Digital Citizenship

Why Should We Teach Digital Citizenship?

It’s a whole new reality of learning for students, with so much of their communication and education now happening online. Our responsibility as educators and parents now extends beyond the classroom to a world within keyboards and html codes, and teaching students to navigate these digital spaces responsibly is a major part of helping them develop a healthy relationship with the world around them. Integrating digital citizenship into the classrooms and homes is a vital part of this process.

Digital citizenship refers to responsible technology usage, and teaching digital citizenship is essential to helping students achieve and understand digital literacy, as well as ensuring cyberbully prevention, online safety, digital responsibility, and digital health & wellness.

1. Digital Literacy

With Google, Wikipedia, multiple dictionaries, thesauruses, and other reference materials and sites never more than a few clicks away, access to information has never been easier for students. The new challenge faced by today’s students is sifting through, understanding and being able to use all of the information available to them at the click of a button. What good are 200,000 search results if you don’t understand how to differentiate useful information from spam? Teaching digital literacy empowers students with the skills and understanding necessary to not only use internet and technology to their benefit, but use it in the most effective ways to quickly find information and utilize the ever-expanding list of sites and means of communication at their disposal.

2. Cyberbullying Prevention

Cyberbullying is an increasing cause for concern for teachers, parents, and students, and teaching students to engage respectfully online is important for its prevention. Establishing guidelines and incorporating lessons for responsible online communication and etiquette early, and repeating and reinforcing them often, helps students learn to communicate respectfully with peers. Set clear boundaries. Create lists of online DOs and DON’Ts and review them often. Encourage students to be open and report any behaviour that makes them uncomfortable and observe, document, and report anything that looks anything like bullying. Modeling respectful and appropriate behaviour for students and holding them accountable for adhering to these standards will help build a solid foundation for students to become responsible citizens navigating both real and digital worlds with kindness and empathy.

3. Online Safety

Of all of the invaluable educational and life lessons that stem from teaching digital citizenship, online safety is definitely one of the most essential and influential. Students who are taught to understand and prioritize online safety feel confident to take charge of their digital lives, and are less likely to fall victim to potential threats that await online. Teaching students to protect themselves and their identities by visiting appropriate websites, refraining from posting personal information about themselves and others, trusting their gut, and notifying a trusted adult when things don’t feel right. All of these things play a vital role in keeping students safe in digital spaces and allow them to blossom as empowered digital citizens.

4. Digital Responsibility

The power we now have to create and define our own digital experiences is unmatched, and with that power comes responsibility. Students must be taught to wield that power wisely, as doing so is essential to their long-term educational and personal success. Teachers should incorporate curriculum designed to create awareness of how to navigate the potential threats of hacking, piracy, and viruses, as well as educating students on plagiarizing (what it is and potential consequences) and other forms of theft or inappropriate online conduct. Remember to always set and enforce clear boundaries and consequences for inappropriate usages of technology.

5. Digital Health & Wellness

Technology can be addictive, and that addiction can be detrimental to students’ health. There have been documented correlations between extended use of technology and physical and psychological issues including (but not limited to): mental stress, eye problems, ergonomic issues, and even dietary issues. In the spirit of educating, nurturing, and protecting students as whole people, teaching digital citizenship effectively must also prioritize the health and wellness of students. Incorporating creative strategies to teach students to use technology safely in ways that preserve and protect their developing mental/cognitive abilities and physical growth, along with both the inherent benefits and dangers created by extensive online engagement, is a must. Encourage limiting online time and taking frequent breaks to stretch, eat, and hydrate.

How to Teach Digital Citizenship

Teaching digital citizenship is as simple as define, create and execute. Define the elements of digital citizenship you wish to incorporate into your curriculum, such as the five listed above. Once you have selected your digital citizenship teaching themes, the next step is constructing a creative curriculum that highlights the themes you wish to teach, then executing them by integrating them into existing teaching models and strategies. Again, modeling appropriate online and classroom behaviour and expectations in addition to instruction is vital and, as with all other teaching themes, digital citizenship must be taught with the intent on an ongoing and consistent basis to be done so successfully.

WRITTEN BY

Nina W.

Contributing Writer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina is a writer and children's rights advocate with a passion for education and creative expression. She believes that the respectful nurture of children as whole people from early on is the key to building healthy relationships with learning.