The past year has been difficult for many students, but especially for those living with disabilities. Teachers and parents can best help them overcome the challenges of online learning by communicating about their ongoing needs and working to obtain appropriate accommodations, as well as maintaining students’ wellness.

As digital citizens, students need to be aware of their behavior online, that it can have good and bad consequences, both for themselves and for others. Here are the 9 elements of Digital Citizenship your students need to know:

No matter how old students are, they need to know first how to protect themselves from a cyber attack. That’s why it’s important to teach them about antivirus software, how to create and manage the most secure passwords, the risks of public Wi-Fi connections, how to identify potential cyber-scams and also that they should report any suspicious activity to the responsible adult.

One very low hanging fruit that can help you as a teacher improve the online learning experience for struggling students comes in the form of browser extensions. These are usually available on multiple browsers and help solve various little issues students might encounter while using the internet. What’s more, they also enhance the user experience of those who don’t struggle.

Good cybersecurity practices are as essential as knowing the safety protocols needed prior to crossing the street. As the future is leaning heavily toward the digital frontier, educators need to roll with the times in order to help their students prepare. Knowing a thing or two about cybersecurity do’s and don’ts can also help the educator in their own lives and in future classrooms they hold.

Students have an innate desire to learn that needs to be nurtured. This can be achieved through teaching practices that encourage learning autonomy, relatedness, and competence, the three core elements of the Self Determination Theory.

Excessive screen time and a lack of responsibility for time spent online is detrimental to students’ digital wellbeing. Schools can take charge and teach their students how to build better habits, whether it is by teaching internet etiquette or encouraging parents to set boundaries. In the end, digital wellbeing is about learning how to spend quality and not quantity time.

When learning is truly personalized, each student has a voice in the learning process. This does not mean teachers lose theirs; they only create the perfect learning environment in which students have a say in their journey towards their goals. Students have their own expectations of what teaching and learning should look like. So, why not listen to their V.O.I.C.E?

Making meaningful games is a very serious challenge. The key aspects of recent developments in this area are: 1. that research shows a lot of promise and 2. there are different types of games with different goals, whether it is improving academic performance, reducing anxiety symptoms or learning a new skill. We should start taking serious games more seriously!