Teaching students how to use technology is just as important as teaching them math or reading, but when it comes to digital learning, there are two key skills every student needs: digital literacy and digital citizenship. While they might sound similar, they focus on very different (but equally important) areas.
At Yeti Academy, we help students master both! Our interactive, project-based courses teach real-world tech skills while also guiding students to be responsible and safe digital citizens. Let’s break it down!
What is Digital Literacy?
Digital literacy is all about knowing how to use technology effectively. Think of it like learning to drive: students need to know how to operate the tools before they hit the road!
At Yeti Academy, we teach digital literacy through hands-on, scenario-based Google Workspace courses. Instead of just reading about tech skills, students actually use them in real-world projects that make learning fun and meaningful!
Yeti Academy’s Digital Literacy Courses
🐶 Pet Spa (Grades 3-5)
Students learn Google Workspace skills with their cute pets. Students create and design documents and strategies for a new pet spa business! Students learn basic skills like formatting, spell check, and understanding the fundamentals of their drive. They also gain fundamental skills in Drawings, Sheets, and Slides. They’ll learn how to create presentations, add images and animations, and organize information in a clear, engaging way. This is a must-have skill for future school projects and beyond!
🏂 Snowboard Shop (Grades 5-8)
Students learn Google Workspace Applications to build a Snowboard Shop. Students take on the role of a snowboard shop owner, learning how to create and organize important business documents using Google Workspace. In addition, students will create artifacts and gain experience using Google Workspace applications like Sheets, Forms, Slides, Calendar, and Sites, where they’ll write memos, format documents, and learn file management—all essential workplace skills!
🎡 Theme Park (8-12)
Students learn Google Workspace Applications while building their own Theme Park. Running a theme park takes some serious focus! In this course, students use Google Workspace to track expenses, manage ticket sales, promote attractions, and much more! It’s a deeper dive into many of the lesser used Google Workspace applications, like Slides, Forms, Drawings, Maps, Sites, etc. Students will create spreadsheets, format tables, and even use basic formulas to make data-driven decisions. Students gain in-depth understanding of the Google Workspace while highlighting digital citizenship topics and transferable, real-life business skills.
What is Digital Citizenship?
While digital literacy teaches how to use technology, digital citizenship teaches students how to use it responsibly. This means understanding online safety, privacy, cyberbullying, and ethical behavior on the internet.
At Yeti Academy, we make digital citizenship engaging with interactive lessons, real-life scenarios, and meaningful discussions. Our Digital Citizenship curriculum helps students:
🔹 Stay Safe Online – Learn about strong passwords, protecting personal information, and avoiding scams.
🔹 Think Before They Post – Understand that online actions have real-world consequences.
🔹 Spot Misinformation – Develop skills to recognize fake news and unreliable sources.
🔹 Be Kind & Respectful – Learn how to interact online in a positive and ethical way.
By the end of the course, students become smart, responsible digital citizens who can confidently navigate the online world.
Examples of Yeti Academy’s Digital Citizenship Courses
🦸 Super Citizenship (Grades 3-5)
Digital citizenship in a fun superhero setting! Digital citizenship concepts are brought to life with a series of exciting superhero videos, lessons to reinforce learning, and an illustrated scenario-based quiz.
🏅 Sports PR (Grades 6-8)
Students “work” in a Sports PR Agency, and develop positive, ISTE-aligned digital citizenship practices. “Working” in a Sports PR Agency, students develop positive, ISTE-aligned digital citizenship practices as they manage athletes and help them to understand the impact and etiquette surrounding digital influence.
Why Do Students Need Both?
Think of digital literacy as the ability to use a smartphone and digital citizenship as knowing how to use it responsibly.
Without digital literacy, students might struggle with basic tech skills. Without digital citizenship, they could put themselves (or others) at risk online. Both skills are essential!
At Yeti Academy, we provide both digital literacy and digital citizenship courses to prepare students for the digital world. With our engaging, standards-aligned curriculum, teachers can easily integrate these lessons into their classrooms—helping students build skills that last a lifetime!
