Howell Teacher Earns National Honor For Digital Citizen Lessons

HOWELL, NJ — A Howell Township teacher has received a national honor for his efforts to integrate digital citizenship into his classroom lessons and helping other teachers in the district.

Schoology, which specializes in learning management systems for education, named computer teacher Stephen Rao the winner of its Digital Citizenship Challenge. As part of the honor, Rao is traveling to Schoology NEXT, the company's annual user conference to give a presentation on his digital citizenship for the conference attendees.

Rao, who teaches at Ramtown Elementary School, created digital citizenship teaching materials, including detailed presentations to guide class lessons. Rao was one of more than 1,000 educators representing more than 1 million students who participated in the challenge.

In a telephone interview, Rao said the lessons cover everything from internet safety to copyrights to cyberbullying.

"We have it embedded into our curriculum at every level," Rao said. "It starts off with getting the kids to understand they have responsibilities," such as that they cannot just use photos or music they find without getting permission and giving proper credit.

"Just like they have chores at home, they also have responsibilities on the internet," he said. The program for third- through fifth-graders, the curriculum also addresses issues such as identity theft, email phishing, how to properly use search engines and more.

"While topics such as identity theft and email phishing may seem too advanced for third-graders, the reality is these are issues they will be dealing with for the rest of their lives," he said. "By teaching students life skills around digital citizenship at an early age, my goal is for students to engage in the use of technology both effectively and responsibly in order for it to become second nature to them by the time they reach their teenage years."

Schoology also honored Rao last year by naming him the Ambassador of the Year for promoting the use of technology in education.

Rao’s submission was chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges because it offers teachers a helpful guide to shape digital citizenship lesson plans for their own classes. His full lesson plan is available for other teachers to use, and can be accessed here.

Schoology recognized the importance of this initiative to equip educators to take the steps necessary in preparing students to be good digital citizens.

"Our vision for the Digital Citizenship Challenge was to empower educators to raise awareness for digital citizenship education in our schools," Schoology CEO Jeremy Friedman said. "The challenge was a major success as we saw educators nationwide share revolutionary ideas on how to integrate digital citizenship education into school curricula. Stephen’s submission is a testament to the power educators can have in helping students navigate the digital world with responsibility and respect for their own safety, reputation, and real-world success."

Rao said he hopes the knowledge Howell students gain will help parents as well, and it's a goal for next year.

"The kids in our elementary schools understand you can't just take anything" from the internet and use it as your own, he said. Cyberbullying is part of the digital citizenship pyramid "but there's so much more."

"Parents have to be educated as well," he said.

Stephen Rao photo provided by Schoology