About Digital Citizenship and the Classroom

What is "digital citizenship"?  Should it be taught in schools?  What does it include? How it it applicable in a Family and Consumer Sciences classroom?

In thinking critically about this topic, I had to first understand what digital citizenship is and its meaning in and beyond the classroom.

This generation of young people are more exposed to a way of life that  is very much based on the internet to include early use of websites like Facebook, Google and YouTube.  Many birth announcements are placed on blogs and social media sites, meaning that children are part of the world online before they even born!  Many of these children are growing up before the eyes of an ever-watching public--or grandparents and loving relatives on the other side of the state or country.

For better or for worse, the internet has become an integral part of life.

What is Digital Citizenship?

By Skeezix at http://www.skeezixthecat.com/
scratchingpost/2006/11/my-rode-trip-to-bakersfeeld-for.html

A great analogy is how the internet can be likened to actual asphalt roads and highways (it is called "information highway" after all!).  But picture it, a young person is exposed to the road driving across the state, or even just being driven to the local grocery store.  These travels are an everyday part of life for many people.
It would not be wise to had the keys of the car to a 8 year old and say "good luck!".  Nor would we put a first grader on the rail or metro without a hand to hold or at least some instruction.
Just as there are rules and ways that people ought to act while driving or taking public transportation, there are also proper and ethical ways to behave while on the information highway.

By Jimmie (Oreo IS THAT ME?  Uploaded by JohnnyMrNinja)
[CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

This is Digital Citizenship.

Should Digital Citizenship be Taught in Schools?

Now, the thought, should it be taught in schools?

There are many questions and much debate about the impact of electronic usage, particularly with young children.  This part of the discussion would not be complete without looking into the Waldorf Education system.  Waldorf schools do not use technology in their day-to-day operations and in teaching their students; they also encourage children to not have "screen time" in the home either.
While Waldorf is on one side of the debate, Indian teacher Sugata Mitra is on the other side citing computers as the essential element in child-driven learning.
There truly isn't enough time to have a through discussion as new developments are happening even now, but it isn't wise to ignore the debate of educators concerning technology in and out of the classroom.  I believe ethical use of the internet can, and should, be taught in school.

Digital Citizenship Elements

So, what are some of the ethical tenants of digital citizenship?  Mike Ribble, in conjunction with the non-profit International Society for Technology in Education, discusses nine elements of digital citizenship. The elements are summarized in the graphic below.

As far as teaching these specific elements in the classroom, as discussed by Ribble, they are all worthy of instruction and discussion.  Parents and those in the home should also be encouraged to participate in understanding digital citizenship and the responsibilities that come with having a digital presence, as well as appropriate safety measures.  These elements, as they pertain to academia, the most pertinent includes those that prevent illegal behavior or plagiarizing.

Copyrights and Creative Commons

Intellectual property is protected by copyright laws, and students (as well as adults) should be aware of these protections.  A great resource that covers this information is Copyright Kids which explains some of the ins and outs of copyright laws and the way students can get permission from authors to use their works in school and educational publications.

Another great resource to assist authors to protect and promote their creations is through the non-profit Creative Commons.  Using a Creative Commons license grants the general public permission to use, to an extent, a work as long as they provide credit to the originator of the work.  There are certain graphics available depending on the use the author allows for their work.

The public can use websites like Flickr, Wikimedia Commons and utilizing the advanced search option in Google and Yahoo to find images and photographs that have this creative commons license or are public domain (which do not require attribution).  Teachers can also use these websites when creating lessons, all while maintaining their integrity and setting an example for students to follow.

Digital Citizenship in the Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom

Having interactive discussions about the nine elements, and how to find and properly use photographs and other media in projects, can be taught in a FACS class.  Making students simply aware of these elements, and how they pertain in and beyond the classroom, can be a starting point for these talks.  One idea is to have posters of the elements, with a brief explanation of them, as well as a a short unit of instruction.  Before a research project, having a discussion about using style guides of how to appropriately give credit and ask for credit would also be beneficial to students especially as they progress through secondary school and university.

These are some resources that can be used in teaching digital citizenship in the classroom as well as a starting point for discussion at home:

InCtrl lessons about digital citizenship: http://www.teachinctrl.org
Internet Keep Safe Coalition: http://ikeepsafe.org/educators_old/more/google/
Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum/6-8 

Finally, below is a resource to use when citing works, giving attribution of photographs and other media in academic works:

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/