What is Digital Citizenship?

Digital citizenship is the concept of having the ability to aid individuals with regards to exploring the various digital environments that exist in today’s day-and-age (MediaSmarts, n.d.). The concept of digital citizenship is important to grasp as technology constantly changes and updates daily.

Reflection on 9 Elements + How to Implement the Elements Within The Classroom:

 I uphold that digital citizenship is of great use towards the youth. The very first element of the above concept is digital access. This element is significant in various ways. It teaches us that there should be a fair and equal distribution of technology. During my pre-internship placement, there was not a lot of technology used within the classroom. The only time students had the opportunity to gain access to technology was by working in pairs for a group project or a class presentation. A second element that piqued my interest was digital law. After reading this element’s definition, it did impact me. Digital law is a concept that fights against acts such as cyberbullying and other forms of online bullying. Furthermore, the element, digital law, tells us that with these harmful acts that are taking place online, rules and policies should be put in place in order to gradually prevent those acts from happening. This element piqued my interest as it related to an experience I went through during my pre-internship placement. At the school I was transferred to, all of the teachers had a safety box in order for their students to place their cellphones inside. This was quite beneficial for everyone because it does not only gradually prevent the above-mentioned acts from occurring, but, this method of a safety box also prevents classroom disturbance. These are some of the methods I strive to teach digital citizenship. As previously mentioned, implementing classroom policies for technology use is of great impact as individuals will feel welcome and learn in a safe environment.

References

MediaSmarts. (n.d.). What is Digital Citizenship? Retrieved June 1, 2025, from

https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/what-digital-citizenship#:~:text=Digital%20citizenship%20is%20the%20ability,mindful%20of%20our%20actions%20online.