If You Give a Student a Computer...

…he’ll want some Internet to go with it.

If he’s a digital citizen he’ll go to YouTube and be mindful about the types of videos he watches.

He’ll stumble across a great video about how to build a server to play collaborative games with his friends.

His friends will join his server based game and collaborate on strategy about how to conquer the bad guys and save the world.

His parents will see him playing games and make sure that the games are educational and that time on the computer is regulated.

At a party over the weekend, his parents (who model digital citizenship for their children) will talk to others about the collaboration and responsible behavior the students use when they are on-line.

The students will text their friends to invite more to the game.  More students will join the game, more parents will talk and post Facebook pictures of their great kids being responsible online, and more parents will guide their children to be digital citizens when using computers.

Students will come to school prepared to use collaborative technologies and schools will create programs for students to take computers from school to home…

And chances are…if you give a student a computer…he’ll need some Digital Citizenship to go with it.

(Adapted from "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff)

I hope my communications have heightened your awareness of the elements of Digital Citizenship this week.

One last tip…power down, get some fresh air and enjoy the weekend!