Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship: appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use, is extremely important to what is happening and will happen with education.  We can no longer ignore or avoid the technology opportunities being presented to our 21st century learners.  As educators we have to find ways to stay current and help our colleagues move forward to meet the technology knowledge our students are bringing to the classroom.  After reading Mike Ribble's article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship" (from the Digital Citizenship Using Technology Appropriately website) I have identified two themes to focus on:
1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society.
~understanding that everyone does not have equal access to technology and how to allow more opportunities for technology use.
5. Digital Etiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure.
~understanding that everyone needs to follow digital etiquette and understand how the rules of digital etiquette apply to different situations.

courtesy of :digitalfamilysummit.com

From researching Digital Citizenship through other educational technology sites, I found the most important element to reinforce and teach about is our digital footprint. Which according to technology expert Will Richardson, is an online portfolio of who we are, what we do, and by association, what we know, as defined in the article Digital Speaking / Positive Digital Footprints. This article identifies how we can help everyone create a positive footprint, which benefits all those using the internet and social media outlets at all age levels.

A website designed by Med Kharbach, A Great Guide on Teaching Students~Digital Footprints, illustrates how to help students understand their digital footprint through all their social media and website applications.  The site provides four different videos to share with students, educators and family members to help them understanding and discuss their digital footprint. As I watched the videos, I really wondered how many adults truly understand how they can be tracked by all that they do on a computer.

One solution I believe public institutions could provide to the community, is to offer classes for parents and their children to understand digital citizenship throughout all nine themes identified by Mike Ribble and to help them develop a positive footprint.  Most importantly to reinforce a solid understanding that everything they do now and in the future, will be able to be tracked by employers and universities.  As public institutions we need to inform all the generations how technology does not have to be a negative impact on education and our 21st century learners will be experiencing a different way to learn and share their knowledge with teachers, peers and others across the nation and world.

One additional website I found interesting to explore was The Digital Footprint of 3 Generations, which showed how the boomers, millinnials, and Generation X interacts with the digital world and how each group is leaving different levels of digital footprints.