There is no question that as teachers, we have wide access to multiple tools to create a rich technological environment in the classroom, and absolutely no question that this generation of kids is wired to keep up with the ever changing technology. It is the nature of technology that makes it essential that our students learn to make the choices that will help them operate safely in the technological world. It isn't enough to be tech savvy, but it is also important to be safety savvy.
Digital citizenship refers to the digital community, and communities have norms that define membership. After reading several sites about what it means to be a responsible digital citizen, several themes stand out in my mind regarding responsibility to self and to others: access and trusworthy resources, copyright law/infringement, etiquette, personal privacy/identity, and security.
So, along those lines, it's important that together with technology skills, we teach our students safety skills. They need to temper the excitement with caution. They need to: understand that the internet is not a private place, be selective of who can be an 'online friend,' not give away personal information or passwords, report cyberbullying, be selective of which resources to trust and why, obtain permission before using someone else's work and protect their own work by using appropriate measures. So, understanding and applying safety is one more tool we need to deliberately teach.
I love the BrainPop page on digital citizenship issues: http://www.brainpop.com/technology/digitalcitizenship/
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