I know everyone has been busy with end-of-semester tasks, not to mention the holidays!  Before I head out for the festivities, I offer today’s #ISTE #ETCoaches Blogging Buddies post on cybersecurity.  A couple weeks ago, I attended the Digital Safety & Citizenship workshop, hosted by Google at their fabulous Chicago offices.  Here are some takeaways that could be good enhancements to help bring our digital citizenship programs to the next level, with the inclusion of a cybersecurity strand.  In particular, phishing and password strength.  This is of growing importance since our students use email as a communication tool, and that's the primary method used by "bad actors" to steal private information via bogus messages.

First, targeted for the third- through fifth grade-population, @GoogleForEdu has designed a new curriculum called Be Internet Awesome.  This was launched in June 2017.  If you are not aware, complementing the written curriculum is a browser-based game called Interland.  Topics include:

·  sharing with care

·  don't fall for fake (phishing)

·  designing strong passwords

·  being an upstander

·  asking for help from a trusted adult if you are in doubt about something

The gaming principles create an interactive way to learn about digital safety.  The presenters at our workshop emphasized not calling content digital citizenship but characterizing efforts as "this is what we gotta do in our digital age," to help with the cool factor to all this.  And we know cool is king!   As a high-school, perhaps this could be a prelection activity for our kids to see what they know already and help inform future teaching. I've played with it and learned a few things since I worked through my digital citizenship certificate from Common Sense Media. The curriculum is @ISTE aligned and approved.  Works on iPad!

Also, for teachers not comfortable with all this, Google has a self-paced digital safety teacher certification at Google Education.  https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/digital_citizenship/preview

The day included other resources, some of which are great for parents.  The presenters emphasized the importance of partnering with parents for best results at getting the messages internalized and scaled.  Oftentimes, parents are even more uncomfortable than teachers in this realm.  Two organizations, besides Common Sense Media, of course, are below:

Family Online Institute:  https://www.fosi.org/

Connect Safely:  https://www.connectsafely.org/

And, specifically for our teen population, a suggestion from the audience was Net Smart Teens, by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.  http://www.nsteens.org/

I know this is lots of info four days before Christmas!  When you get back after the holidays, be sure to brainstorm ways you can raise the bar on your current digital citizenship curriculum to add the cybersecurity pieces.  In today’s climate, it is very important to raise student consciousness on these topics as soon as we can.  

Best wishes for a blessed Christmas and wonderful holidays!  May you return to school in January relaxed, refreshed, and ready to hit the ground running for the second half of the school year!