Personal technology has rapidly evolved into a necessity in Western
society. Nearly 1 in 10 children are receiving a mobile device, such as a
smartphone, by the age of 5. Therefore, ensuring that children understand the
implications, consequences, and best practices for engaging with technology and
social media is vital to protecting their well-being and to their developing
workplace skills. To help with giving young people the tools and ethical code
to make good choices we have digital citizenship. Teaching digital citizenship
keeps young people and their futures safer and allows for positive communications
and relationships to grow. Providing students with basic skills early in their education
will help them become proficient and comfortable in the digital world.
In order for students to develop good digital
citizenships skills, schools need to provide guidance. In most schools,
guidance around personal technology comes in the form of acceptable use
policies, which detail what is disallowed on school devices or internet
connections. However, students also need to be taught that “what goes online,
stays online,” and that the internet keeps record of everything a user posts,
even after it’s deleted. Protecting themselves and others before clicking needs
to become a reflex.
A good digital citizenship
curriculum encourages parents to also become active participants in teaching
and understanding how digital citizenship can help their children engage
safely. Schools should invite parents to seminars and to participate in the
development of the curriculum so that lessons are consistent at home and in
school. All in all, a digital citizenship curriculum must be a core part of all
schools at every grade level in order to train students to be safe, well-informed,
and responsible digital citizens.
I am currently in my fifth year as
a middle school math teacher and I can honestly say I have never taught or even
thought about teaching digital citizenship in my classroom. I guess I just
always thought they should know by 7th grade what is appropriate and
not appropriate to do with their devices. However, after reading this article and
listening to some discussions in class, I am beginning to realize I have a huge
role in making my students responsible digital citizens. One thing that my
district is doing that I really like is they are holding an open forum or
information session at the high school centered on drugs and alcohol and what
parents and the community should know. Although this doesn’t necessarily relate
to digital citizenship, I think they could do the same thing related to good
use of technology in school and at home. We could have one night a month where
parents and students come to a central location and learn about different
digital citizenship topics. In my own classroom, I would also like to begin
incorporating technology “tips and tricks” into my weekly newsletters that I
email out to parents every Friday.
Reference:
Dotterer, G.,
Hedges, A., & Parker, H. (2016). Fostering digital citizenship in the
classroom. The Education Digest, 82(3), 58-63. Retrieved from
http://library.aurora.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1824551273?accountid=26354
