Digital citizens are digitally capable, meaning as their skills increase, they are able to choose the right app or tool to do a task well. Students use their values and key competencies in real life to be cyber safe and responsible online.
The New Zealand curriculum states that “with the increased use of digital technologies and borderless spaces online, we need to be able to nurture and teach our young people to become discerning, responsible digital citizens able to confidently conduct themselves when connecting to people, resources and information in real-world contexts here in Aotearoa and in the wider global community.” (TKI link)
Junior students show digital literacy by reading online for enjoyment or information. Students can login to their accounts and access their chosen stories independently.
Room 9 enjoys listening to stories on Epic during our reading rotations. They love choosing their own stories that they are interested in.
Digital citizenship means teachers need to expand on their digital capabilities to meet the learning needs of their students. Staff meetings are undertaken in our school - for teachers and by teachers - to develop skills. Recently, staff were able to get more experience with Sphero robots, Scratch coding and algorithmic thinking.
It was very helpful to have an inquiry lesson modelled to us during a staff meeting. I had not used Spheros with a class before and it gave me the confidence to give it a go. There was lots of trial-and-error learning with the class. At times we had to manage our frustrations. Great progress was made learning to code the Spheros. We definitely have some experts now within the class.
Room 5 has been retelling Māori myths and legends using Scratch. We started with Scratch Jr before progressing with help from our buddy class, Room 6. We learnt how to create the characters from our story. We then gave it instructions and had the characters move and talk with each other.
Digital citizenship is about having the “skills and strategies to access technology to communicate, connect, collaborate, and create.” (TKI link)
Room 12 has been learning to use Stop Motion. First we practised using Playdough. Then we built 3D playgrounds and used artwork to retell the story of Papatūānuku and Ranginui.
Working together in small groups, students explored the use of Stop Motion software to tell a story in their own words. Storytelling takes on a whole new meaning for learners as digital citizens when they can use video and voice overs.
Creating a positive connection with others is also an important facet of digital citizenship. This contributes to and actively promotes our school values of POWER. Respecting others’ personal information by using only first names, asking for permission to photograph or film others and including others in our projects can all be supported through digital citizenship.
Room 8 students have been making short movies to celebrate what they enjoy and what they are good at. Videos about skipping, rugby, PE at school, crafts and news reports have all been meticulously worked on using iMovie, featuring slow motion footage and carefully curated music. With someone taking on the role of camera operator, the students do many takes to show their very best skills.
I really wanted to make a soccer movie to show my skills and then I could look at it and see how I look. I could see how I’m doing. I want to try and get better. Other people really want to watch the movies and they can see all the moves and how to do them.
All key competencies are represented when students are required to be digital citizens. Especially important for our students are ‘using language, symbols, and text’ and ‘participating and contributing’. When students contribute, we are challenging students to be “effective participants in the digital world.” (TKI link)
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