EDLD 5316 Reflection for Week 1


Digital Citizenship Reflection
Mitchell Madden
Lamar University – EDLD5316

            As I went through the readings for the week, discussions, videos and assignments I noticed there was way more to digital citizenship then I initially thought. I also had a feeling that we have more work to do as a global community on teaching students and all digital citizens on proper digital citizenship. Ribble defines digital citizenship as, “the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use” (Ribble, 2015). My actual definition for digital citizenship is the safe, proper, legal, and ethical behavior that one should demonstrate in the digital world. All definitions that I came across had one theme in common, which was proper behavior in the digital world.
            I continued my learning of what it digital citizenship means and came across the nine elements of digital citizenship. Those nine elements were broken up into three categories and three principles. The principles were respect, educate, and protect and I felt a connection of all three. If we respect each other and demonstrate empathy for all human kind then we will protect each other from the negative aspects that have plague humans within the digital world. We do this through early and often educating students on what it is to be a good digital citizen. The nine elements that were mentioned were digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital security. I feel they are all important and we should teach our students about all of the elements constantly. I feel the most important one element to me would be digital etiquette. If we treat others like we would want to be treated and teach students how to properly use the internet then we would eliminate the issues that plague our society in the digital world. We experience cybercrimes such as identity theft, cyberbullying, and inappropriate behavior online because often students are not educated about the consequences or how to handle themselves in the digital world. Often students do not see digital citizenship the same as traditional citizenship because they feel they are hidden behind a screen. They are unaware of the consequences of their behavior and the affects it has on not just themselves, but all parties involved. It is so important for schools to teach students about proper digital citizenship by going over all the elements of good digital citizenship. We must teach character education and the importance of showing empathy so we are aware of the feelings of everyone. This is so important to do in school because most of our student’s parents lived in an era that they did not have the issues that face our students and children today. Technology is constantly changing at a fast pace and we must keep up with this change as educators so we can keep our students well informed and safe in the digital world.
            So as I conclude we have a job and obligation as educators to teach our students and children about being good digital citizens. We must cover all aspects of a digital citizen and the consequences of not being good citizens. We must lead by example and show empathy so we learn to respect all in the digital world. We are all connected in the digital world and should understand that the digital world is a global world. We are all connected at a click of a key unlike we were during our time as children. So it is so critical to keep up to date and teach our students early, often, and constantly what it is to be a good digital citizen.

References
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know
(3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education

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