Digital+Citzenship

Spider-Man’s motto: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Handouts: [] []
 * Key Vocabulary**
 * **Responsibility:**A duty or obligation
 * **Community:**A group of people with a common background or shared interests
 * **Citizen:**A member of a community
 * **Digital Citizen:** A member of a worldwide community linked by the Internet

What rights do you have as a citizen of the United States? What are some of the responsibilities of people seeking to become U.S. citizens? What do you think it means to be a good citizen or member of any of the following communities?
 * School
 * City
 * Nation

What responsibilities do you have to yourself when you’re online? First, provide kids a couple of examples from the following sample responses, and then ask other students in class for their answers. What responsibilities do you have to your community online?
 * Be a good friend and family member online
 * Don’t give out others’ private information, which includes full names, telephone numbers, addresses,
 * and images
 * Don’t tag them in photos or videos without permission
 * Don’t forward or copy and paste private information or messages someone sends you without permission
 * Be respectful in how I talk to and work with others online
 * Never participate in online bullying
 * Use online information to help me answer any questions
 * Never copy and paste information and then say I wrote it

Media creation option: Have students create their comic using the free online comic-maker tool [|Make Beliefs Comix]. Create a comic strip in which your superhero sees an act of poor digital citizenship. Then have your superhero fix the problem…and save the day!

Students will have to choose one of the provided characters to be their superhero. Students can also find a cell phone and camera under “objects” to include in their comic. When students are finished, they can print out their comic strips, or email them to you and to their parent.

Always treat others with respect – online and offline – because it is crucial to being good members of the community and good digital citizens.

Remind students that the Internet is a powerful tool that allows them to connect with others and to be citizens of an online community. Stress that students are responsible for their own behavior and how it affects themselves, family and friends, and the larger community