What is Digital Citizenship?
- A license to drive on the information superhighway?
- A signed certificate of completion from Al Gore?
- A set of ethics regarding the use of the internet?
IN 2010, Marc Prensky stated that "our ethical core is our number one concern" in regards to technology. We truly do have an ethical challenge.
As teachers what is our responsibility?
- Use websites like commonsense.org to help our students with online conduct.
- Cyber-bullying awareness in class and online.
- Teaching ethical behavior and character lessons to our students.
- "The best filter is between our ears..."
- Using both parents and community members to help re-inforce our feelings on the subject.
Topics
- Privacy- digital footprints
- Credibility and community behavior
- Authenticity and plagiarism
All of these issues have come up in our classrooms, but what are we doing about it? As teachers we are the last line of defense, we may be the only people teaching these children the difference between right and wrong. Their parents are not always the best role models, nor are their siblings or friends, so it is up to us to model and uphold the correct behavior.
If our students are to be college and career ready they need to understand the importance of these ethical issues.
The University of California, at Berkeley, simply states:
The University of California’s Statement of Ethical Values and Standards of Ethical Conduct commits everyone in the UC community to the highest ethical standards in furtherance of the University’s mission of teaching, research, and public service.
The Statement of Ethical Values identifies the University of California’s core ethical values as:
- Integrity,
- Excellence,
- Accountability, and
- Respect.
A number of our students are cheating, they are bullying, they are taking zero responsibility and acting with a lack of integrity.
If these things are happening in our classes, then we are either allowing it to happen or teaching them to do it?
So, what will you do?
I think this is a very interesting topic in education right now. As we have read in many of our recent articles, our students are at the crossroads of a digital society, while many of the educators are still looking for the road map. As a result, many teachers claim to be unfit when addressing digital literacy with their students. However, as Andy so aptly wrote, "The best filter is between our ears." Teaching digital literacy is no different than teaching right from wrong. Technology simply provides students a different format in choosing how to enact their personal morals. I agree that students need to understand their personal ethics and then apply those ethics to the tools they are using. It is our job to ensure that they understand and enact these proper values.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andy's comment, and I think it goes well with the old saying, "Don't believe everything you read." It is amazing the number of my students who believe something is true simply because they saw it on the internet. It's like that State Farm commercial practically everyday in my room. Now, granted, my students are young, but if we don't start this teaching of digital right or wrongness at an early age, we'll continue to see generations of people who take advantage of others.
DeleteThis post helps me think ahead to the coming school year. I appreciated the video (a very nice resource) and post because, while I already teach about digital safety, plagiarism, and digital etiquette, I see that I need to really beef up my curriculum on digital citizenship, cyber bullying, and digital footprint. This discussion really opens up my eyes to the wealth of information available about digital citizenship. In trying to find more specific information on digital citizenship for elementary students, I found two useful articles: from Edutopia, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-citizenship-mary-beth-hertz; from The Journal (a technology and education site), http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/04/18/5-tips-for-teaching-digital-citizenship-in-the-elementary-classroom.aspx. I really liked how the video showed interactive lessons on digital citizenship--lots of ideas for curriculum.
ReplyDeleteGood post here - teachers are absolutely the last line of defense and have a huge responsibility to role model and teach ethics, especially when it comes to technology. We need to realize this (I believe many do, especially those in education) and use it as leverage. We've now thrown technology into the laundry list of things our teachers are charged with modeling and instructing, but I'd argue that this isn't a huge difference than what's been done in the past. It ultimately comes down to ethics and moral choices. If we can teach that to our students, they will make good decisions and be a good digital citizen, regardless of how much or little they know about technology.
ReplyDeleteI am agreeing with Christian's thought that "teachers are absolutely the last line of defense and have a huge responsibility to role model and teach ethics..." and it brought to mind for me that teachers may be students' first, if not only, instructors of digital safety and citizenship, especially for the youngest students. I frequently ask my elementary students if their parents or an adult monitors their online use at home, and often the answer is no (very frightening). So teachers may not only be the last line of defense, they might be the only adult voices teaching ethics and safety.
DeleteI think this is the unfortunate reality - many parents find themselves lacking these digital skills and knowledge so then don't know how or what to teach their children. I don't believe this is the fault of the parents, although I do think there are steps they can and should take to at least be somewhat proactive. I think it is our responsibility to educate because technology does and will continue to play a huge role in education and life in general. I'm sure that many will agree with me when I say education is much more than the academic skills and knowledge - it teaches many life skills that will benefit our students no matter what direction they go after they graduate.
DeleteI agree that education is much more than the academic skills and knowledge. The most significant memories I have from my early education do not involve memorizing math facts or important dates in history. It the experiences I had that directly applied to my current life experiences that I remember today. I think digital citizenship definitely falls into this category.
DeleteI couldn't agree more that teaching digital literacy is not different than teaching morals and ethics. You don't need to know how a device works in order to teach a kid what is right and wrong to do with it.
DeleteGreat post- very poignant for a lot of people, I think. For example, today, as I am driving home from Florida, I am using my phone's hotspot to blog...(never tried this before, but I love surfing the internet in a car). But, as I am driving, I noticed that there is a SECOND device using my hotspot- one I don't recognize. Looks like someone is piggybacking off my phone! Seems like this person could use a lesson in digital citizenship!
ReplyDeleteAs technology is everywhere, we must have some sort of defense against people who do not ethically utilize what we are given. A lot of people assume that since they don't have to pay (or pay very little) that internet and technology can be taken for granted- a platform for whatever they want to do. Yet, few people actually realize how much of the daily doings are recorded in some warehouse out in Nebraska. Not everyone is going to be safe or ethically use the newest technology, but it is our duty to do our best and supply the newest generations with an understanding of digital citizenship.
First off, that is interesting that you see you hotspot being used! Do you have a password set on it? That car must be following along very closely.
DeleteI agree. We must arm ourselves as best as we can from those who are not as ethical by educating this generation on digital citizenship. If we don't educate them then someone else will and they may or may not have our students best interest at heart.
Your quote is spot on to the truth: "teachers are absolutely the last line of defense and have a huge responsibility to role model and teach ethics..." This is so true for many of our students. We have the responsibility as educators to model appropriate behavior and integrity in the classroom, as well as in the digital world. Often parents do not hold students to any particular "digital standard", in part because they are not aware of the issues surrounding digital world in which they live. We need to ensure that students are aware of appropriate and professional digital perimeters, not only to prepare them for their futures, but also to ensure any negative actions today do not affect them in five or twenty or years from now.
ReplyDeleteI liked that quote as well. We are some of our students biggest role models and it our job to teach them ethics.
DeleteThis is probably one of the most discussed topics when it comes to technology. You brought up some great points about how we are sometimes the last line if not the only line of defense for the students when it comes to digital citizenship.
ReplyDeleteI was sitting in a meeting the other day when someone asked the question of whether or not we are truly preparing our students to be college and career ready. As I was reading your post, I couldn’t help but think that we do so much work when it comes to academics and preparing our students for the future. However, I worry that we do not do enough when it comes to teaching them how to use technology appropriately. We don’t have a class that teaches the proper way to use the internet and resources. While we all work on this in our classroom, is that really enough to fully prepare our students? My thoughts are that we are doing the best that we can in the classroom but I feel that there is a true opportunity for our district to design a course that all Oak Hills students should take either during middle school or high school that deals not only with digital citizenship but typing and other important skills computer related skills is we are going to prepare them for the technological world they will be working in.
This has been a very hot topic lately in the field of education. As technology continues to evolve there continues to be a need to educate our students on how to become better digital citizens. The tricky part is when does it become a home issue rather than a school issue? The bottom line to me is that, as educators it is our job to prepare our students for the future. If that means we need to teach them what to do and what not to do with technology, than that is what we need to teach!
ReplyDeleteIt is most definitely our responsibility as educators to teach students digital citizenship. We often say students skills are below grade level or they can't keep up because there is no parental support at home. If we don't teach digital citizenship at school, then we are going to be saying the same thing about our students not having digital common sense. We will be saying that our students parents just let their children get on the internet and do not monitor their kids. When in reality, they don't know what to monitor or even how to monitor. In many cases, it's a lack of parental knowledge rather than a lack of parental responsibility.
DeleteDigital citizenship is so vitally important in today's day and age. Just like we wouldn't expect parents to teach our students Calculus, we shouldn't expect our parents to teach our students (their children) digital citizenship. Not because the parents of our students don't care, but because they can't. They simply just don't know how. The digital age is continuing to widen and deepen and our students need to know how to navigate the minefields that they are presented on a daily basis. Students need to be aware of cyber-crime, cyber-scams, cyber-bullying and other digital crimes. They don't need to know how to just avoid becoming victims, but they also need to know when their behaviors take them from being a victim to being a culprit.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I agree with all of the above... if we can't show them then who will? Just like we discuss in class we have that responsibility. Our students are growing up in a pivotal age of ever changing technology..that even we are having a hard time keeping up with. But as stated by many, it is vital that we prioritize and teach them about digital digital citizenship. Assisting them to be aware and wise about all of the dangers is an important thing to know.
ReplyDeleteAre our teachers allowing this to happen?
ReplyDelete