What is it?
Digital – Involving or relating to the use of computer technology.
Citizenship – The state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen. Also, the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations and functions of a citizen.
Simply stated, digital citizenship is the appropriate and responsible use of technology.
Why is it important?
Why do students (and teachers) need to learn about digital citizenship? We need to understand digital citizenship because we are digital citizens, which means that we live in a society that is connected through technology. As citizens of a digital society, we need to demonstrate responsible, respectful, and safe behavior.
As educators, we have a responsibility to teach students who are growing up in a digital society in new and innovative ways. According to Mike Ribble, “Learners must be taught how to learn in a digital society…Digital citizenship involves educating people in a new way – these individuals need a high degree of information literacy skills.” This means explicitly teaching and modeling the norms and responsible use of internet tools. It also means allowing, promoting, and guiding student access to digital tools as a means of learning.
What do students think?
Here’s what our students had to say about what digital citizenship means to them as bloggers:
- Digital citizenship is your own citizenship on the Internet or electronics. How you act and what you say may affect your digital citizenship. Things you can do to have good digital citizenship and effect other people in a good way is think before your post something that would be mean. If you don’t have something to say nice don’t say anything at all.
- Digital citizenship is important because it is what can keep you out of trouble on the internet, or it could get you into trouble. It all depends on the actions you do online. It will affect me as a blogger because obviously bloggers publish things through the internet, and digital citizenship is what creates comments of hatred, but also compliments
- It is helpful for our blogs because we need to know what is okay and what is not okay to post.
- To me, digital citizenship tells me that there are certain things that I can’t post on the internet and I should be respectful of other users.
- Digital citizenship will effect me as a blogger by me having to watch what I put on the internet, because once it is on the internet there is really no way to stop from being shared to everyone.
Photo Credit: Thomas Galvez via Compfight
