Digital Driver's License

Technology is a big part of a middle school student’s world, and we want our students to make good choices. We are asking that all students take part in an online program to earn their “Digital Driver’s License.” 

Digital tools are increasingly central to our learning in and out of school, even when we come back to school in person. They help us access information, practice skills, interact with ideas, and share our ideas with others. At the same time, digital tools can provide opportunities to engage in less positive behaviors. They make it easy for our students, who are still learning and growing, to act out poor choices that may have lasting consequences for themselves and for others. 

Parents and teachers have been asking for resources to help students avoid the scary situations we hear about in the media. To address this need we have implemented the JLS Digital Driver’s License (DDL). The DDL program has three parts: 

1. Explore. Please pick a way for your child to learn about digital citizenship. There are many resources available. We’ve tested several with middle school students, who recommend Common Sense Media’s games Digital Compass and Social Media Test Drive. Feel free to look for more resources to prompt discussions at commonsense.org/education/family-resources. These resources are available for free online. 

2. Discuss. We encourage you to use this opportunity to engage in conversations with your child. What did they learn from playing the games? What are the benefits and challenges of using digital tools? More parent tips and FAQs are available at commonsensemedia.org/articles  (Español: commonsensemedia.org/es/articulos). 

3. Check for understanding. We ask that all students demonstrate their understanding of strong digital citizenship. When school starts, we will assign a quiz on Schoology that covers the topics below. Once students demonstrate that they can make good choices, they will get a Digital Driver’s License badge in Schoology and be registered for a raffle that will distribute nice prizes several times during the year. 

The topics that we address as part of digital citizenship include 

• media balance and well-being, 
• privacy and security, 
• digital footprint and identity, 
• relationships and communication, 
• cyberbullying, digital drama, and hate speech, and 
• news and media literacy. 

We look forward to partnering with you to address these important topics. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Karin Forssell at kforssell@pausd.org.