Digital Citizenship vs. Citizenship
When I consider digital citizenship and citizenship, I believe there is a difference between the two concepts. By definition, citizenship as defined by dictionary.com is the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen. Citizenship reflects your status within a nation. A person’s citizenship is tied to their identity and can be difficult to change. When a person is a citizen of a particular country, they are able to enjoy the benefits of being a citizen.
On the other hand, digital citizenship can be defined as how a person behaves online. While both have similarities, digital citizenship is essentially a choice a person makes when interacting online. Since there is no real status level online, the act of citizenship is vastly different than in the digital realm when compared to the real world. I know that most will disagree with me, but based on my understanding of the two concepts, digital citizenship is optional, and a behavior based on what has been learned.
What part of Digital Citizenship is most important?
Digital access is the most important element to me, my class, school, and district as its foundation appears to be based on equity. It breaks my heart to see that so many people (students and teachers) lack the necessary access to digital learning. Many are without internet access and if they have it, experience major interruptions throughout the day. Many teachers lack the necessary skill set needed to navigate through the required technology.
How can one teach and learn about success when they are only somewhat successful?
Practically, I can advocate on behalf of my students by ensuring that when funds are available, I am putting the digital resource needs at the top of my list of purchases. We are a 1:1 district; however, in the event we are unable to provide each student with a computer, I can insist on creating a computer lab where students are able to have some sort of access to digital resources. My plight has been to make learning equitable for everyone. Additionally, I can create mini videos offering teachers at my school and in my district, technology tips that have proven to be very useful.
Final reflection
As I reflect on this week’s readings and videos, I realize that norms change daily (if not sooner) based on current trends, whether we are online or interacting with others in person. For this reason, we as educators, should be intentionally including digital citizenship into our daily curriculum. Just as digital use has become second nature, so should the discussions or assignments when it comes to teaching our students appropriate behaviors online. In order for educators to stay up to date regarding the latest norms, we must be purposeful when we learn for ourselves. Ensuring that students become honest, trustworthy, abide by rules while respecting the rights of others, is key to being a good digital citizen. As Ribble writes in his text, these topics should be explored and integrated into educational lessons (Ribble, 2015).
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society of Technology in Education. ISBN: 978-1-56484-364-7
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