Teaching digital resilience
Find resources to teach and talk about digital resilience in your classroom. Teacher training and lesson plans are included.
Fostering respect online
A 2023 Digital Habits survey of 5000 high school students found that 83% access social media and 75% had their first account before the age of 13. It was also seen that negative behaviours are common in online games. 55% of students surveyed who play games online said that they were concerned about how others behave on these platforms.
Teen engagement online
Teenagers use four separate social media services on average, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner found in 2021 with YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat on top of the list.
Some of the benefits of participating online include:
- making and maintaining social connections
- self-expression
- entertainment.
But we also know teens are more likely to:
- engage with strangers,
- share their passwords, and
- experience negativity online.
Young people are still developing impulse control, emotional intelligence and the ability to identify consequences and risks.
Online safety in the curriculum
Competing priorities can make it challenging to incorporate online safety into existing curricula, however, teaching these skills has never been more pertinent.
A cross-curricula approach to teaching online safety is an effective way to ensure students understand its relevance in their lives. Content should also reflect students’ real-world context and align with their stages of development.
A comprehensive approach would cover:
- online and respectful relationships
- cyber bullying
- bystander behaviour
- security and protecting personal information
- balancing time online
- accessing support.
There are a range of opportunities in the curriculum to teach these skills, especially within the PDHPE (Personal Development, Health and Physical Education), English, and Technology 7-8 and Computing Technology 7-10 syllabuses.
Developing students' social and emotional skills
Fostering strong personal, social and emotional capabilities in young people is also essential.
Students with well-developed social and emotional skills find it easier to:
- manage themselves
- relate to others
- develop resilience and a sense of self-worth
- resolve conflict
- engage in teamwork
- feel positive about themselves and the world around them.
Research from the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation in 2017 reveals that classroom-based anti-bullying content is particularly effective when it focuses on 2 key areas:
- developing students’ social and emotional competencies, and
- encouraging positive bystander behaviour
In the Australian curriculum, the learning areas or subjects with the highest proportion of content descriptions tagged with personal and social capability are:
- health and physical education
- the arts
- languages
- technologies
- F-6/7 humanities and social sciences.
Young and eSafe (Stages 4 to 5)
Developed by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Young & eSafe is an online platform for young people and educators, aimed at students aged 12 to 17 (Stages 4 to 5).
In developing these resources, the eSafety Commissioner asked young people what skills they needed. Responses included: ‘we need to be able to get back up when things go wrong’ and ‘we need to respect other people’s differences’.
Co-created with psychologists from Kids Helpline, Young & eSafe lesson plans were also developed with insights into the trends and issues experienced by young people who seek assistance via the Helpline.
Teachers can use the Young and eSafe lessons and lesson plans to teach positive online behaviours, including the value of respect, responsibility, empathy, resilience, and critical thinking. Students can also learn with the Young and eSafe –Student home, practical advice, and tips about staying safe online.
Resource overview
The Young & eSafe platform features:
- 5 short theme-based videos
- quotes, personal stories and images from young people about their experiences online
- questions prompting analytical thought about situations and actions in each theme area
- practical steps that can be taken to build online safety skills
- guidance on where to seek professional help
- 10 lesson plans with practical exercises to reinforce respectful and responsible online behaviours.
Flexible delivery options
When taught as a complete package, the resources provide students with opportunities to reflect on their current online behaviours, imagine what a more positive online world would look like, and start taking steps to change their behaviour and outlook.
Young & eSafe can also be used in the following ways:
- as part of a peer-mentoring or digital leadership program
- as a springboard to investigate topics that interest students
- as conversation starters, using the five short videos
- as part of a broader unit of work, for example digital literacy skills
- as a standalone activity.
Young & eSafe lesson plans and activities
The lesson plans provide comprehensive background information for each of the 5 themes. They are designed to help teachers understand social and emotional skills in the digital context, and to teach the skills necessary for respectful online relationships.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is particularly important online, where information can be easily changed, manipulated or taken out of context.
- Lesson 1 provides a practical exercise to develop critical thinking skills by evaluating the trustworthiness and reliability of three online information sources.
- Lesson 2 uses media images to invite students to explore texts critically, evaluating content and differentiating between fact and opinion.
Respect
Respect is a value that most students are familiar with, from both home and school. These contexts form good starting points when drawing the link to online behaviours.
- Lesson 1 identifies disrespectful and respectful responses and develops an understanding of respectful online communication.
- Lesson 2 examines a controversial social media post and provides an opportunity for students to practise being respectful and empathetic to different viewpoints.
Resilience
The online world can be challenging, and young people need resilience to help them bounce back from stressful situations.
- Lesson 1 develops resilience skills, including how to identify support networks, manage emotions and problem solve.
- Lesson 2 examines the 'I get back up' video and develops students’ resilience skills through reflecting on their own self-care and coping strategies.
Responsibility
Young people are responsible online when they understand and apply their rights and obligations – such as their right to privacy and obligation to stay within the law.
- Lesson 1 examines a personal story to help students appreciate the importance of supporting others and speaking out about harmful content or behaviours.
- Lesson 2 examines the 'I am responsible' video and leads students to reflect on their personal responsibility when faced with conflict.
Empathy
Students demonstrate empathy online when they recognise and respond to others in a way that takes into account their feelings and beliefs. Empathy skills are developed through practice and actively supporting others online.
- Lesson 1 provides a guided mindfulness activity with the aim of generating empathy for someone experiencing cyberbullying.
- Lesson 2 examines the 'I feel for others' video, followed by a practical activity to guide students with appropriate ways to respond with empathy.
How to teach digital citizenship
There are lots of resources available for teachers who want to keep up to date with the current issues facing users of digital technology.
Professional learning
- The Cybermarvel program offers a collection of free resources such as videos and articles for teachers to help teach online safety and digital citizenship.
- The Office of the eSafety Commissioner offers professional learning for teachers with webinars about digital safety.
- Common Sense Education has a guide to protecting student privacy. It also has a guide to its K-12 digital citizenship curriculum as part of its introduction to digital citizenship.
- Google's Teacher Center has a digital citizenship and safety course. It aligns well with its Be Internet Awesome initiative.
- Microsoft Educator's digital citizenship course shows teachers how to use technology to teach about the online world.
- LinkedIn Learning offers free online courses for NSW Department of Education staff. Its Digital Citizenship course for teachers discusses digital footprints, online communities, cyberbullying, online shopping, computer viruses and malware.
More resources
- Microsoft's Digital Literacy course has short modules that anyone can complete. It talks about safely sharing information online, communicating effectively, and collaborating online.
- Find multilingual resources for schools, students, and parents at Harvard University's Digital Citizenship+ Resource Platform. They will help young people navigate connected learning environments and the digital world.