Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship

Students in Rainbow Schools are encouraged to be good digital citizens, with a focus on four areas – critical thinking and information literacy, creation and credit, health and protection, and presence and communication.

Posters were developed to promote digital citizenship in elementary and secondary classrooms.

Rainbow District School Board has a Digital Citizenship administrative procedure, as well as an Acceptable Use of Information and Communications Technologies administrative procedure for students, staff, parents/guardians, trustees and the community.

These administrative procedures have been developed to support the responsible, professional and appropriate use of information and communication technologies as it pertains to meeting the vision, mission, values and priorities of Rainbow District School Board in the delivery of curriculum in a safe and caring online environment.

Resources

The following resources are just a few that educators can access when fostering digital citizenship in our students. Web links can be accessed below.

Common Sense Education‘s resources, which include videos, posters, lesson plans and toolkits, are designed to empower students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world.

Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology.

Created with students grade one to nine in mind, The Door That is Not Locked website provides a variety of resources and tools to help teach your students about Internet safety.

Digital Passport is intended for elementary students, and each module will introduce them to an issue facing students in the digital world and will allow students to earn badges towards their own Digital Passport. A teacher’s guide is included.

MediaSmarts is Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy. Two resources are OSAPAC licensed for use in our schools are available: Passport to the Internet and Reality Check. See the Computers in Education folder in First Class for login information.

Educating students about Internet safety can be difficult, especially with constantly changing technologies and classroom time constraints. Net Smartz resources can help!

Focus on Safety
Personal and Online

Rainbow District School Board has introduced two programs in its schools to empower students with knowledge about personal safety and safety online.

Kids in the Know

The first resource is in response to Erin’s Law which relates to child abuse prevention and reporting. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has developed a national, interactive safety education program called Kids in the Know that uses age-appropriate lessons to increase children’s personal safety skills in order to reduce their risk of victimization online and in the real world.

The interactive lessons build personal safety confidence by teaching students critical problem-solving skills. The lessons include three components – a story (with puppets), a group discussion, and a learning activity with questions related to the reading material.

Topics covered include safe and responsible use of technology, healthy relationships and boundaries, daily safety habits as well as knowing when and how to seek help. The Kids in the Know Program also offers resources for parents.

Cyber Legends

Cyber Legends is an online safety resource that offers lessons for students from Grades 1 to 12. Aligned with the Ontario Curriculum, the lessons are age and grade appropriate. Lessons are divided into six broad categories: Cyber Informed, Cyber Safe, Cyber Kind, Cyber Positive, Cyber Secure and Cyber Healthy.

The materials provide students with opportunities to learn how to be safe online, what to do if they’re unsure, and how to identify potential problems. Topics include personal information, identifying trusted adults, password protection, media literacy, consent, phishing and scams, cyberbullying prevention and response, and respectful civic discourse online.

Along with classroom resources, Cyber Legends has a number of parent resources that are available through an online portal. Cyber Legends also has articles on how families can work to ensure that screen time is safe and positive.