Two Educational Tools to Teach Students About Digital Citizenship

October 14, 2015
Below are two great tools from Common Sense Media to use with students in class to teach them about digital citizenship:

1- Digital Passport 

Digital Passport is an excellent web tool and mobile app designed for students in grade 3-5 to educate them on the fundamentals of digital citizenship and help them stay safe while using the net. Digital Passport provides learners with a variety of engaging activities and games such as ‘playing platform games, creating digital mashups, and playing other fast-paced games, all while learning important lessons about leading a safe and responsible digital life.’

As a teacher, you can set up classrooms and monitor student progress through generated reports. Digital Passport offers 5 modules that take about 45 minutes in its entirety. They particularly focus on critical skills related to digital safety, respect and community. Other topics covered include: passwords, cyberbullying, privacy, communication, creative credit, and search. More details and instructions on how to set up students accounts, and monitor their progress can be found here.

2- Digital Compass

Digital Compass is a new tool released by Common Sense Media to help kids learn the fundamentals of digital citizenship and digital literacy through playing interactive games designed specifically for grades 6-9. The games came in the form of a simulation of the digital world we live in and provides kids with an informed understanding of the implications involved in creating digital identities.

Digital Compass is available as a web-based tool to be played online, the iOS and Android app is expected to be released soon. The game starts with a short introductory video about the game after which kids are prompted to select a character and dive in with it in its digital world. While creating a story for the selected character, students will engage with a variety of thinking and conceptual skills. They have to think strategically about how to create a good digital path for their character, the decisions to take to solve unexpected problems and how to anticipate potential risks. All of this takes place within an immersive game-based environment that students will definitely enjoy


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