Digital Citizenship

     In the article, "Development of Youth Digital Citizenship Scale and Implication for Educational Setting," a study is conducted and analyzed about how adolescents use media and what digital citizenship means. They define digital citizenship as, "the process of preparing students for life in a world full of abundant skills" (Choi, Kim 156).  This specific study shows that the standards that are in place to implement digital citizenship are too vague and broad. Teachers aren't able to facilitate proper discussion because the standards are so broad and they don't have clear criteria. The article also discusses their model, S.A.F.E. as a way to teach digital citizenship. This means that they focus on self-identity, activity, fluency in tools, and ethics in the environment. This seems to be the solution to the vagueness of the digital citizenship standards. 

     I think this can be integrated effectively in my teaching through the development of conversation. Helping the students understand what is available to them online, and what it means to be responsible. I don't want to just use fear tactics when discussing the internet, I want them to know that it is a resource. I think I can implement the model from the article when developing lessons that fit under those topics. I think that in order to really teach digital citizenship in my content area, I will focus more on the tools and ethics that exist in the online community. There are so many tools that can be used to succeed in school, and I want to be able to expose my students to them. I will focus mostly on ethics when it comes to rules of creative ownership and copyright. I do see the first two aspects, self-identity and activity, to be key as well, and will integrate those into my teaching as I see fit. 

 

     My goals for teaching digital citizenship in a secondary classroom really lie in making sure the students are being responsible for their footprint online, and that they aren't afraid of the internet. I think sometimes parents are so afraid of what could go on during an online interaction that in order to help the student see the value in the internet they may need outside help. My goal is to give them this. These will hopefully help my students understand how to contribute to the online world in more positive ways than viewing millions of cat videos. I also hope that if they do go on to college, they will be able to use online tools effectively. This shapes my vision for empowered learning because I want each student to leave my class feeling like they learned how to read and write better, but also know how to be a responsible adult that knows something outside of mainstream academia when they leave high school. 

Minjeong, Kim and Dongyeon Choi. "Development of Youth Digital Citizenship Scale and Implication for Educational Setting." Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 21, no. 1, Jan 2018, pp. 155-171. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx.