Rights and Responsibilities of Digital Citizens

    We all seem to agree that today's students are digital citizens.  And citizens have rights and responsibilities to follow laws and respect others' privacy.  We educators must understand these laws and guidelines so that we can teach our students how to use digital resources effectively.  Part of the Common Core requirements is for students to be able to use technology to produce and publish writing.  We should strive to help our students become creators!  And to do this, they need to know how to use digital resources responsibly and how to give borrowed work the attribution or citation that is due.
   
    When teaching any lesson, we first model the behaviors or goals we want from our students.  Why should the way we, as teachers, use technology be any different?  When I share content with my students, I should check to make sure it is public domain or that I am following the rules of the copyright license and note this to my students.  In her article "Teaching Kids About Copyright", Tara Woodall explains that before we assign tasks that involve students creating digital content, we must first teach the following concepts: Copyright, public domain, fair use, and creative commons.  Her article can be found here.  By helping our students understand these terms and the differences between them, we help them comprehend the rights people have over their intellectual property and creations.  We can help them grasp the importance of using and sharing the work of others legally.

     We must also stress the ethics behind the seemingly innocent sharing and downloading of videos and music.  If these creations are someone's livelihood, illegally downloading or borrowing their work to contribute to your own without their permission is STEALING.  I believe it is important to stress this, as kids understand that stealing is wrong and that is has legal consequences.  We want to encourage them to be creators.  And we have the power to show them where to find resources that they CAN legally use as well as how to be responsible with the work of others.