You might ask what postcards and digital citizenship have in common - it turns out a lot!Consider a postcard - beautiful pictures of scenic paths, cute, fluffy animals or a fun fact about an antique on one side and on the reverse, a place to add an address, postage stamp and a lovely message to a friend.
"Dear Friend, Having an awesome time. Wish you were here. Signed, Your Friend"
Consider this: when you place a stamp at the top right corner of that card and place it in a mailbox, is that message you sent a friend 'private'? Would it be a good idea to send a mean message to a friend on a postcard? Would you want to add your private information on it? If the answer is 'no' to each of these, this is the connection to digital citizenship.
When communicating online, being a good digital citizen means that your words are not private and we should always choose our words carefully.
I like to use this connection with older students as a reminder of our responsibility when chatting online with friends - think before posting online. Once the 'send' key is tapped, there is no getting it back. Even a delete key will not reverse what has been sent.
For this exercise, I love ReadWriteThink's Postcard Creator - I like how the program takes the user step-by-step, explaining each area of a postcard is and how to complete it properly. I like how easy it is to edit and print and the final product is pleasant.
This is a good idea
