ADAMS TWP — It’s official: Mars Middle School students are good digital citizens.

The middle school was recently recognized as a 2014-15 Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School.

The certification is presented to schools that demonstrate a commitment to educating students to be safe, smart and ethical “digital citizens.”

Sue Pizer, the middle school librarian, said the district’s faculty and staff were trained last summer in the Common Sense Media digital citizenship program.

She said while all five Mars schools have applied or plan to apply to Common Sense Media for a digital citizenship certification, the middle school is the first to receive it.

“It showed we are committed to making our students responsible digital learners,” Pizer said.

She explained that seventh-graders at the school considered the role of digital media in their lives, and what type of creator they are on a computer. They also were encouraged to consider the role of digital media in their lives.

“They reflected on their responsibilities as creators and users of digital media,” Pizer said

They also studied avatar stereotypes, which Pizer explained taught the students to avoid using blond, blue-eyed girls or other stereotypical images when they create their avatar, or digital character of themselves or others.

Another lesson, entitle “trillion dollar footprint,” helped the seventh-graders realize that the things they create and access on the Internet can be searched, shared and observed by a large audience.

Pizer said the students entered their names into a search engine to see what they would find, and learned how to ensure that their online presence is a favorable one.

Pizer said the lesson included a checklist students could use to ensure that a website is a worthy source of knowledge.

“It taught them to evaluate websites and make sure they were good for them to use,” Pizer said.

“I believe it was a worthwhile experience for the students to examine how the digital world affects their everyday lives,” Pizer said.

She said tip sheets were also sent home to parents with ways to help their students become and remain good digital citizens.