“The Office of Attorney General’s number one priority is to keep all the citizens of Pennsylvania safe, starting with our youth. Children are our greatest resource, and the Attorney General’s office works vigorously to protect young people from drugs, violence, and crime. The office encourages kids, parents, and schools to participate in these efforts.”  

The Office of Public Engagement offers information on recommended procedures, educational programs, and laws focused on Pennsylvania youth. 

Additional Highlights: This resource also offers resources on youth violence prevention, especially within social media, through the Safe2Say Something program. 

Chat with a Librarian is PA’s 24/7 virtual reference service where experienced librarians help Pennsylvanians (K-12, College, and State Residents) find factual answers and provide them with research guidance.  

Librarians use the information in the POWER Library’s databases and other online resources to find the most accurate answers. 

Librarians are accessible 24/7 by chat, email, or text.

The POWER Library OER Commons hub is designed to serve educators across the Commonwealth with high-quality, customizable K-12 lesson plans and other resources that directly correlate Pennsylvania’s elementary and secondary content standards to those provided in POWER Library.

The OER Commons Hub offers several resources on CCSS Aligned English Language Arts, CCSS Aligned Mathematics, primary sources for science, arts integration, Career & Technical Education, Digital Literacy, and 21st Century Skills.  

In addition, the resource also offers several professional support materials.

“This guide contains resources for librarians to use to equip students and the general public to identify reliable sources of news and other information.  This resource guide includes tips from ALA and our member libraries for assessing the validity of information, professional references to information literacy standards and tools, and style guides for citing sources.”

The Standards and Guidelines section contains information on AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner, ARCL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, and others.

This guide also contains information on citation style guides.

“The Model Curriculum for Learners in Pennsylvania School Libraries provides a curriculum in information and digital literacy that school librarians can use to partner with educators to help PK-12 learners learn and meet PA Academic Standards.”

“The document incorporates the AASL Standards Framework for Learners and the ISTE Standards for Students. The Committee reviewed the following Pennsylvania Academic Standards and identified 43 Standards for which school librarians can take primary teaching responsibility and 14 standards that school librarians can partner with teachers to support several subject matter areas.”

This project is made possible partly by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, which the Pennsylvania Department of Education administers through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“The Guidelines for Pennsylvania School Library Programs begin with eight indicators of an effective school library program and expand on these to provide goals, guidelines, and resources appropriate to Pennsylvania schools. The Guidelines complement the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries published by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL, 2018), providing a model of excellence for Pennsylvania school library programs.”

This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which the Pennsylvania Department of Education administers through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) is a leading organization that promotes media literacy as an essential life skill for the 21st century. NAMLE provides various resources, including detailed strategies for conducting Media Literacy Week, a biannual National Media Education Conference, and an interdisciplinary journal called the Journal of Media Literacy Education​ (NAMLE)​​ (MediaLitNow)​.

The Center for Media Literacy (CML) is an educational organization that offers leadership, public education, and professional development resources nationally and internationally. It is dedicated to advocating for and bolstering media literacy education. Its objective is to assist individuals, particularly the younger demographic, cultivate critical thinking and media production abilities to navigate today's media landscape effectively, ultimately empowering them to make informed choices.

The Media Education Lab represents an online community dedicated to advancing digital and media literacy education. It achieves this through rigorous research, professional development programs, and the creation of comprehensive curriculum resources. Notable initiatives include Courageous RI, a violence prevention program funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the esteemed Summer Institute in Digital Literacy. The lab is committed to developing engaging multimedia resources and supporting educators to enhance online meeting skills.

In 1979, a group of educators in Eugene, Oregon, began envisioning a new approach to education, emphasizing student empowerment, global collaboration, and leveraging technology for innovation. Today, the small group’s vision has evolved into the International Society for Technology in Education dedicated to making teaching and learning more meaningful worldwide. This community is known as ISTE. In 2023, ISTE merged with education nonprofit ASCD, combining technology expertise with curriculum and instruction knowledge. This expanded their ability to support educators and shape the future of education through effective pedagogy practices supported by technology.

The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society. This will create better-informed, more engaged, and more empowered individuals and, ultimately, a more robust democracy. News literacy is an integral part of American life, and people of all ages and backgrounds know how to identify credible news and other information and understand the indispensable role a free press has in a democracy, empowering them to play a more equal and active role in the civic life of the country.

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Since 2003, Common Sense Mediahas been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Every day, millions of parents and educators trust Common Sense reviews and advice to help them navigate the digital world with their kids.

The Digital Wellness Lab is a nonprofit research institution seeking to understand and promote positive and healthy digital media experiences for young people from birth through adulthood.

The Be Internet Awesome Family Guide gives families the tools and resources to learn about online safety and citizenship at home. We’ve created this guide to make it easier for families to incorporate and practice good digital habits daily. Packed with good stuff, this guide will help you and your kids discuss, learn, and think about online safety together.

(English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish)

This is a plain-language introduction to the fundamental elements of inquiry-based media education provided by the Center for Media Literacy (CML). It encompasses Questions/TIPS (Q/TIPS) for construction/production and deconstruction. The publication conveys the essential principles of media literacy education, imparting a foundational understanding of the theoretical framework that underpins media literacy. It is freely accessible to educators and administrators and has been translated into numerous languages.

In today’s complex media environment, media literacy (ML) is vital for national security and democratic processes. This manual offers a framework for developing and evaluating ML interventions, with insights into four types of interventions based on thorough research. It is structured into seven sections, highlighting the critical role of ML, exploring the ML landscape, discussing monitoring and evaluation, outlining principles of ML programming, and presenting specific models of ML intervention.

(English, Greek, and Spanish)

The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and our partner Trend Micro created a parent’s guide to assist families in starting media literacy conversations at home. We focus on one simple piece of advice: teach your kids to ask questions. With real-life examples of conversations that may come up at home, the guide provides parents with some simple ways to encourage critical thinking at home.

Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Common Sense is a renowned nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the well-being of children and families by delivering reliable information, education, and an impartial voice essential for thriving in the modern era. Common Sense Education disseminates knowledge on digital citizenship, top-rated applications, and websites and offers professional development opportunities for educators.

Lessons are aligned to Common Core ELA, ISTE, CASEL, and AASL, and individual lessons identify specific standards.

Approximately 137 lessons, which run from 15-45 minutes in length.

Grades: 1-4

The Faux Paw the Techno Cat’s Cybersecurity Superstars Curriculum has four lesson plans for grades 1-4. It aims to teach internet safety, privacy, and ethics through cybersecurity roles and concepts such as secure downloading and identifying privacy risks. This helps young students understand the cybersecurity career domain in a relatable way.

Grades: 2-6

The Be Internet Awesome curriculum gives educators the tools and methods to teach digital safety fundamentals. The materials developed by Google in partnership with iKeepSafe enable educators to bring the most critical teachings—and the excitement of Interland—into the classroom.

The curriculum includes lesson plans for the five topics, activities, and worksheets that complement Interland.

Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+

The News Literacy Project offers educators a range of valuable resources and services, including an online learning platform, a complimentary weekly newsletter, professional development opportunities, diverse classroom materials, and additional offerings.

Educators also have access to a wide variety of tools (news literacy tools) that help students become news literate, as well as a “Teaching News Literacy” educator’s booklet (Teaching News Literacy).

Grades: 6-9

Through six digital responsibility lessons, students take practical steps to protect their privacy and safety online. They will also learn critical digital literacy skills, including evaluating content for accuracy, perspective, and motive. Ignition's digital literacy curriculum helps students acknowledge the benefits of online communities and resources while guiding them to successfully navigate potential pitfalls in their digital lives.

Academic Standards from Health, Safety, and Physical Education

Six lessons, 25 minutes per lesson, 2 ½- -3 hours for all six lessons.

Grades: Secondary and Adult Learners, including Educators

This curriculum presents a comprehensive media and information literacy competency framework and offers educators and learners structured pedagogical suggestions. It features various detailed modules covering the range of competencies needed to navigate today’s communications ecosystem. This resource links media and information literacy to emerging issues, such as artificial intelligence, digital citizenship education, education for sustainable development, cultural literacy, and the exponential rise in misinformation and disinformation.

The curriculum includes 14 learning modules.

Grades: K-12

CYBER.ORG is a cybersecurity workforce development organization that targets K-12 students with cyber career awareness, curricular resources, and teacher professional development. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supports CYBER.ORG through a grant from the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) to develop and distribute cybersecurity education content to educators nationwide at no cost.

Grades: K-12 Educators

Earn certification by completing eight micro-credentials that help you demonstrate your expertise in teaching K-12 students (or fellow educators) to think critically about their roles as media consumers and creators.

This is open to all K-12 educators in all subjects, ToSAs, coaches, tech coordinators, media specialists, and librarians.

The K-12 ISTE Digital Citizenship initiative focuses on teaching students to be thoughtful and empathetic digital citizens. It promotes five key competencies: balanced, informed, inclusive, engaged, and alert. These competencies help students navigate digital environments safely, critically evaluate information, respect diverse viewpoints, and use technology positively. The initiative offers free DigCit learning activities, a self-paced course for educators, and resources to integrate digital citizenship into various subjects. The ISTE Standards emphasize digital citizenship for students, educators, and leaders.

Our K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum was designed and developed in partnership with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and guided by research with thousands of educators. Each digital citizenship lesson addresses real challenges and digital dilemmas that students face today, giving them the skills they need to succeed as digital learners, leaders, and citizens tomorrow. (overview of the curriculum)

Keeping kids safe in the digital world can feel like a full-time job. But monitoring their online activity 24/7 is impossible, so it’s critical to help kids learn to navigate digital spaces independently. Our latest research brief explores the importance of teaching children digital solid citizenship and media literacy skills. This quick guide combines the brief’s insights with easy-to-follow tips for parents to help their kids become savvy, responsible digital citizens.

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Since 2003, Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Every day, millions of parents and educators trust Common Sense reviews and advice to help them navigate the digital world with their kids. 

The Digital Wellness Lab is a nonprofit research institution seeking to understand and promote positive and healthy digital media experiences for young people from birth through adulthood. This Digital Wellness Guide is designed to provide parents and caregivers with information and guidance based on clinical evidence and scientific research. 

The Be Internet Awesome Family Guide gives families the tools and resources to learn about online safety and citizenship at home. We’ve created this guide to make it easier for families to incorporate and practice good digital habits daily. Packed with good stuff, this guide will help you and your kids discuss, learn, and think about online safety together.

The Family Online Safety Institute brings a unique, international perspective to the potential risks, harms, and rewards of our online lives. FOSI’s 30+ members are among the world's leading telecommunications, social media, cybersecurity, gaming, and internet companies. 

Keeping kids safe in the digital world can feel like a full-time job. But monitoring their online activity 24/7 is impossible, so it’s critical to help kids learn to navigate digital spaces independently. Our latest research brief explores the importance of teaching children digital solid citizenship and media literacy skills. This quick guide combines the brief’s insights with easy-to-follow tips for parents to help their kids become savvy, responsible digital citizens.

Research increasingly shows that monitoring may be more effective while empowering youth with the skills they need to be responsible digital citizens. Here are essential skills kids and teens must master, from digital media literacy to privacy and security, and uncover the keys to unlocking a safe and enriching online experience.

Is that true?! We’ve all seen the screaming headlines and tempting clickbait. Unfortunately, not all the information on the internet tells the whole truth; some is just plain false. Disinformation and misinformation can be extremely dangerous—especially for children and teens, who are still building the critical thinking skills to distinguish fiction from truth.

Make screen time safe and positive. Use these planners to inspire conversations about tech use as a family. Entertainment and tech have the potential to spark meaningful conversations. Tech planners are an excellent way for kids to understand how your family makes the most of entertainment and tech time.

By age 11, about half of children in the U.S. own a smartphone. When you hand your child a cell phone, give them an assertive communication and entertainment tool. These devices become a constant companion in the lives of preteens and teens—a source of connection, creativity, and, yes, even distraction. Here are some ways for parents and caregivers to guide their children to use their phones healthily and responsibly.

The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and our partner Trend Micro created a parent’s guide to assist families in starting media literacy conversations at home. We focus on one simple piece of advice: teach your kids to ask questions. With real-life examples of conversations that may come up at home, the guide provides parents with some simple ways to encourage critical thinking at home.

The document overviews problematic media use, encompassing definitions, and consequences for children and adolescents. It also addresses risk factors and explores various treatment options.