Developing Skills is Necessary in Becoming a Digital Citizen

EDLD 5316 Digital Citizenship

Developing Character Skills to Become a Good Digital Citizen

by Emily Burk

There are many facets of digital citizenship and being connected does not have to leave one with negative consequences. If we focus on developing skills in the many areas of what it means to be a digital citizen, then we can help teach those skills to future digital citizens so they can be equipped with what it takes for students to be successful once they enter the real world. What is Digital Citizenship? There are actually several definitions out there. But which is the easiest one to understand and present to both students and teachers? In “The Definition Of Digital Citizenship,” Terry Heick states that “a decent definition of digital citizenship...might be ‘Self-monitored participation that reflects conscious interdependence with all (visible and less visible) community members.’” But then Heick makes a point that the above definition “leaves out the idea of content itself, which leads us to a pretty good definition for educators: [which says] ‘The quality of habits, actions, and consumption patterns that impact the ecology of digital content and communities.’” Heick finally makes the point that not all definitions are good for students by saying that “maybe a shorter version for students–with some moral imperatives and implied advice–could be: ‘the self-monitored habits that sustain and improve the digital communities you enjoy or depend on.’” I have to say that I agree with Heick that when it comes to teaching digital citizenship to students, simplicity in wording is important so that the words are kid-friendly and easy to understand; otherwise, if the words go over kids heads, then what is the point in teaching them this valuable lesson. Digital citizenship is so important because the ethics and morals that used to be taught at the dinner table or in everyday human interaction many times no longer happens because everyone is on their devices. So it is important to make a time and point to teach it in a way that students can comprehend so that they are prepared for using technology in a responsible ways out in the real world. My favorite definitions come from the 3rd edition of a book called Digital Citizenship in Schools: Nine Elements All Students Should Know. Ribble uses DigitalCitizenship.net from which is “Digital Citizenship is the norms of appropriate, responsible tech use.” I think this definition is easy and short enough for students to get. My own definition of what it means to be a digital citizen is “The responsible self-monitored actions while communicating, interacting, sharing, and consuming from online and digital communities.”

There are nine elements of digital citizenship. Ribble (2015) deconstructs digital citizenship into nine essential constituent elements. He further classified the nine elements into three categories and organized under three principles. Below I will explain each element, the categories, and the principles and how they interrelate. I will then explain which elements are important to me.

• Digital access – Citizens have different levels of access.

Full access should be a goal of citizenship. The goal here is to allow all students and families no matter what, digital access. WCAG and VPAT Standards should be adhered to and schools should open labs when needed for those without access.

• Digital commerce – Buying and selling online is increasing exponentially, and consumers need to be aware of what to purchase and the legality of their purchases. This element really focuses on how understanding use of online purchases can affect a person’s credit and how to make responsible purchases.
• Digital communication – There are numerous ways to communicate online, and citizens need to make wise decisions in what and how they communicate. This element is one of the hotter and trendy topics because there is so much that happens on a daily basis in schools that deals with irresponsible communication which leads to disciplinary actions.
• Digital literacy – Technological literacy requires citizens keep up with digital changes. This element made me think about how a lot of teachers don’t use technology, maybe more because they don’t know how and lack the training. If we don’t continuing growing in this area, we may lose a lot of students to online programs.
• Digital etiquette – Citizenship comes with a responsibility to follow etiquette when communicating with others. This element is really all about having consideration for others when and before using technology. I think that this applies to both adults and children. As adults, we have to ask ourselves, when we use technology, are we modeling the good behavior that we expect or want from our students or children?
• Digital law – Citizens have a responsibility to behave ethically and be aware of laws governing them. This is certainly an important element to teach kids. I just think if we are not teaching what is right and wrong early on, we are really doing our students a disservice. One of the more important elements for sure!
• Digital rights and responsibilities – The rights of users are shared equally. These rights come with responsibilities. This element is important as students are consuming and contributing more than ever in a digital world. Educators can help in the area to reinforce credible research skills as they can also help students know for their rights related to copyright law and how sharing affects those rights.
• Digital health and wellness – Physical and psychological issues can occur when ergonomics and other problems are not addressed. This element I hadn't really thought about much. But it is important as we need to help prevent pain attributed to using computers as well as any other problems. So this needs to be addressed to students so that they are aware of how to prevent health problems related to technology use.
• Digital security – Citizens must take action to protect their information online. This element is important for both students and educators to understand and practice. There are so many times when passwords are stolen or shared. Students and teachers must understand how they can protect their digital identity.

All of the above elements are interrelated through the cluster REP which stands for Respect, Educate, and Protect. By teaching students and teachers digital citizenship in this way, one can cluster certain elements together to show the relationship between them thereby making them easier to remember. By teaching these clusters and repeating the clusters year after year from K-8th grades, this will sure set a foundation of good digital citizenship.

Element seven addresses Digital Rights and responsibilities. This element is important because there is so much information online that we can use for educational purposes. But before using it, we must know our rights and responsibilities so we give credit where credit is due. This is where knowing what Copyright & Fair Use means and how it can help us. According to the book Copyright and Cultural Institutions by Hirtle, Hudson, and Kenyon (2009) , fair use general statutory purposes are criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. The four factors in fair use are purpose, nature, amount, and market impact. For example the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is commercial in nature or is for nonprofit or educational purposes. You have to determine the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. When it comes to usage of other content as teachers and student, what are the copyright laws? Lifelong learning is vital for growth. Because of technology, educators must become lifelong learners; otherwise, they will fall behind in their teaching trade. But how do teachers continue learning and teaching without breaking copyright laws? As teachers, it is important to know about, adhere to, and reinforce copyright laws so that we are modeling for students the best practices of being lifelong learners. The importance of knowing about copyright goes unknown amongst many educators. I can see why this occurs. Teaching is one of the most stressful jobs and oftentimes, because of needing a quick fix for a lesson, teachers will resort to whatever they find online. If teachers don’t know about copyright laws, they may not cite their sources and may get themselves and possibly even the school into trouble with the law. So districts should provide consistent professional development in this area so teachers are getting refreshed in this subject area. Knowing about copyright is not going to be enough to correct problems. Teachers need to understand the ethics behind using other people’s works and lessons and breaking copyright laws. When districts teach about copyright laws, they should also provide a lesson in ethics to show that in the end, it is just not right or ethical to steal another’s work and call it your own. Ethical behavior in regards to copyright of lessons is a must if we as teachers are going to be role models in what we expect from our students. We should not leave it to the English department to teach proper research skills. Students must see these skills practiced by all of their teachers and must be taught at an early age what plagiarism means and the what ethical behavior is what it is important when it comes to researching. The librarian can be of help when it comes to giving refreshers in these types of copyright lessons for both teachers and students alike. If as educators, we want to set up our students for success, knowing about, sticking to, and modeling proper behavior having to do with copyright laws is an important part of our teaching practice. With so much information online and so much digital activity in our classrooms, we must adhere to copyright laws strictly so that we are role models for not only our students but to the world.

Lastly, elements eight and nine deal with digital health and wellness as well as security. As we continue our lives in the digital world, it is important that we are protecting ourselves and teaching students the skills to do the same. Gone are the days of privacy. That is unless you refuse to be connected. But if you aren’t connected then what would you be missing out on? Information? News? Social interactions? Friendships? As a society, we have transitioned into this world that thrives on these online interactions. For many, social networking and quick information has become an addiction. Teenagers have lived in this world their whole lives and don’t know what a world without digital interaction is like. For them, growing up is similar in that they deal with the same issues of bullying just like those of us from older generations dealt with. But their schoolyard woes of getting picked on look and feel vastly different and has an ongoing and profound effect on them way past recess. Bullying doesn’t remain alone at the school lunchroom tables, in the locker rooms, the hallways at school, or the schoolyard at recess. No , it lingers with them online in these social interactions and digital lives they have have built in cyberspace. Today’s teens, and really everyone that decides to be connected online, are susceptible to cyber bullying. Cyberbullying is defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009). When is comes to cyber bullying, the victim is the person who is being picked on by an aggressor. There are many forms of this type of aggressive cyberbullying. Aggressors can carry out rumor spreading, post unwanted pictures and videos, bully through use of captions, commenting, and messaging, photoshop images of a person, spread personal information about a victim, confess secrets about the victim, impersonate to harass or cyberstalk a victim, or even tag or untag the victim to make a point to make a person feel bad or unwanted. Much of this cyberbullying can even lead to physical threats being made towards the victim leaving them living in fear. Oftentimes the victim of such cyber bullying can suffer psychological or health problems, start skipping school, begin failing their classes and sometimes will gain such a low self-esteem that the victim may even start self-cyberbullying which could then lead to suicide (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009). So is being connected to get instant information and networking to build relationships worth it if it comes with such a harsh price of the consequences of cyberbullying? Many say yes. So how can we as parents and educators help prevent such negative online behaviors? First it would be beneficial to assess any situations of proposed cyberbullying to see how bad the situation is and then make a plan to educate the students as well as the school community on how to avoid situations where cyberbullying may occur. It is important to get students to think before they post reminding them that whatever they post will be apart of their permanent digital footprint. Monitoring students online activity and apps they use is also important. This may take educating parents on how to do this. But in the end, I believe that teaching students early on about good digital citizenship and helping them focus on becoming future-ready for what they want to do in life, will help them understand that everything they post and how they treat others online will ultimately affect their future life pursuit. If we are going to be connected and have our students interact online, let’s make some good out of it by teaching the good practice of digital citizenship by giving our youth the digital tools to succeed and avoid instances of cyberbullying (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009).

So when it comes to becoming a good digital citizen, it is important to remember that developing skills and teaching them to students is of utmost importance. All of the elements really blend together and one element that someone lacks can have a profound effect on other elements. We see the nine elements working together. In the end, going back to the basics of teaching character and integrity early on in a child’s life will pay off when they become digital citizens. How can a person’s character affect their digital footprint? Can character lead to being a good digital citizen? According to Ribble, there are nine elements that all students should know when it comes to digital citizenship. Element three is digital communication which is the exchange of information. Devices have changed the way people communicate. Communication is now instant and sometimes happens without much thought. When communicating online, it is important to remember that all correspondence leads to one’s creation of their own digital footprint which will always be floating around in cyberspace. So when communicating, it is important to keep in mind what rules, options, and etiquette students need to be aware of when using digital communication technologies. Digital Communication directly connects with Element 5 which is Digital Etiquette or the electronic standards of conduct or procedure. Students need to be aware of others when they use technology and should realize that their use of technologies can have an affect on others. This is where teaching students about having technology etiquette or netiquette at an early age is important while also teaching and enforcing a district’s AUP or acceptable use policies. But even more importantly, it is important to teach students about what good character means. According to the International Center for Leadership in Education, there are 12 Guiding Principles of Exceptional Character.

• Adaptability- The ability and willingness to change; to put yourself in harmony with changed circumstances.
• Compassion- Kindness; the desire to help others in distress.
• Contemplation- Giving serious consideration to something; to think things through carefully.
• Courage- Bravery; the willingness to put your beliefs into practice. The capacity to meet danger without giving way to fear.
• Honesty- Truthfulness, sincerity; the act or condition of never deceiving, stealing, or taking advantage of the trust of others.
• Initiative- Eagerness to do something; the capacity for thinking of and acting on your own ideas without prompting by others.
• Loyalty- Faithfulness, dependability; the quality of being faithful to another person in the performance of duty or adhering to a contract with another person.
• Optimism- Positive beliefs; the inclination to take a hopeful view or think that all will work out for the best.
• Perseverance- Working hard at something; the quality of trying hard and continuously in spite of obstacles and difficulties.
• Respect- Regard, value, admire, and appreciate; special esteem or consideration in which you hold another person or thing.
• Responsibility- Accountability; to consider yourself answerable for something.
• Trustworthiness- Reliability; dependable, deserving of trust and confidence.

According to ACSD and Character Education for the Digital Age by Jason Ohler, we should teach our kids to have one life instead of two as in a separate physical and digital life. They are the same. If we aim to teach students these qualities and reiterate that there shouldn’t be a difference in who they are or how they act online versus offline, then we will set up our students for having a healthy and positive digital footprint. Our students will know how to digitally communicate and treat others while online; thereby, leaving school with a digital footprint that they are proud of and can take with them into the real and digital world!

References

Copyright and Fair Use. Duration: (2:46). User: Common Sense Education - Added: 9/5/14. YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suMza6Q8J08

Heick, T. (2013). The definition of digital citizenship. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/.

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Ohler, J. (2011). Character education for the digital age. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 187-205. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Character-Education-for-the-Digital-Age.aspx

Peter Hirtle, Emily Hudson & Andrew Kenyon, Copyright & Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization (Cornell University Library, 2009).

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education