If it's to have any real impact, “digital citizenship” needs to be clearly and simply defined. That’s what the US’s leading youth online risk researchers propose in the latest study on digital citizenship. In fact, the University of New Hampshire researchers made three recommendations: Separate it from digital literacy (Internet and technical skills) and cyberbullying prevention, which are … [Read more...] about Finally defining digital citizenship: Help from top researchers
Social Media
About CNN’s ‘Being 13’: Let’s be fair
I know this isn't parents' or educators' default thinking or we wouldn't be seeing excellent advice like this, but our children are very smart where social media's concerned. CNN made a big thing in the promotion around its documentary and study "Being 13" about a girl saying about her selfies, "don't judge [but], maybe 200 sometimes if I really can't get a right one." What professional … [Read more...] about About CNN’s ‘Being 13’: Let’s be fair
A prime minister & a professor: True connecting in a digital age
Two messages in two media – video and text – by a prime minister and a professor got me, and I'm sure many others, thinking about the good, not-so-good and necessary connecting we human beings are doing on digital devices now, at both international and personal levels. I haven't heard a politician from any country speak of using social media the way India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi did at … [Read more...] about A prime minister & a professor: True connecting in a digital age
From bystanders to ‘upstanders’ & leaders: How it’s done
This is one way it's done, anyway – the way #iCANHELP does it. And in more than a decade of writing about solutions to anti-social behavior online, I haven't seen one as effective, pro-social and pro-student as #iCANHELP. [Disclosure: I'm working with #iCANHELP to pilot a social media helpline for schools this year, so I'm biased, but this is why I'm working with them – besides the fact that 1) … [Read more...] about From bystanders to ‘upstanders’ & leaders: How it’s done
Digital citizenship’s missing piece
At the end of a long, thoughtful conversation on stage in Chautauqua, N.Y., last fall, public radio host Krista Tippett asked millennial author and commentator Nathan Schneider, "What makes you despair and what gives you hope?" His answer to both parts of the question focused on agency – the capacity to act, learn by doing and make change. "I think the sense of despair I feel comes from … … [Read more...] about Digital citizenship’s missing piece