Developing Upstanding Digital Citizens
#iCitizen
2 decades ago, I was introduced to various digital societies. Yahoo and AOL were tending as both companies presented an interesting feature that connected individuals globally within an instant. The cool feature was instant messenger chat rooms. At the time I didn't realize those chat room experiences would be the first of many more globally connecting moments. Back then I didn't put much thought or attention to know right or wrong behavior interactions nor was I taught. Although I was participating in a digital society regularly, I was not a perfect digital citizen. As I uncovered this week's lessons and reflected on my personal experiences, I immediately realized digital citizenship should be taught. When I began interacting in digital societies, I was in high school. Today students are interacting in digital environments as early as pre-K. This made me conclude, that all educators should prioritize teaching digital citizenship to stakeholders no matter what age. Mike Ribble, author of Digital Citizenship in Schools, Nine Elements All Students Should Know suggest digital citizenship should be learned as early as possible. This rationale believes students who practice demonstrating digital citizenship longer, have more opportunities to understand how to get it right. the book he shares his nine elements of digital citizenship which intertwine with one another creating a strong foundation for other to follow. The elements stem from 3 principals which promote respect, education, and protection. Developing iCitizenship is a responsibility that everyone must embrace beginning in educational settings.
I believe the most impactful way to achieve this goal is to educate parents and guardians first. As parents are educated and become cognizant of digital citizenship, they will naturally share and teach digital citizenship. Exposure to digital citizenship at home and at school will develop the upstanding iCitizen that can maneuver digital platforms responsibly and safely. There are so many resources teachers, administrators, and parents can engage with to develop their understanding of digital citizenship. As a teacher I would choose 3 resources that will enable me to embed digital citizenship within daily lessons. I think if I continuously refer to the expectation of an upstanding digital Citizen, my students will naturally become more aware and conscious of their behaviors whether socially interacting or connecting formally as employees or students.
Now that Covid-19 pandemic has shifted traditional face to face interactions to digital only, the need for digital citizenship has become more than a need. It is key to safely navigating through daily living. Positive and negative behaviors in a digital society is all about exposure. Now that I know I can impact my students by educating their parents, I will be developing a communication plan to educate parents and student on the topic of Digital Citizenship. As I advocate for parents to have access to digital citizenship education, I will also be advocating for a structured curriculum that ensure teachers are not overwhelmed looking for resources to share with their students. Just as parent are educated to better understand digital citizenship, teachers should be educated too. However, one time sit and get models will not be sufficient. Everyone will need to first embrace the ideas and behaviors of good citizenship then engage in practical lessons that mimic digital environments for real and relevant practice.
Digital Citizenship Resources
The following resources can be utilized in the classroom or as supplemental activities which parents can utilize at home to continue the conversation of positive behaviors that build upstanding digital citizens.