“We need not
only to educate our children on the issues that are occurring with technology
but provide resources for our teachers and parents as well.”-Mike Ribble.
The
article
“Passport to Digital Citizenship” in a broad sense is about the
importance of
continuity and consistency between home and school usage of technology.
Mr.
Ribble expresses that it is one thing to know how to utilize a new
technology,
but knowing how to use it appropriately and in a responsible manner is
another concept entirely. NETS-S defines Digital Citizenship
as the following; Students understand human cultural and societal issues
related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. In
general terms
I see digital citizenship as a continuation of being a good citizen
period.
We
have all
seen the sexting scandals, cat fishing, identity theft cases, online
bullying stories wherein it is
pointed as the reason as to why some youth have committed suicide and
most recently a case wherein a terrorist organization called ISIS has
targeted social media pages of military members children. An important
part of digital citizenship is not just being polite and kind, but as
well being smart about what one lets out into cyberspace from a security
standpoint. Over sharing is also a concern in the digital age. # I ate
breakfast # I hate school # I hate my job...Children need to be made
aware that their digital footprint is one that can be seen by future
employers and school admissions boards.
There can be a connection made between how the youth utilize technology
and whom
they are as a person. In my opinion part of teaching digital citizenship
in
schools should be seen as an extension of character education. While
this
article did not make the connection between character and usage of
technology;
it did break Digital Citizenship into nine elements.
The nine
elements are as follows:
-
Digital
Access: Do all have access to participate in the digital world if they choose
to do so? This harkens back to the discussion of inclusive schools and the
topics of the have’s vs have not’s in terms of districts whom have more access
to tech than other districts.
-
Digital
Commerce: Are the students aware of how to safely exchange money for goods and
services online. For example; do they know the difference between
http&https? One is a secured site one is not.
-
Digital
Communication: Are the students armed with the communication skills that will
transcribe into the digital arena in an effective and appropriate way?
-
Digital
Literacy: Do the students know when and how to use certain technologies and do
they share these lessons with their peers?
-
Digital
Etiquette: Do they act in a proper manner and communicate in a respectful
manner. Do they think before they rant on a digital source? To they take other
people into account?
-
Digital
Law-With technology comes another form of responsibility. Are the students
aware of laws associated with technological content etc? What comes to mind;
plagiarism and IP protections.
-
Digital
Rights and Responsibilities-This explanation was a bit on the social action
side for me. It asks if students are ready to protect the rights of others to
defend their own digital rights. This statement is a bit vague and needs to be
expanded and honed into a specific context. I would say the real point would be
do students realize the freedom extended to all digital tech users and are they
aware there are behavioral standards that coincide with these freedoms?
-
Digital
Health and Wellness- Are users aware of the psychological and health risks that
comes with using technology. For example; high school students and “Instagram
likes.” With technology and social media apps many teens are falling into the
fallacy that social media is the real world and that “likes” equate to their
value as a person.
-
Digital
Security-Are they aware of the importance of protecting their personal
information? For example the importance of changing passwords regularly and to
pick strong passwords. As well, never give out personal info online to
strangers.
He as well talks about how learning is a
cycle and not really a destination. Technology evolves and expands and thus so
must we. I agree with his premise that home and school must be on the same page
when it comes to digital citizenship. He suggests utilizing a four stage
framework to teach and learn digital citizenship. Those stages are; Awareness,
Guided Practice, Modeling and Demonstration and Feedback/Analysis.
When
reading this four stage model the question that I am left with is
how does he suggest the school and classroom ensure continuity with the
usage at home? He talks about
how it’s important to have an open learning environment so that students
can
explore technology wherein mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn. I
concur with that point. Again, I would like to hear his plan on how he
would suggest a school
reach each parent to make sure the access at home to technology is not
an
unbridled access, but one that is monitored and guided by the parents in
accordance with school suggestive guidelines? As a parent I can tell you
having
an open technology forum does not see huge success. The parents who are
involved are the ones you see at everything from assemblies to field
trips.
It’s the parents you never see at school that you need to reach out to. I
would
have like to have seen him suggest ways to form effective partnerships
between teachers and parents in terms of technology.
When reading this article I was attracted
to the importance of digital etiquette,digital law, digital
responsibilities and digital health
and wellness. Overall this article made some very good factual points. I
would like to promote a part time reverse classroom concept wherein
the parents can actually see what the
children are learning and doing online. As well a classroom blog that weekly
sends out email reminders on what is being covered in class as well as technology
responsibility reminders that will have “read” notifications to solidify all households
receive the information adequately.
Digital
Citizenship goes beyond the actual “know how” when it comes to using
technology. It’s the knowing of how to use it effectively and
responsibly. How
will you guide your students in the digital realm? How will you ensure
that your students are acting responsibly without infringing on their
privacy rights? I am an advocate for teaching Digital Citizenship in
schools. I am also an advocate of teaching character education and I see
a direct connection between the two. With a world that is seeing and
increase in social disorders I feel that #10 rule of digital citizenship
should be: Manage your time online wisely and do not let it over take
your classroom or your life. Balance the new technology with face to
face interaction.Technology is great as long as it is not solely
depended on or overused wherein it surpasses human interaction in the
classroom.
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