Cybersafe Young Children

Barbara Sprung has over 40 years of experience in early childhood education as a teacher and innovator. Merle Froschl is director of Educational Equity at FHI 360. Nancy Gropper is former associate dean for academic affairs (now retired) at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. They are coauthors of Supporting Boys' Learning: Strategies for Teacher Practice, Pre-K–Grade 3.

• ContentsForeword Michelle Ciulla Lipkin ixAcknowledgments xiPreface xiiiPurpose xiiiBackground xiiiTechnology and Young Children xivWhat You Will Find in This Book  xvIntroduction 1The Case for Starting Early 2A Focus on Development and Experiential Learning in Grades K–3 4Part I: Premise1. What the Research Tells Us: Preteens and Teenagers in the Digital Age 9Gender Concerns 10Cyberbullying, Self-Harm, and Suicide 12Summary 132. Digital Citizenship and Cybersafety: A Priority Early Education Concern  15Summary 193. Cyberbullying Bystanders: Active and Passive Responses 21Summary 234. Preventing Cyberbullying: A Social–Emotional Perspective 25Social–Emotional Profile of Children in K–3 26Early Childhood Practice in Support of Social–Emotional Development 27The Social–Emotional Risks If Cyberbullying Is Not Addressed 28Summary 28Recommended Readings  29Part II: Practice5. Implications for Teacher Education  33Familiarity with Federal and State Mandates 33Incorporating the Issue of Cyberbullying into Education Course Content 346. Message for Teachers and Administrators 37Summary 407. A Curriculum Map for Good Digital Citizenship 41Gathering Information at the Beginning of the School Year 43Establish Classroom Rules 44Conduct Activities to Provide or Refresh Shared Language About Face-to-Face Teasing and Bullying 45Conduct Classroom Discussions About Digital Technology and Social Media 45Establish Classroom Rules and Provide Direct Experiences About the Meaning of Good Digital Citizenship 46Part III: Classroom ActivitiesIntroduction to Activities 49Activity #1: Discovering What We Know 51Activity #2: Creating Rules for Good Digital Citizenship 53Activity #3: Word Webs and Charts: Building Vocabulary for Digital Citizenship 56Activity #4: Doing the Right Thing: A Form of Courage 59Activity #5: What Does Permanent Mean? A Word Experiment 63Activity #6: Understanding Privacy: An Important Concept for Online Activities 65Activity #7: Building Good Digital Citizenship 68Activity #8: Working with Partners 70Part IV: ResourcesPicture Books About Face-to-Face Teasing and Bullying 75Children’s Books About Online Safety and Cyberbullying Prevention  79Organizational Resources 81Appendix A: School Statement  87Appendix B: Letter from Computer Teacher 91Appendix C: Parent Letter and Questionnaire 93Appendix D: Glossary 95References 97Index 101About the Authors 108

“For young children to be CyberSafe, their parents, caregivers, family members, teachers, and teacher educators need to embrace the developmentally—informed knowledge, skills, and evidence-based strategies found in these pages. With guidance from well-prepared media mentors, young children can learn to safely and mindfully use digital devices at home and in school as powerful tools for their learning, social-emotional development, communication, and collaboration to become effective digital citizens in their real and digital worlds.” —Chip Donohue, principal, Donohue and Associates, founding director, Technology in Early Childhood (TEC) Center at Erikson Institute, senior fellow and advisor, Fred Rogers Center