Digital Citizenship...The Beginning

If I am being completely honest, when I first saw that my next course was Digital Citizenship, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to have enough information to fill 5 weeks’ worth of assignments. Now, I am concerned that 5 weeks won’t be enough for me to fully research and explore all aspects of digital citizenship. After researching what the experts say about the definition of digital citizenship, I would personally define digital citizenship as a code of conduct for responsible and appropriate behavior in digital spaces. I like the idea of looking at digital citizenship as a set of norms, but usually with norms, stakeholders have a chance to develop those ideas together. I find it interesting that we are surprised when we hear about copyright lawsuits or someone getting fired for inappropriate use of social media, but we don't bat an eye when a teacher says that they don't have time to teach digital citizenship. We are setting generations up for failure by not giving them the appropriate tools to safely and ethically wade through digital waters.

I am excited to learn more about each of Ribble’s Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship. Three of these elements really stick out to me. First, I chose Digital Literacy. As the Technology Integration Specialist for the district, I am floored by how little information there really in across our district with regards to newer technology resources. There are pockets of teachers who stay current and are technology literate, but for the most part, we are far behind other districts. A lack of digital literacy in our teachers has led to a severe lack of Digital Access with our students. It is sad that every student in our district doesn't have the same access to technology tools because of the varying levels of digital literacy in teachers. By the time the students come together at the secondary level, you may have some students who have been utilizing tech regularly and have a background in digital citizenship, but you may have some students who have never touched a piece of technology in an educational setting. Finally, I believe Digital Etiquette is extremely important. I monitor a few of the different Google Classrooms for a variety of grade levels, and sometimes it floors me how students speak to each other even when they know that a teacher is watching. On the same token, I have seen emails, Facebook posts, etc. from adults that are just as distasteful. However, I don't believe that digital etiquette only includes communication. I also feel that this includes appropriately using materials found on the Internet and giving credit to those resources.

I can already see how digital citizenship fits into my role as Technology Integration Specialist, and I am excited to learn more about each in order to truly benefit my district. This past year, I was asked to research digital citizenship courses to use with our students, and now I realize that digital citizenship cannot be solely taught as a standalone course. I am excited to learn ways to help my teachers integrate digital citizenship lessons into their own classrooms in meaningful ways that will allow our students to make authentic connections.