Digital citizenship lessons help LPS students safely navigate online

October 14, 2024

Lincoln Public Schools students like Raeleigh, Avery and Myla are learning that digital citizenship can help them safely navigate the ocean-sized amount of information that is available online.
 
The three Randolph Elementary School fifth graders are joining thousands of LPS students in comprehensive digital literacy lessons each week. The school district is giving everyone in grades K-12 the knowledge they will need to sail on smooth internet seas. The detailed strategy includes lessons on everything from being kind online to the positive and negative effects of social media.
 
Raeleigh, Avery and Myla spent one morning learning how companies create digital content to try to get people to buy things. Mark Weddleton, a computer science teacher and librarian at Randolph, talked about commercials, branded content and product placement in online games and businesses for children. He told students that these items were neither good nor bad, but they needed to be aware of them in order to make informed decisions.
 
“I liked it because we got to talk about a lot of different things,” Avery said. “You can actually apply it to what’s going on in real life on the computer.”
 
“It’s really important to learn stuff like this,” Raeleigh said. “You need to know what’s going on.”
 
“It was fun being able to do some activities and answer some questions,” Myla said. “You have to know how to work on the computer, especially if you want to find a good job someday.”
 
Weddleton has led computer science classes at LPS for a decade and has 30 years of experience as a teacher. He said digital citizenship skills have become increasingly vital in a world including smartphones, laptops and social media.
 
“The deluge of information that kids can access can be overwhelming, but it also has this beautiful thing of ensuring you’re not just reliant on one source,” Weddleton said. “There are definitely pros and cons, and rather than focusing on only the cons, we try to educate kids and help them sift through it all and help them be conscious as they explore this information.”
 
Angela Christensen-Fischer is leading the same type of digital citizenship effort at Standing Bear High School. The school librarian teaches about media and information literacy, digital safety and wellbeing and the social responsibilities that come with technology. Standing Bear has incorporated these lessons into advisement period meetings to reach students in all grade levels.
 
Christensen-Fischer said she and other LPS teachers recognize the significance of these lessons in a technology-based landscape.
 
“Many of the topics we cover, such as password security and being kind online, are ones that LPS students have been learning about since early elementary,” Christensen-Fischer said. “However, as students get older, they find themselves in a digital world that is much more complicated, and we have a responsibility to help them navigate it. Not only do we teach about digital safety and how to interact appropriately, we try to help students understand how to use technology responsibly as a learner and citizen.”
 
LPS wants to remind scholars and their families of the importance of digital literacy during National Digital Citizenship Week, which is being held Oct. 14-18. The annual celebration highlights the value of making kind, safe and smart online choices.
 
The school district has developed lessons that are woven into classes at every grade level. For example, the digital citizenship plan for fifth graders like Raeleigh, Avery and Myla includes comparing different types of digital communication, learning how to use multimedia tools and understanding how users knowingly and unknowingly provide data to companies.
 
In addition to in-person education, LPS Library Services also releases digital literacy tips every Tuesday on social media. Previous tips covering various technology topics are also available on the department’s website.
 
Weddleton has seen many positive outcomes from the digital citizenship classes. One of those is students realizing they are not alone in their online journeys.
 
“Once you start introducing things, it’s really fascinating to see what the kids know and what their experiences have been,” Weddleton said. “For example, when we talk about cyberbullying, kids’ hands shoot up. They all want to talk about it because they’ve all had experiences with it.”
 
Christensen-Fischer also felt the digital lessons are paying dividends. She said students’ mindsets about social media, for example, have been changing over the past several years.
 
“While most students do seem to use social media, I hear more and more students talking about the downsides of it as well,” Christensen-Fischer said. “We are trying to help them be mindful of the effects, and while I don’t see many students giving up social media, I am hopeful that we can continue to influence how they use it and how tied to it they are.”
 
Weddleton said printed books act as mirrors, windows and open doors because they can help readers learn more about both themselves and others. Online tools can offer those same benefits if they are applied wisely, which is why LPS is investing so much time and energy helping students sail on the digital literacy ocean.
 
“A lot of what we’re doing is making kids aware of those things so they can be thoughtful in their use of online information,” Weddleton said. “When we’re thoughtful on how we use it, it does open up a whole different world.”
 
To learn more about our Digital Citizenship curriculum, visit our website at lms.lps.libguides.com/LPSdigitalcitizenship. You can also check out our other digital literacy resources for students and families at home.lps.org/technology/keyconcepts. 

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