Be Internet Awesome: Digital Citizenship Meets Gamification
Digital citizenship is important in education as it equips students with the necessary skills to navigate the digital world responsibly, promoting online safety, ethical behavior, and critical thinking. As аdultѕ, our role іѕ to рrоtесt сhіldrеn оnlіnе аnd еduсаtе thеm оn the роtеntіаl rіѕkѕ of рооr internet use. Mіѕtаkеѕ саn lеаd tо vіruѕеѕ, соmрutеr dаmаgе, оr personal embarrassment. In today’s interconnected world, digital citizenship is essential for student success and well-being.
To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome empowers kids with tools and education to confidently and safely explore, grow, and play online.
Interland is a free, web-based game designed to help kids learn five foundational lessons across four different mini-games, or ‘lands.’ Kids are invited to play their way to Internet Awesome in a quest to deny hackers, sink phishers, one-up cyberbullies, outsmart oversharers and become safe, confident explorers of the online world. We built Interland with help from experts in the digital safety space, and it is the recipient of the International Society for Technology in Education’s Seal of Alignment. These resources are for everyone, and are designed to best serve families, educators and kids. Interland has been particularly well-received by kids ages 7-12, but can certainly be enjoyed by older and younger kids, too.
Interland
Kids can play their way to being Internet Awesome with Interland, an online adventure that puts the key lessons of digital safety into hands-on practice with four challenging games.
Be Internet Awesome World on Roblox
Students can also explore the magical world of the Internauts while learning how to be safe online in this immersive, action-packed gaming experience on Roblox!
Be Internet Awesome Curriculum
Educators teaching online safety in the classroom can download lesson plans that have received the ISTE Seal of Alignment and classroom activities that bring the fundamental lessons to life.
The Be Internet Awesome curriculum gives educators the tools and methods they need to teach digital safety fundamentals. The materials developed by Google in partnership with iKeepSafe enable educators to bring the most critical teachings—and the excitement of Interland—into the classroom.
Included in the curriculum are lesson plans for the five topics, with activities and worksheets that were designed to complement Interland.
The Internet Code of Awesome
Be internet Smart
Share with Care
Good (and bad) news travels fast online, and without some forethought, kids can find themselves in tricky situations that have lasting consequences. The solve? Learning how to share with those they know and those they don’t.
Be internet Alert
Don’t Fall for Fake
It’s important to help kids become aware that people and situations online aren’t always as they seem. Discerning between what’s real and what’s fake is a very real lesson in online safety.
Be Internet Strong
Secure Your Secrets
Personal privacy and security are just as important online as they are offline. Safeguarding valuable information means thinking about what’s incoming and outgoing and being smart about passwords, the information you share, and understanding the choices you have when it comes to protecting your privacy online.
Be Internet Kind
It’s Cool to Be Kind
The Internet is a powerful amplifier that can be used to spread positivity or negativity. Kids can take the high road by applying the concept of “treat others as you would like to be treated” to their actions online, creating positive impact for others and disempowering bullying behavior.
Be Internet Brave
When in Doubt, Talk It Out
One lesson that applies to any and all encounters of the digital kind: When kids come across something questionable, they should feel comfortable talking to a trusted adult. Adults can support this behavior by fostering open communication at home and in the classroom.
Digital Safety Resources
In addition to the previously mentioned core features of the Be Internet Awesome program, they have many other digital safety resources for educators and families. You’ll find everything from Ready-to-teach Google Slides to Media Literacy and Digital Wellbeing Packets to printable activities.
Google For Education Teacher Training Course
Educators looking to teach digital literacy skills to students of all ages can try the new Google for Education Digital Citizenship and Safety module, available online globally in the Google for Education Learning Center.
Final Thoughts
Be Internet Awesome is a wonderful program that blends two of the things we love – digital citizenship education and gamified learning. We’ve given you tips on How to incorporate gamification in the elementary classroom and Effective Ways to Promote Digital Citizenship in the Classroom. We’ve shown you Free Video Resources to Teach Digital Citizenship, as well as my own Digital Citizenship Lesson.
We hope the latest tool we’ve shown you is another great addition to your teaching routine! By fostering a culture of responsible digital citizenship, educators can empower students to contribute positively to the digital society.
