User Rights in the Digital Environment

Digital rights and responsibilities in our connected world should be easy to understand and teach. User rights shouldn't be the same for everyone; they need to grow and change as a student develops from kindergarten to graduation, mainly focusing on making sure they can easily access all their schoolwork. We must recognize that the rules and rights might feel different when using a school device versus a personal one at home, and that's okay. Similarly, user responsibilities online should simply mirror the good manners we expect in person: if you wouldn't say something directly to a person's face, you shouldn't type it online. The biggest challenge in teaching this to students is that they constantly see adults setting a bad example by doing the exact opposite on social media and other platforms.