Thing #11: Digital Citizenship

I love to use the internet in my lessons and in my discussions I have with my classes. Because of the spontaneity of the moment, I have to constantly watch out for inappropriate material that comes across while we are looking for whatever it is we are looking for. I try to think out loud as I look for things, and I always spout the personal responsibility I must exercise while I use the internet with them. Whenever I say, "Nope, not appropriate," there's always that one kid who says something like, "I can do whatever I want," or "My parents don't care." I'm sure their parents do care, but unfortunately like many other issues in the world, it falls to the teachers to have to create the foundation of responsible decision making. 

One lesson, and as far as I'm concerned it is the best lesson I have ever learned or taught, is the Registers of Language. Only we would use the Registers to discuss and guide our internet activity. If you're not familiar with the registers, here's a quick rundown:

There are 5 Registers of spoken english language. Some languages, like Chinese have six. 

Frozen (Language that never changes like prayers, pledges, etc." 

Formal (Language used to inform, one speaker everyone else listens)

Consultative (Exchanges of information between two people)

Casual (Language used between friends, insider language)

Intimate (language between lovers)

Everything that comes out of our mouths, from prayers to profanity, fits in a register. The gist of the lesson is to teach the kids that they need to appropriate register for the given situation. 

When using language for whatever reason, a person can go up or down 1 register without offending someone. If that person skips a register, they've committed a social and sometimes serious faux pas. 

These same registers can be used to determine appropriate use of the internet. Like school, their use should be formal or consultative. If they use it for casual reasons, that wouldn't be so bad, but not appropriate. However, if they sunk to the intimate register, they're in trouble. 

It's amazing how quickly students pick up on these registers, and I think it would work for computer use as well.