Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Learn the 19 most important topics to teach for Digital Citizenship. Also, get many great ideas for resources by grade level K-8 with this interesting article. Most resources discussed in the article also include a short description of how others have used it in the classroom.
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tag(s): copyright (46), creative commons (29), cyberbullying (41), digital citizenship (89), internet safety (113)

Digital Passport is an interactive, engaging, and effective way to teach and test the basics of digital citizenship designed for upper elementary grades. Create and add student groups to assign, monitor, and customize assignments for students. This site consists of five topical modules covering privacy, cyberbullying, communication, creative credit, and search. Module Guides accompanying each lesson include complete guides and suggestions for teaching and using the activity. Be sure to download the Educator Handbook for a complete guide to effectively using the Digital Passport.

tag(s): cyberbullying (41), digital citizenship (89), game based learning (171)

4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. The images on this site are contributed by the photographers for open sharing under Creative Commons. Be aware, there are photos for sale (clearly labeled). Some of the links for "More Free Photos" and other ads take you to outside sites. You may want to advise students to avoid those links. Note that all uses of the photos are supposed to be accompanied by the link to the license (available on each photo's display page).
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tag(s): copyright (46), creative commons (29), images (262), photography (126)

Explore the complex topics of copyright and plagiarism. Find information on identifying plagiarism, ethical concerns, and ways to avoid stealing others' material. Explore essential questions such as Why Should I Care?, What Does it Look Like?, and How Can I Use My Own Brain? Student tools offer tips for avoiding plagiarism such as correctly citing sources and learning proper phrasing. Teacher tools include videos and posters to help students explore this topic and understand copyright issues. View several videos in the digital ethics portion of the site that discuss the fine line between plagiarism and mashups, downloading, and music use. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): copyright (46), digital citizenship (89), ethics (23), plagiarism (34)

Wikimedia Commons is a huge database of free media files (images, sound, and video clips) available in a wide range of languages. You can both access or contribute files. Using the same technology as Wikipedia, you can edit, upload, and embed media file projects into any Wikimedia project. Every media file comes with a description, name of the author and complete licensing details. Search for videos, images, or sound media by keyword, content categories, nature, science, or society. This is an amazing resource to use when searching for any multimedia content.

tag(s): creative commons (29)

Discover a slick way to find Creative Commons pictures (pictures you are ALLOWED to use without copyright problems, simply by giving credit). Vecteezy searches for creative commons images and locates those with licenses that permit use in other activities and projects. Enter text or tags, and Vecteezy does the rest, providing thumbnail images for you to choose from. After you search, be sure you have checked the box in the LEFT sidebar of the search results, specifying that you want Creative Commons images, NOT commercial ones. Click to search again, if necessary. Choose from the results that appear below the dotted line. (Those above the line are images you must pay for!) Click on the image you like and double-check the license information under item 1 to be sure it is available for non-commercial use with attribution and can be used for "derivative works." Click the image itself to copy and paste its URL to use in image credits. Remember that Creative Commons DOES require that you give proper credit!
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tag(s): creative commons (29), images (262), search engines (50)

This site has current movie reviews from the parents' point of view: What current movies are appropriate? What ages are they appropriate for? In addition to current films, there are reviews of TV programs, new DVD's, games, websites, books, music, etc. The site uses its own rating system: "Appropriate for age," "Know your kid," and "Not appropriate for age." Along with written reviews and Q/A approaches, there are video clips and tips. Each category of entertainment has several recommended and reviewed items with age ranges. There is also a newsletter and in-depth articles on subjects of concern to kids and parents.

tag(s): internet safety (113), movies (51), parents (60), safety (71)