Digital Citizenship Reflection...

The teaching of Digital Citizenship should begin as a child begins to use technology to access the outside world. In many cases, this can be as young as three years old. There are tools available for educators and parents to use in which to help them prepare children of all ages as to the safe and appropriate internet use.  It should be treated as another life skill, such as "stranger danger" and washing one's hands before dinner, and introduced based on the child's age and cognitive development.  So, the teaching process should begin early and continue to evolve as technology changes and as the child matures. Because the use of technology encompasses every facet of life today, teachers and parents should offer instruction and set thoughtful and reasonable guidelines for the child to follow. It is extremely important for adults to ensure that their children are safe by setting physical limitations with respect to Internet use and to stay abreast of the technical tools, such as the use of firewalls and filters, which aid them in doing this. It’s also important to teach kids to behave, electronically, in ways that are consistent with the values the parents wish to impart to their children, such as honesty, integrity and good manners. 

There are comprehensive lesson guidelines for online behavior for students of varying ages.  A particularly good one is from Common Sense Media, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum. For example, a K-2 children would be taught to ask permission from a parent or teacher to go online, while learning the importance of passwords and keeping private information to themselves, whereas, students at the high school level need to be taught the long-term ramifications of such things as hate speech, sending elicit pictures over the internet or plagiarizing the work of others.

The nine elements of Digital Citizenship http://digitalcitizenship.net/Nine Elements is a good framework that can be applied to the classroom, and to the personal environment for people of all ages. (Bad online behavior certainly isn’t limited to those under 18!)  As incredible as technology can be, social media such as Facebook and Twitter often invite silly, rude and even dangerous behavior and don't have any obvious place in the classroom.  The benefits of using the many excellent teaching applications, however, are numerous as long as they are carefully considered and implemented by the teacher.  I believe that technology in the classroom should not include personal cell phones, or like devices. Students should leave their cell phones at home, or at least in their lockers. I have personal experience with a high school child attending a private, catholic school and another attending a public high school. The former did not allow cell phone use in the school during school hours. The classrooms had plenty of high-tech tools in which to use for lessons, internet access, and classroom collaboration, but the lessons were clearly defined with careful oversight. Conversely, my public school child often complains of students so focused on their social media, they literally zone out during class, clearly oblivious to any education the teacher is trying to provide. Engaged? No way!  Disengaged? You bet! Clearly, a case of free-for-all technology in the classroom gone awry and I venture to guess that the term "Digital Citizenship" was never used.  (I digress...)

My take-away regarding Digital Citizenship as it relates to the classroom, is simply that the rules need to be taught and followed if the classroom is to enter the virtual world as there is too much at risk for the school and the students in failing to do so. But, decisions to use technology in the classroom should not be based on the fear that a small minority of students will misuse it.  In my opinion, the gains to the classroom far outweigh the pitfalls... as long as it's well managed and age-appropriate.