Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship Glogster

People often say too much of anything is bad. The same is true for technology. Although many great things come from it such as medical discoveries and new ways to learn, bad things such as technology overuse, misuse of social media and academic dishonesty can also arise from it. This post should serve to inform students about some things to be aware of when using technology as well as enlighten parents on things they should be looking for.

Children are starting to use advanced technology at earlier ages and it seems as if as soon as you get use to one social media, a new one is being introduced. With the vast majority of people owning smartphones in conjunction with social media updates, it is easy for one to develop internet addiction and perhaps even easier to get in the habit of using your cell phone while doing other things as mundane as walking down the street. This act alone can be particularly dangerous and "studies have shown that accuracy and safety usually suffer when people try to attend to more than one task at a time" (Roblyer and Doering, 2012, pg. 13). It has also been studied that high usage of computers tend to correlate with lower physical fitness and higher body mass (p. 16).

For more information on how technology effects development at an early age, view the video below embedded in my twitter post or click here.

When using the internet, teens need to be responsible and knowledgeable. It is important that they realize once something is on the internet, it is there forever even if it seems like it has been deleted. The same is partially true for texting. Pictures that are sent via text are not private and once they are sent to one person that person can not only forward to others but could also posts those pictures on social media sites. "Consequently, they [should] hesitate to send out explicit photos or text messages on their cell phones or the Internet, a practice called sexting" (p. 16). Another way social media can be misused is through cyberbullying. Although done mostly through social media, this type of bullying can have serious and lasting effects on the target and should be prohibited.

Despite the setbacks of technology, it is still a great way to attain information fast and students are being required to use it to complete assignments more readily. Unfortunately, easy access to the information also results in an increase of cybercheating or "students using materials they find online as their own" (p. 19). Students should be aware that this practice is illegal and can have serious consequences if caught. Instead students should reference where the material came from.


For more information about Digital Citizenship and great interactive games on the subject matter visit this website: Digital Citizenship


Roblyer, M. D.; Doering, Aaron H. (2012-01-17). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th Edition) (Page 12-19). Pearson. Kindle Edition.