Books to Consider

Books About Digital Citizenship- PDF

Books for Students

 Non-Fiction

1.     Cornwall, Phyllis. Online Etiquette and Safety. Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry Lake Publishing. 2011

Every teacher who is teaching a unit on digital citizenship and online etiquette needs to get a few copies of this book for his/her students! This book is totally fun, colorful, well designed and very informative. The book has five chapters called “What is Online Etiquette?” “Online Etiquette-Your Words,” Online Etiquette- Your Actions,” “Safety- Part 1,” “Safety- Part 2.” Students will love reading this book and learn something, too!

 

2.     Cindrich, Sharon. Douglass, Ali. A Smart Girl's Guide to the Internet: How to Connect with Friends, Find What You Need, and Stay Safe Online. Middleton, WI: American Girl Publishing, Inc. 2009

This book helps students understand more about how the Internet and technology work, why it's not smart to share personal information online, and how to get the most out of the Internet and technology. This book will help protect kids by giving them practical ways to handle themselves in situations ranging from how to cope with a cyber-bully to how to use the Internet for homework and research.

 

3.     Raatma, Lucia. Safety on the Internet. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone Books. 1999

This is a picture book for students. Each page discusses a different topic concerning digital citizenship. Students can find very straightforward advice on how to stay safe in chat rooms and with emails. The book also discusses setting up rules with a parent about computer usage. This book could be used for student browsing or a quick read to the class.

 

4.     Raatma, Lucia. Living with Safety on the Internet. Chanhassen, MN: The Child’s World. 2005

This book covers chapters in safe internet surfing, emails, instant messaging, netiquette, guarding your computer and setting up rules about the computer with parents. The book also covers a question and answer section about internet safety. This book is a great resource to students learning about internet usage topics.

 

5.     Carroll, Jamuna, Editor. Opposing View Point: School Policies. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. 2008

This is a book about many topics in school policies, not just topics about digital citizenship. However, many of the chapters it covers deal with opposing view points about technology related items. For example, chapter 3, section 3 is entitled “Schools Should Enact Cyberbullying Policies” and section 4 is called “School Cyberbullying Policies Are Not Needed”. There are many other chapters in the book that are dealing with opposing view points about different aspects of digital citizenship that can open up a dialog with students.

 

6.     Jacobs, Thomas. Teen Cyberbullying Investigated: Where Do Your Rights End and Consequences Begin? Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. 2010

Part 1 of this book covers cyberbullying and the law. It discusses the first amendment and how that applies to the rules regarding cyberbullying. Part 2 is broken up into 16 chapters. Each chapter discusses a different legality concerning cyberbulling and a specific court case that occurred about that topic. This book is actually written by a judge! Theses cyberbullying court cases are great for students to read about.

 

7.     Lawler, Jennifer. A Hot Issue: Cyberdanger and Internet Safety. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. 2000

This book discusses that the internet can be a dangerous place and then gives advice and tips on how to stay safe when participating in a variety of online activities. Very straight-forward and an easy read for students.

 

8.     Hayley Mitchell Haugen and Susan Musser, book editors. Internet Safety. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. 2008

This book is a collection of previously published articles that debate a variety of issues dealing with internet safety. Articles include topics on MySpace – safe or harmful, legislation and response to predators and pornography, government regulation of social-networking sites, mandatory web site labeling, cyberbullying, and ID theft.

 

9.     Jacalyn Leavitt, Sally Linford. Faux Paw's Adventures in the Internet: Keeping Children Safe Online  Indianapolis, IN: Wiley. 2006

Faux Paw the Techno Cat compares the Internet to a big city and talks about the rules of online safety, warning children to keep personal information safe, stay away from strangers, and tell parents or a trusted adult about what is seen or done online. (Overview from Titlewave.)

"I encourage all adults to teach children the basic principles of online safety that are found in this book."
—First Lady Laura Bush, from the Foreword

 

10.  Leavitt, Jacalyn S.  Faux Paw meets the First Lady: Keeping Children Safe Online. Indianapolis, IN : Wiley. 2006

Faux Paw the cats visits her cousin in Washington, D.C., and learns about Internet safety while instant messaging on the computer in the first lady's office. (Overview from Titlewave.)

 

11. Clarla Mooney. Hot Topics: Online Social Networking. Brainerd, MN: Lucent Books. 2009

This is a textbook that covers topics like “What is Online Social Networking?,” “Who is Responsible for Social Network Safety?” and “The Blurred Lie Between Private and Public Lives.” This book has lots of information and would be best used by students with a teacher’s guidance.

 

 

12.  Ryan, Peter K. Digital and Information Literacy. New York, NY: The Rosen Group, Inc. 2011

This is a very small text book that covers topics like using social networks for socializing, professional use, and research. It also covers issues in responsible social networking.

 

13.  Allman, Toney , Mean Behind the Screen: What You Need to Know About Cyberbullying  Mankato, Mn: Compass Point Books. 2009  

       This is a really great book that is easy for students to read yet contains tons of information about cyberbullying. This book covers topics like why bullies bully, stopping cyberbullying before it begins, where to get help, and there is even a quiz to find out if you are being cyberbullied.

 

14.  Cook, Colleen Ryckert. Frequently Asked Questions About Social Networking. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 2011

How much sharing is too much? Why do adults think hanging out online is so dangerous? These are just two questions that this book answers about issues around social networking safety. The book gives first hand accounts of situations that have happened to kids in the past with social networking and gives advice on how to avoid similar situations in the future. This book is clear and easy to read. The pages are well formatted and interesting to view.

 

15.  Teri Breguet. Frequently Asked Questions About Social Networking. New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group. 2007

What is cyberbullying? Who are cyberbullies and their victims? Are you being cyberbullied? What should I do if I am being cyberbullying? Are there laws on bullying and cyberbullying? Discusses cyberbullying, providing information on what it is, bullies and their victims, identifying threats, how to stop the abuse, and laws that address the problem. (Overview from Titlewave)

 

16.  Croft, Jennifer. Everything You Need to Know About Staying Safe in Cyberspace. New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group. 1999

Examines some of the dangers that might be encountered while using the Internet, and gives advice about how to avoid them. (Overview from Titlewave.)

 

17. Jakubiak, David J. A Smart Kid’s Guide to Internet Privacy. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. 2010

Easy to read, large print and short make this book ideal for student’s browsing the topic of internet safety. The book covers topic like “Why do we need to protect ourselves?,” E-mail safety, privacy in postings and blocking online predators.

 

     Fiction

 

Dori Hillestad Butler. The Truth about Truman School. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company. 2009

Grade 5–8—Told not to write anything that would get the administration riled up, Zebby Bower becomes fed up and quits as editor of the school newspaper. Soon after, she and her friend Amr begin their own online newspaper, one that they hope will provide a true voice to the students of Truman Middle. It takes off, but in an unfortunate direction. When anonymous posts about popular Lilly Clarke start to get vicious, calling her a homo, a lesbo, and more, the devastated girl goes missing, and the site's creators scramble to figure out what to do. Chapters alternate among Zebby, Amr, and the students surrounding the scheme to ruin Lilly, each one providing a unique perspective as the action unfolds. With anonymous entries that subtly build suspense, the events brought about by this 21st-century slam book cause the characters to examine how the things they say and do can be hurtful to others without even realizing it. The story moves at a good pace and the timely subject of cyberbullying will be relevant to readers. The language is accessible and the students' voices ring true. This thought-provoking read is sure to initiate discussion.—Bethany A. Lafferty, Las Vegas-Clark County Library, NV
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.

Books for Teachers

1.     Ribble, Mike, Digital Citizenship in Schools, 2007, 149 p., International Society for Technology in Education,

This is an awesome resource for parents and teachers. This book will help parents understand the elements of Digital Citizenship and how to teach them to children. This book includes quizzes for kids of all ages about understanding digital citizenship. In addition this book has very clear explanations about wikis, podcasts, RSS and blogs. This book is great for a person with little technology experience, yet has some great points for the pro, too.

 

2.     Rogers, Vanessa. Cyberbullying: Activities to Help Children and Teens to Stay Safe in a Texting, Twittering, Social Networking World. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2010

This book is too good not to include for this unit. In it are lots of activities for teachers to do with students. These activities are simple, short and very meaningful. Sometimes they are projects about different topics dealing with digital citizenship. Other times the activities are more like discussion starters to get kids to think about the consequences of being bad digital citizens. Check this book out at your public library and then buy it for your classroom. You won’t regret it!

 

3.     Willard, Nancy. Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn To Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2007

This book provides very useful Internet parenting strategies and age-appropriate guidelines in an easy-to-read format. The book discusses issues like the appeal of social networking sites, privacy, and commercial aspects of the Internet, and also provides insight into brain development, how technology can interfere with responsible decision making, and suggests strategies that parents can use to help young people make wise choices in the cyber world. There are also sections on "Specific Risks and Concerns," which includes online pornography, cyberbullying, violent gaming, computer security concerns, and more.