EDU 6220 - Digital Citizenship Article Summary

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 7^th 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