a project on endangered species. It would not be appropriate to copy and paste a picture from a website or to take a photo from a Google image search without first checking if it is licensed for reuse.
- Sounds and music. Popular music that can be downloaded online is not licensed for use as a backing track for a slideshow or movie.
How Do I Use Digital Content Properly?
- Cite your sources properly. There is a proper format for citing websites, be sure to check with your teacher-librarian and use a style guide.
- Use content that is available on the M: drive of your school network. This content is copyright free and can be used as you wish. It includes a great collection of copyright free music, images, and video clips.
- Search for online content that is licensed for re-use through creative commons.
What is Creative Commons?
Creative commons refers to content that is available online and is intended for re-use. Often the original creator will offer their work for non-commercial use with an attribution license which means that you, the user, must offer credit to the original creator in the way indicated. More information on the creative commons and its licenses are available by visiting the creative commons website or by visiting the creative commons area of flickr.
You can search for creative commons content using a Google image search. Choose an advanced search and look for the field labelled "Usage Rights" - choose "Labeled for reuse". If you wish to make changes to the work you download choose "labeled for reuse with modification". Enter your search terms and click "Search". Many results will come from sources such as "flickr" and "fotopedia". Once you select your picture look for the licensing information on its website. While the original creator may only require that their name be included with their work, there is usually enough information available to create a full MLA citation.
Click here to view a video demonstration.
Creative commons content can also be searched by using "Search by Creative Commons" to find images, video, and music.
Public Domain
Items that are indicated as being public domain have no know copyright and are free to be used without offering credit to the creator. Stanford University offers more information on public domain.The Media Folder ("M Drive")
The M Drive (M:) of school computers contains a large collection of copyright free material such as video clips, copyright cleared music and images. You can access this media folder by double clicking "My Computer" and choosing Media (M:). Feel free to use any of the content you find on the M Drive.
YouTube
Fair Use
Fair use refers to the copying of limited amounts of fully copyright protected sources if you are offering commentary on the original source. More information on fair use is available at Stanford University's website.
Social Media
Social media such as Facebook provides a great way to stay in touch with friends and colleagues. When used appropriately it can build and strengthen professional and personal relationships. However, because social media is not a face to face communication certain people feel it's okay to behave differently than they would when in the same room as other people. When communicating online it's important to consider the following:
- Written text online can be stored as a permanent record and can not be easily taken back
- You can be judged but what you type online just as the things you say when speaking in person
- It can be hard to determine tone of voice when reading written words so you can be misinterpreted as being angry or rude at times when you are "just kidding"
Protecting Yourself Online
Always be sure to protect your identity while online.
- Avoid revealing information about your real name and location. If you must provide an address consider entering a fake one.
- Avoid posting personal pictures online. If you have the option of posting a profile picture choose to post a picture of your favorite animal, or a hobby.
- Beware that people can represent themselves online as being very different than they really are.
Media Literacy
Medial literacy requires carefully considering the messages and information delivered by media such as television, advertisements, posters and websites. It is important to evaluate media in terms of bias, accuracy, authority and currency. More information on media literacy is available by visiting the Association for Media Literacy.
Handheld Devices
Hand held devices such as cell phones and e-Readers are becoming more common as learning tools in classrooms. As a part of digital citizenship it must be understood that these devices can only be used in a classroom when instructed by a teacher.
During lessons where hand held devices are being used stay focussed on the task and resist using your hand held device for personal use such as texting and checking email which is not a part of the teacher's instructions.
- Privacy of Others: A large number of handheld devices now include cameras. Be considerate of the privacy of others. Taking pictures or video of other people without their knowledge can be inappropriate especially if the intent is to share that content on the internet.