Definition of Digital Citizenship

• In this Blog, we will explore what is meant by the term...

 Digital Citizenship and how to operate in it. 

Digital Citizenship in its simplest definition means,

A digital citizen refers to a person utilizing information technology (IT) in order to engage in society, politics, and government. K. Mossberger, et al. define digital citizens as "those who use the Internet regularly and effectively"     

The expanded definition of Digital Citizenship can be broken down into 9 Elements, every two weeks we will discuss 1 of the 9 Elements in detail and some points of interest. The 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship are:

1. Digital Access
2. Digital Commerce
3. Digital Communication
4. Digital Literacy
5. Digital Etiquette
6. Digital Law
7. Digital Rights and Responsibilities
8. Digital Health and Wellness
9. Digital Security

The Purpose of the 9 Elements has been identified to help educators and users with a variety of topics that make up Digital Citizenship and an orderly way to address them. These elements are not a set of rules etched in stone, but rather a way to visualize the challenges facing all technology users. These elements are a starting point to help students operate in mature Digital Citizenship. Depending on the situation, some of the elements may be focused on more in-depth by technology leaders while others more by teachers.

View all 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship Definitions

This week we will focus on #1 Digital Access

Digital Access - Full electronic participation in society. Can all users participate in a digital society at acceptable levels if they chose to?

Keys words or phrases for Digital Access

• digital divide 
• technology and the disabled
• technology access
• technology and minority groups
• digital dirt road divide

In short, these terms refer to an apparent distinction between the have's and the have not's, as for which users or potential users have access to technology, or is there an equitable distribution of technology to all potential users regardless of their circumstances?

Teachers and administrators should be well aware that we exist in a digital society within a digital world and therefore our students need to be well versed in the knowledge and skill and digital literacy of digital educational devices, in order for our students to be able to effectively navigator in meaningful careers and businesses in this highly competitive digital world, they will need to operator in the elements of Digital Citizenship.

What needs to be done? be sure there is

• Equitable access for all students
• accommodations for students with special needs
• programs for increasing access to technology outside of school

An example inappropriate access to technology

• School administrators in an effort to cut back on paper usage, create a policy that requires all future forms needed for children to participate in school activities must be done online. Doing this does not take into consideration the groups of individuals who do not have appropriate access to the needed technology resources. 

An example of appropriate access to technology

• School administrators, first take a consensus of their population and their needs, and where they are lacking in technology,  administrators will provide a parent center on the school grounds or help to obtain a public library card for access to public library resources and library computer or one-to-one laptop use so parents have access to technology to meet digital requests  and/or school policies and procedures.

                                             Web Resources for Digital Access

                                 Public Broadcasting Report on the Digital Divide
                                  www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/digital_divide

                                       Bridging the Digital Divide in Vista California:
                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lgzzAimUlU

                         The U.S. Department of Education Reports on the Digital Divide:
                                                              https://tech.ed.gov/

                 WatchLearnKnow.org - Cyberbullying and Digital Citizenship (YouTube.com)
                http://www.watchknowlearn.org/SearchResults.aspx? SearchText=digital+citizenship

I chose this video which reflects on digital citizenship because now that we as a people have become immersed in this age of digital technology which is not going away, we as adults need to be well versed in Digital Citizenship so we can maneuver effectively down the road of digital technology, and we should be able to guide and train our children and students to be digital citizens as well. When I was doing some research on cyberbullying I was under the impression that digital citizenship only applied to one's behavior while on the internet, but now I have come to realize that the term digital citizenship is broader and encompasses an array of elements that can fully enrich the users of digital technology in such a way to make each more literate and skillful as individuals and thus as a society, so we may have the potential to affect growth in digital citizenship, globally.

In this weeks' blog, we focused on the importance of Digital Access, as it relates to equitable access for all students. In order for us to see a realization of global citizenship, we must first achieve this in our society, and in order for us to accomplish this  in our society we must first fulfill the task of closing the digital divide amongst the individuals in our society who have been treated as the disenfranchised group, the so-called, unimportant group, because they do not have access to the tools of digital educational technology, or those unable to use it in the same way as the populace uses the technology. In my other course work, I am learning the importance of accessible technologies and information, meaning, regardless of one circumstance of economic ability or physical ability, we as educators and a society must find ways to bring access of digital technologies to all, in order for us to truly advance as individuals, a society and globally.

Stay tuned for next week's blog on Digital Citizenship, Element #2 - Digital Commerce

References

Duncan, B. (2017, February 07). Digital Equity: Bridging the Digital Divide. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lgzzAimUlU


Digital Citizenship in Schools, Second Edition. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iQ4YBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT15&dq=definition of digital citizenship&ots=ZPvFhrrzmv&sig=EWldDU5kFeZeLeiXIZQfxDysubo#v=onepage&q=definition of digital citizenship&f=false