Digital Citizenship
Shared Responsibility Program
FCPS Shared Responsibility Statement
"The past decade has seen an exponential increase in digital tools and opportunities, which carry the need for students to master a new set of life skills for behaving safely, ethically and responsibly online. Students are much more likely to understand good digital citizenship — the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use — when teachers and parents/trusted adults model it and explicitly teach and promote it on a regular basis." (Crompton 2014)
To that end, it's not just one person's job to teach digital citizenship to our students, but everyone's shared responsibility.
Students will:
Students will:
- work with their parents and teachers to learn how technology is used for learning and to advance their college and career goals.
- proactively approach their use of technology with empathy, ethics, and a sense of individual, social, and civic responsibility.
- use technology in a safe and respectful manner.
- understand their rights and abide by the responsibilities set forth in the FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities.
- use technology as described in the FCPS Acceptable Use Policy when at school and when using school resources.
- follow the rules and expectations set by their parents/caregivers at home.
Instructional staff will:
Instructional staff will:
- work in partnership with administration and parents to quickly address inappropriate use and provide the necessary supports to ensure that all students have a safe online environment in which to learn.
- model and explicitly teach healthy, safe, responsible, and respectful use of technology.
- complete required Digital Citizenship professional development to gain an understanding of the topics related to digital citizenship.
- employ best practices for the use of technology for teaching and learning as defined in the FCPS Instructional Framework.
- embed digital citizenship concepts within content instruction on an on-going basis to ensure the safe and effective use of technology.
- provide authentic opportunities for students to participate digitally, in order to practice the skills they need to leverage technology for learning and also to demonstrate the behaviors of a good digital citizen.
- teach the required lesson each year as indicated in the FCPS Digital Citizenship K-12 Curriculum.
- utilize additional Digital Citizenship curriculum and resources to further support students' knowledge and skill development, and to provide positive behavior supports and interventions as appropriate.
Parents are urged to:
Parents are urged to:
- work in partnership with their children’s school to quickly address inappropriate use, and provide the necessary supports so all students have a safe online space in which to learn.
- model and explicitly teach healthy, safe, responsible, and respectful use of technology.
- complete the Digital Citizenship for Families with Teens online course in partnership with their children, leveraging the parts of the course that are appropriate for their family.
- reference the FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities as rules and expectations, and discuss consequences for misuse.
- establish and uphold expectations around device and media use that support safe, healthy, and respectful technology use at home.
- participate actively in their children’s media use to help them understand and interpret what they see and read online, and to guide them in their online interactions.
- use the resources provided on the FCPS Digital Citizenship website and other reputable organizations to proactively support and prepare their children for digital life.
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