Presentation by 10 year old blogger Lillie Forteau and her mom, Dr. Jessie Voigts, about digital citizenship for kids. Tips and resources. Find us at http://www.LilliesSuitcase.com and http://www.WanderingEducators.com

1. A Kid’s
Guide to
Getting
Digitally
Connected
Lillie Forteau
www.LilliesSuitcase.com
Jessie Voigts, PhD
www.WanderingEducators.com

2. What is Digital Citizenship?
• Digital citizenship is just what it sounds like – being a good citizen on
the internet. Being a good cyber (online) citizen means being
kind, thoughtful, safe, and responsible. Think before you say
ANYTHING online. Be positive; create a caring, positive online
experience.

3. Digital communication
• Digital communication entails all the ways that you can interact online. This
can include interacting on websites, blogging, playing
games, emailing, texting, sharing photos, and more. One of the main rules of
offline communication is to be kind and think of others – this goes the same
online. Civility is important anytime there are people involved.
• Do you remember playing the telephone game? It’s where one person says
something to the next person, who says it to the next person, etc. When it gets
to the end of the line, the message is often unintelligible. The same thing can
happen online – words and photos can be distorted, copied, changed, and
even shared without your knowledge, or crediting.
• Communication can be difficult to understand in real life, taking other
people’s feelings and thoughts into account. Online, it is even harder – words
can be interpreted differently than you meant them, and there is no
opportunity for non-verbal communication, which is a great way to interact
and gauge meaning.

4. Ways to be online
• play
• talk
• interact
• Learn
• explore
• make friends

5. Formats to be online
• email
• skype
• g+ hangouts
• Facetime
• interact on multiplayer games
• Social media – facebook, twitter, tumblr, instagram, etc.

6. Safety Issues to talk about
with your kids
• Internet safety
• Cyberbullying
• Digital privacy
• Netiquette
• Stranger danger

7. Safety TIPS
• Internet safety is the biggest concern for kids. Why? Because online,
you may not know who you are interacting with!
Use safe kid-friendly search engines:
• Kid Rex
• Ask Kids
• and if you are doing research, try using http://www.sweetsearch.com

8. Ways to be Safe online
• Don’t use your real name
• Never tell your real name or address
• Don’t share your location, phone number, email
• Use something for your avatar besides your photo
• Connect safely (don’t connect to strangers, make new friends from
friends of your parents)
• Talk to your parents if you feel unsafe
• Block people that make you feel unsafe

9. Being a good digital citizen
• No bullying
• Don’t allow bullying
• Be kind
• Don’t say mean things
• Report if you need to (to the website or your parents)
• Ignore mean people (they are called trolls)
• Give credit

10. Digital footprint
• Your digital footprint is everything you do online. It is permanent!
Everything you do online is permanent and can be public, even if it is
private in a group, or a text message between you and a friend. If you
delete something, it is still out there, somewhere. Be constantly aware
that anything is possible online – that information, messages, emails,
and photos can be shared (and changed) without your knowledge.

11. Digital Law
• On the tails of your digital footprint should be an awareness of digital
law. It’s the same as the law (and commonsense) in real life.
• Copyright – this is a legal ownership of books, words, music, photos.
You may not copy something without permission of the owner. You can
probably quote a few lines from a book or article (and give credit), but
you may not use the whole thing.
• Plagiarism – don’t copy or share something without crediting the
source, and making sure it is ok to do so. If you quote someone, put the
words in quotes and give the author’s name, or the person who spoke
the words.
• Image copyrights. If you’d like to use a photo, make sure that it is
within your rights to do so. Check creative commons for photos you
can use, with attribution (crediting the photographer).

12. Critical thinking online
• Not everything online is true. Did you know that? Critical thinking skills are
necessary to figure out what is real, and what is not.
• Critical thinking skills – credibility of the site, learning to discern real information
from false. Great graphics and information here:
http://wwwatanabe.blogspot.com/2013/01/internet-seach-to-address-common-
core.html
• Excellent information here on filtering information:
http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2012/05/29/tentips-for-teaching-students-how-
to-research-and-filter-information/
Examples:
• Do you believe this? http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
• or this? http://allaboutexplorers.com/explorers/cabot/

13. Fun websites for kids
• Animal Jam – National Geographic site, learn about animals and interact with others.
• Moshi Monsters – Play by yourself, can’t really interact with others. Fun to play, create characters, do quests.
• Kizi – Again, more of a solo game. Good for ages 7-14, I think. Play games.
• Wingaroo Adventures. Mostly solo, some verbal interactions. Do quests, explore the Wingaroo World.
• Webkinz – Mostly solo, although can do some games together. Design, build, create worlds for your pets. Lots of
games.
• Wizard101 – Interactive multi-player game.
• Minecraft – Interactive, works as teams to build.
• Club Penguin – Some interactions, but mostly solo. Creative and fun.
• Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow – Mostly solo, some games and quests.
• 39 Clues – Solo, quests. If you love the 39 clues books, you play with the cards that come in the books.
• MORE: PBS Kids Go, Barbie, Nick, Disney, Captain Underpants, Monterey Bay Aquarium – the list is never-
ending!
• Here’s a great resource of safe sites: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-lists

14. More Resources for learning about digital citizenship
•How to be a good digital citizen: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/be-good-
digital-citizen-tips-teens-and-parents
•What is digital citizenship? http://www.teachhub.com/17-topics-teach-k-8-about-digital-citizenship
•Safeties and Dangers of the web: http://library.thinkquest.org/5210/
•Best sites about internet literacy: http://www.educationworld.com/a_sites/sites081.shtml