OM DENNE EPISODE
Digital citizenship often shows up in schools as a checklist of rules. Do not cyberbully. Do not overshare. Be careful online. In this episode of Thinking Through, Dr. Allison Lester is joined by Dr. LeeAnn Lindsey to ask a deeper question: what if digital citizenship were not about compliance, but about agency?
Together, they trace the origins of digital citizenship back to internet safety laws and fear-based policies, unpack how it evolved into surface-level “digital hygiene,” and explore why those approaches no longer meet the moment. From AI chatbots and social media algorithms to student voice, conflict, and ethical decision-making, this conversation reframes digital citizenship as a living, values-driven practice that belongs across all content areas, not in a single lesson or unit.
LeeAnn and Allison dig into what it means to help young people become thoughtful digital decision-makers, how educators can model curiosity instead of control, and why avoiding hard conversations only leaves those decisions in the hands of people outside education. Along the way, they reflect on AI, mental health, social media lessons we learned too late, and what students themselves are asking for from school right now.
