We live in a time where being online is part of our everyday life, it’s how we talk, learn, play, and even believe things. As a teacher and a parent, I often think about what it really means to help children grow up in a world full of technology. It’s not just about teaching them how to use devices, it’s about helping them make smart choices while using them.
Children today are using screens more than ever before. From learning apps to YouTube and YouTube Shorts, online games to video calls, it’s all around them. While these tools can help learning and creativity, they also need us to be careful and thoughtful. Even we, as adults, find this hard sometimes! I’ve learned that when we talk about screen time, it shouldn’t be about stopping it completely, but about using it wisely.
In my class, especially with younger children in Grade 2, we talk about “device-free moments”, these are times when they don’t use any devices and just enjoy playing, reading, or talking. They also make device free family rules and follow them back home. These activities are simple, but they really make children think. Many of them realize they actually enjoy being away from screens sometimes.
When we talk about using the internet, we also have to talk about online safety. That’s where learning about the internet really begins. In Grade 1, our learners start by asking: What information is okay to share online? Who can we trust? What do we do when something online feels uncomfortable or wrong? We turn these important questions into fun, easy-to-understand activities that make children feel confident and not scared about using the internet. Common sense education has this amazing course on Digital citizenship about each grade level.
As children grow older, they use the internet in more different ways, not just watching, but sharing and talking. That’s when we need to talk about cyberbullying. In Grade 3, we explain this with simple examples that they can understand. We show how even small actions like teasing in a group chat or sharing a mean picture can hurt others. Many children are surprised to learn that these things count as bullying too. Through these discussions, they understand that being kind online is just as important as being kind in real life.
Another big topic is media literacy. With so many videos, memes, AI generated images, ads, and news around them, children need to learn how to ask good questions about what they see. We teach them to ask things like: “Is this real?” “Who made this?” “Why did they make it?” In Grades 4 and 5, we introduce the idea of “Is seeing believing?” Through fun activities, learners begin to understand that not everything online is true. They start to think more carefully and not just believe everything they see.
As we keep talking about being responsible online, we also talk about academic honesty. Today, it’s easy to search for anything on Google, but not everyone knows that copying someone else’s work without saying where it’s from is not okay. In Grade 4, we teach our learners to give credit when they use other people’s words or pictures. In Grade 5, they learn more about plagiarism, what it means to copy without permission and how to make a simple bibliography. Our goal isn’t to scare them. It’s to help them feel proud of doing their own work. I remember one learner telling me, “I didn’t know copying from Google was wrong, I thought I was just researching!” That moment led to a great conversation in our class about respecting other people’s ideas.
Along with this, we also talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is becoming a part of our daily lives—whether it’s voice assistants, tools that give us answers quickly, or even apps that finish our writing or do all our homeworks. It can be very helpful when used correctly. But it also brings some challenges. Sometimes, learners may use AI to do their entire homework, without understanding the topic themselves. Or they may get wrong or biased information without realizing it. That’s why we teach them that AI is just a tool—it’s meant to support their learning, not replace their thinking. We encourage our learners to ask questions, check facts, and always use their own words and ideas first and paraphrasing is the key here. Understanding how to use AI responsibly is one more way to be a smart digital citizen.
One thing I’ve learned through all of this is that we need to start these conversations early and keep having them as children grow. And that’s exactly what we do at D.Y. Patil International School, Worli. We don’t just teach digital tools—we mix digital citizenship and ICT into our everyday learning and units of inquiry.
In Grade 1, we focus on the basics on how to stay safe online and how to be kind and respectful digital citizens. In Grade 2, we talk about screen time and the value of device-free moments, how it feels to step away from screens and be in the moment.
In Grade 3, we start important discussions around cyberbullying. We help learners understand what it is, how to stand up against it, and how to be kind in online spaces. In Grade 4, we begin talking about citations and why it’s important to give credit when using other people’s work.
By Grade 5, our learners explore plagiarism and bibliographies. We also go back to the big question: Is seeing believing? We look at real and fake content and learn how to tell the difference. This helps learners make smart choices online and trust the right information.
As their ICT teacher, I make sure every tool we use like Canva, Google Slides, Docs, Paint, or Seesaw all of them include lessons about being responsible and safe. We don’t just learn how to click and type—we learn how to think.
What we really want is to raise learners who are not just good at using devices, but also wise about how they use them. Learners who pause before they post, question what they see, and feel proud of their own ideas and creations. Being connected doesn’t just mean being online, it means making good choices.
And I believe that’s the kind of smart choice every school, every teacher, and every child should make.
Author: Foram Shah
(ICT Facilitator)
