Digital citizenship is the ability to use the internet and communicate with others via the internet in a safe and responsible way. It is different than digital literacy in the sense that digital literacy refers to how we use the internet while digital citizenship refers to how we communicate and portray ourselves whilst online. Examples of digital citizenship include how we communicate with co-workers or teachers online as well as what we are posting on our social media accounts. There is a scale for digital citizenship that goes from bad to good depending on how people use it and how they behave online, much like regular citizenship reflects on how we behave while out in public. An example of bad digital citizenship would be something like cyberbullying, while good digital citizenship would be developing the ability to empathize with people online and to grow relationships with people that they potentially have never met in person, or rarely see.
Digital citizenship is becoming more and more important due to COVID-19 and the fact that almost everybody is being forced to use the internet more frequently for work and school. However, in Canada especially it is important to remember that not all people throughout the country have access to the same internet connection and stability and could therefore make them feel that their own digital citizenship at risk. This could happen because if a student lives in a rural area with limited internet connection and perhaps other family members who also need to be online, the slow response time and potential dropping of programs will both hinder their ability to learn as well as connect with their fellow classmates and teachers. This is important to take into consideration when assessing digital citizenship amongst our students because as educators we need to understand that this is something beyond our student’s control and that because they are dropping from the online classroom it may not be because they are bad digital citizens.
Digital citizenship can be modelled in schools through lessons on internet safety and the protection of the privacy of themselves (the students) as well as others. A lesson plan could be constructed so that students can see examples of good and bad digital citizenship and then can put their knowledge of what a good digital citizen looks like into practice through use of project based learning. It is imperative for our students understand that being behind a computer screen and keyboard does not provide a sense of security or safety and that they need to be taking their online communications as seriously as they would a face-to-face communication. To better demonstrate to our future students on what good digital citizenship looks like we should also be ensuring that we are role-models for digital citizenship. This means always remaining professional with any online communication with students and their parents as well as with colleagues, whether this be through emails or teacher blogs/websites.
References
Applied Educational Systems. Business&ITCenter21 Catalog – Digital Citizenship: Applied Educational Systems. Business&ITCenter21 Catalog – Digital Citizenship | Applied Educational Systems. https://www.aeseducation.com/curriculum/business-education/digital-citizenship.
Stewart, B. (2020, September 28). How COVID-19 worsens Canada’s digital divide | CBC News. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-highlights-urban-rural-digital-divide-1.5734167.
Zook, C. (2019, December 10). What Is Digital Citizenship & How Do You Teach It? Digital Curriculum for CTE & Elective Teachers. https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-is-digital-citizenship.