Book Review
Review by James Allen
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TLDR
This topic of 'digital citizenship' is one I've been following for nearly as long as I've been a teacher librarian (2004ish). Dr. Mattson's book is such a genuine discussion on this super-complex topic. I will be honest. I don't usually love professional books, but this one is different. It feels like a genuine conversation or an awesome session at a conference. If you are an educator, you will not regret the time needed to read it and explore the included resources.
Chapters
I'm including the table of contents here to give you a better idea of what is discussed in the text.
Chapter 1: A Primer on Digital Citizenship
Chapter 2: Best Practices for an Integrated Digital Citizenship Education
Chapter 3: Teaching Safety to Digital Citizens
Chapter 4: Empowering Digital Citizens Through Media Literacy Education
Chapter 5: Supporting Digital Health and Well-Being
Chapter 6: Helping Students Foster Digital Community
Chapter 7: Digital Citizenship and Social Responsibility
Primer on DigCit
For real
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https://bethwoolsey.com/2012/04/the-oregon-trail/
The Past
I love the time spent on discussing where we have been in this conversation, on this topic of digital citizenship.
"Digital Citizenship 3.0 is the realization that we do not have all the answers, but instead, we find ourselves needing to have more nuanced discussions."
3.0
I also love the part about this digcit work being a responsibility of all teachers, not one single person in a school.
Digital Citizenship
is NOT a singular topic!
Super-important theme from chapter 1.
Best Practices
Great chapter! I've had similar conversations on how we can compare digital citizenship to other parts of our lives and how learning works.
"Students need space to practice..."
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Best Practices
Throughout Dr. Mattson's book, there are connections to the ISTE standards, Featured Activities, and Spotlight Stories. DON'T skip these. They are powerful. I love how many teacher librarians are featured in these real-life applications and stories.
Icon from BEARicons on Nounproject
Best Practices
This chapter also contains my favorite analogy in the book!
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Teaching Safety
I love that one of the featured activities utilizes picture books! Literature is a natural connection point for digital citizenship too!
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Media Literacy
In this chapter, "Empowering Digital Citizens Through Media Literacy Education," Dr. Mattson makes some serious connections to her "Edvolve Digital Citizenship Framework." If you haven't yet, check it out!
The rest...
I could keep going, but I don't want to spoil the genuinely cool experience of reading this book, thinking about its implications, and exploring all the stories of educators doing this important work.
If you are a school librarian, education technology coach, or administrator, this is a must-read. It is also a must-read for any other kind of educator. 😅
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