I believe teaching students about digital citizenship in school is important. We see that children have access to the internet and social media at younger and younger ages. We must teach children the implications and effects of using the internet, such as digital citizenship. Since children are on the internet at such a young age, they may not realize the implications of what they post, comment, or like. Once something is on the internet and it is connected to your name, it is there forever. What does that mean in regards to a person’s digital citizenship?
Ohler’s short article discusses the importance of teaching students how to use technology for educational purposes in school, but also teaching students how to use technology to support their community by being good online citizens and creating a healthy relationship with technology. Jurgenson’s article highlights how the majority of our life surrounds using technology including, work, entertainment, communication, school, and more. Instead of avoiding teaching technology, we can acknowledge the new age of the digital world and introduce how digital citizenship is very important.
Ribble’s Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship are as follows:
- Digital Access
- Digital Commerce
- Digital Communication and Collaboration
- Digital Etiquette
- Digital Fluency
- Digital Health and Welfare
- Digital Law
- Digital Rights and Responsibility
- Digital Security and Privacy
Thinking about these Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, as a future teacher I want to create a classroom environment that incorporates technology for educational purposes in addition to creating a positive mindset around the online community. Using the Nine elements of digital citizenship, I could highlight some guidelines the students should follow to be respectful to others online and how to protect themselves online. I think that it is also important to discuss and share real-world examples of how people’s digital citizenship affects their lives in both positive and negative ways. Another important thing that should be taught surrounding digital citizenship is identifying credible sources and how to determine if online resources are trustworthy. With AI and websites created where anyone can post misinformation, it is important to teach students how to find trustworthy and accurate factual sources.
All of this could be taught in interactive lessons that are engaging to students. Some examples are discussions, debates, role-playing, and more! I think that during teaching these lessons around digital citizenship, it is important to involve parents and guardians in the discussion. What is being taught should be applied beyond the classroom, so discussion surrounding screen time, social media safety, and more should be discussed with parents and guardians as well! Older generations such as my mom’s may not even know what digital citizenship means. This could be an opportunity for them to learn as well! Digital citizenship is not just about learning how to navigate online, but also about being respectful and responsible on the internet.