Digital Citizenship

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What is digital citizenship? That is a very good question. As we have seen the Internet grow we now have a need to really address this issue. Are people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange models of digital citizenship or are they the outliers? What role does school have in creating Digital Citizens? In this post we will explore standards and literature on this subject and look at the top 3 characteristics in my opinion on what is digital citizenship.

So who am I to discuss this subject? What gives me the gravitas to speak on this issue? Well, I am an educator with over a decades worth of experience in online learning. I also have worked with Millenials for the majority of my career in academia. So yeah I get to have a say. Oh yeah! I also have an EDS in Social Science Education where I specialized in Video Games and Learning.

Looking at the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) they devoted Standard 5 of their list of student standards to being a digital citizen. It reads:

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal 

issues related to technology and practice legal and 

ethical behavior. 

a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and 

responsible use of information and technology

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using 

technology that supports collaboration, 

learning, and productivity

c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for 

lifelong learning

d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

Examining the standards you see that they are deep and wide so that they cover pretty much anything but does a lack of specificity allow for loopholes? For instance looking at sub standard A one could argue that creating a hate group site with a school computer under this standard would be okay. The only issue would be the "responsible" portion of standard but again who decides what is responsible? The courts have ruled that it is the parents or guardians who decide what is responsible in their child's life.

One thing that is glaringly missing is a statement on Cyber Bullying. Cyber Bullying is the single most complicated issue we as educators face. With new technology like Snap Chat and others students have the ability to be really cruel with one another and has been in the news a great deal. There was even a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode about it.

For me, the three most important aspects of digital citizenship are the following:

Digital Leadership
Digital Confidence
Digital Literacy

Digital Leadership means that you apply leadership skills to your online use. You don't blindly follow the crowd but think for yourself and help others.

Digital Confidence means that you are aware that what happens online can affect you but you have the confidence to stand up for yourself and protect yourself and possibly others who might be Cyber Bullied.

Digital Literacy means that you don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Especially if its gossip going around your social media sites of choice. As one who practices Digital Literacy you learn how to measure truth and reality against lies and misstatements and make choices that lead you to a better online experience.

I am hoping that this will begin a dialogue between you and me on what we believe is best for our students. I am really hoping you disagree with me and that we can argue our points and show true Digital Leadership by listening to others opinions, digesting them even when we don't agree, and discuss our position in an atmosphere devoid of hostility.