White paper joins growing collection of resources to support the development of good digital citizenship skills for students, teachers and parents

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 20, 2015 – As part of an ongoing initiative to ensure that all students, parents and teachers are prepared to navigate and succeed in our evolving digital world, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) today released a new white paper, Building and Keeping a Positive Digital Identity: A Positive Approach for Educators, Students and Parents. Available for free download, the white paper outlines practical and easy-to-adopt behaviors educators can incorporate into instruction to ensure that students build and maintain positive online identities.

“No parent wants to get a call from the school principal with the news that their child posted an inappropriate photo or comment online,” said Brian Lewis, ISTE CEO. “To ensure that today’s students develop good digital citizenship skills, it’s crucial that teachers and parents have an understanding of what that means and are prepared to model appropriate behaviors. ISTE developed this white paper as part of our commitment to providing tools to support digital age learning.”

The white paper provides five essential questions to ask when sharing information online and outlines the steps educators can take to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive as responsible digital citizens. It was co-authored by ISTE members L. Beatriz Arnillas, director-IT, education technology, Houston Independent School District; Bob Moore, CTO, Dallas Independent School District; and Tammi Sisk and Rick Stegman, both instructional technology specialists at Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.

The white paper also provides an overview of data privacy policies, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Teachers will find a guide to modeling good digital citizenship skills for their students and a list of resources for exploring the topic further.

ISTE recently created a professional learning package of digital citizenship resources to help all educators support students and parents in becoming informed digital citizens. The collection includes the Digital Citizenship Academy, a series of six, self-paced online courses, as well as two new ISTE books, Digital Citizenship in Schools: Nine Elements All Students Should Know, Third Edition, and Let’s Get Social: The Educator’s Guide to Edmodo.

About ISTE                                                                              
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier nonprofit membership organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world. ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world.

Innovative offerings include the ISTE Conference & Expo – the world’s most comprehensive ed tech event – as well as the widely adopted ISTE Standards for learning, teaching and leading in the digital age. The organization’s robust suite of professional learning resources features online courses, consulting services for schools and districts, books, and peer-reviewed journals and publications. For more information, visit iste.org. Connect with ISTE via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

For more information, media only:
Jodie Pozo-Olano, Chief Communications Officer, 804-986-6911, jpozoolano@iste.org
Lisa Wolfe, L. Wolfe Communications, 773-278-2800, lwolfe@lwolfe.com