Be a Good Digital Citizen
Learn how to use technology and communicate online in a safe, responsible, and positive way.
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TOPICS 
PATHWAYS 
EDUCATORS
UPGRADE
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Pathways are suggested guidelines of BrainPOP features that help teach these Digital Citizenship topics. These are ways to introduce teachers and students to all of the varied resources that BrainPOP offers, and are meant to serve as a scaffold to those that are new to BrainPOP. Please feel free to customize your lesson to your students!
My Digital Life
Follow this Digital Life pathway to explore what it means to live a digital life. Find out why manners are important online as much as offline. How can you tell if what you see online is really true?
While watching the video, think about these questions. 1) Why do you think it’s important to have digital etiquette? 2) How is digital etiquette different from in-person etiquette? After watching, turn to a friend and share your thoughts.
After you finish, reflect on which problem gave you the most difficulty: what questions do you still have about Digital Etiquette? Write them down or ask your teacher/classmates.
Being skeptical is a good mindset to have while navigating a digital life. What are some ways to check if something you learned online is true?
Show what you know! Write a letter to a someone who is brand new to digital life. What would you include in your movie? Maybe you want to talk about the difference between a “digital life” and “real life” or explain how to tell if something on the Internet is real. Be creative and make your own movie to share with others!
Digital History Dive
What were some key events that led up to today’s “digital era”?
Play with a partner to see what you already know about the history of computers. Were there any events that surprised you or your partner?
Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer. Think of what you know about computers today. How was the computer world different in Lovelace’s time?
How did we develop computers so quickly? What were some key events that moved us into a digital age?
How have our needs led to the development of new technologies? After you finish parts 2 and 3, turn to a friend and brainstorm what you think computers will be capable of 10 years in the future.
Play this game again to see what you have learned.
What is the Internet?
Everyone uses the Internet. Discover what the Internet is and how it came to be!
What would happen if the Internet were taken away? Write down how that loss would affect the way you communicate, the way you have fun, and the way you learn. Turn to a classmate and share what you wrote.
Discover what the Internet is and how it works.
What is Net Neutrality? It’s a topic that is hotly debated today. With your teacher’s permission, do some additional research on Net Neutrality. Where do you stand? Why?
What is the Internet? Use the Spider Map template to show what you know about the Internet.
Be Your Best (Online) Self
Many people behave inappropriately online. How do you react to their behavior? Why is it important to treat people online with kindness and respect?
Play through any of the character’s stories. What decisions did you make and were you happy with the end outcome? What actions would you have taken differently?
What is “trolling” and why do people do it? How do you think someone who has been trolled feels?
Discover first hand how a victim of cyberbullying used her experience to design software that promotes positive online behavior. After reading the story and responding to questions, think about how you might “rethink” what you post online.
How should you behave online? Use Make-a-Movie to produce a public service announcement promoting good online behavior and actions to take when you see poor online behavior.
Plagiarism and Copyright in a Digital World
Stealing others’ work is wrong, right? Is it ever okay to use someone else’s quote, image, or video? Explore what fair use means and when it’s necessary to give credit.
What is plagiarism and why is it is important to have rules against it? Share your ideas with your classmates and listen to their reasons.
How are plagiarism and copyright related to each other?
Copyright laws can be kind of confusing. Take the Challenge in Review mode to strengthen your understanding.
What is “copyleft?” Read about this movement and decide--would you want to “copyright” or “copyleft” your work? Be sure to state your reasons why.
Open Make-a-Map from either the Plagiarism or Copyright movie. Show what you know about both concepts by comparing and contrasting these two topics. Questions to think about: 1) why are these concepts important? 2) what counts as plagiarism? 3) what counts as fair use? 4) how are these concepts all related to each other?
Media Literacy in the Information Era
How can you tell that the information you see online is real?
What is Media Literacy? Why do we need to be careful when browsing things online?
Take the quiz in Review mode to quickly test yourself and see what you have learned.
Choose your appropriate reading level and read this article on fake news. Summarize this article in your own words. Share your thoughts and reactions with a classmate.
Look at this doctored picture from way back in 1902. After answering the questions, think of any altered images you have seen online. How do you check if a photo is real or fake?
Round out your Media Literacy knowledge by taking this Challenge in Graded mode! Apply your knowledge.
Make the most of the collection by exploring our Teaching Resources, which includes a Step Guide to getting started, key vocabulary, standard alignments, assessment rubrics, and more. Our Lesson Plans provide ideas for how to teach these important 21st century topics in your classroom.
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