Google's new free Digital Citizenship course aims to train teachers how to educate school children in basic Internet skills and online safety.
Gabriela Hadid, user education and outreach programme manager for Google Latin America, says the company made the course because: "Educators around the world ... recognise digital literacy as an important future skill for their students, and also understand the importance of teaching kids how to be good digital citizens.
"And yet, teaching digital citizenship isn't always straightforward ? and can be pretty intimidating ? given the many ways in which young people use the Internet today."
Once the course is completed, educators will receive a downloadable Digital Citizenship and Safety Curriculum. Google says this will equip them with resources to give their learners the foundational skills they need to create a safe and positive experience online.
The course activities comprise reading and watching videos, and discussion.
The course includes five interactive units: Internet safety and privacy (including setting strong passwords and privacy settings); mobile safety (including avoiding harmful smartphone downloads); savvy searching (including evaluating the credibility of online sources of information); avoiding phishing and other scams; and managing online reputation (including protecting sensitive information).
Teachers who successfully complete the course will receive a Digital Citizenship and Safety Educator recognition badge.
The online training course is now on the Google for Education Training Centre. It is available in 15 languages: Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Japanese, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Turkish.
Share