ISTE 5 Module – Digital Citizenship

How can we help students understand safety, cultural, and privacy issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior?

My Triggering Event Question: How is digital citizenship defined, and where should the focus be for implementation in schools?

Resource: Digital Citizenship Focus Questions for Implementation (Ribble and Bailey, 2004)

Link to Article: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ695806.pdf

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)’s Standard 4 set forth the following learning targets for students: “1) Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology, 2) exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity, 3) demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning, and 4) exhibit leadership for digital citizenship” (ISTE, 2007). For this blog post, I will focus on digital citizenship.

Heick (2013) provides readers with the following definition of digital citizenship, “The self-monitored habits that sustain and improve the digital communities you enjoy or depend on”. In light of this definition, it is very obvious that digital citizenship is imperative as students learn through the use of technology. Leading me to ask the question: Where should the focus be for implement

9 Categories of Focus 

ation in schools? To answer this question, I chose Ribble and Bailey (2004)’s Digital Citizenship Focus Questions for Implementation. Although it is not your typical resource, Ribble et al. (2014) ask focus questions that allow for discussion and the appropriate steps for creating an action plan in regards to the implementation of digital citizenship in schools. Ribble et al. (2014) provides nine categories of focus that were found in an extensive search of hundreds of articles that entailed the issue of digital citizenship. The categories are as follows: Etiquette, communication, education, access, commerce, responsibility, rights, safety, and security. Before administrators and educators develop a plan for implementing digital citizenship, they must first consider each of these categories in regards to their student population and school. For example, in the category of communication, “How does a school district create a digital citizenship program that affords students the opportunity to make good decisions when faced with many options?” (Ribble et al., 2014). This is the type of debate and dialogue that is necessary for starting the conversation. Allowing me to answer my question by saying that the focus should be on answering questions within Ribble et al. (2014)’s nine categories in order to implement digital citizenship in schools.

References

Heick, T. (2013, May 02). Definition Of Digital Citzenship. Retrieved March 09, 2017, from http://teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/digital-citizenship-the-future-of-learning/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students.

Ribble, M. S., & Bailey, G. D. (2004). Digital Citizenship Focus Questions For Implementation. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(2), 12-15.