Promoting and Modeling Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

"Promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility" is the focus of National Educational Technology Standard #4 which boils down to this question: How do we as educators facilitate appropriate technology use? Currently, many school districts have the following to meet this standard such as: technology policies, staff, parents and students technology agreements, and software which blocks inappropriate Internet sites. However, is this enough to truly promote responsible digital citizenship? Or do we need more? As I searched the Internet for information on this topic, I found an interesting article which is part of Leading and Learning with Technology, Volume 32, Number 1, created by Mike S. Ribble, Gerald D. Bailey, and Tweed W. Ross titled simply, "Digital Citizenship." The article defines digital citizenship as "the norms of behavior with regard to technology use." Sounds simple enough, but what are the norms? Again the article lists nine areas of behavior of digital citizenship which include:

• "Etiquette - electronic standards of conduct and procedure,


• Communication - electronic exchange of information,


• Education - the process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology,


• Access - full electronic participation in society,


• Commerce - electronic buying and selling of goods,


• Responsibility - electronic responsibility for actions and deeds,


• Rights - those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world,


• Safety - physical well-being in a digital technology world, and


• Security (self-protection) - electronic precautions to guarantee safety."

The article continues with examples and strategies for each norm for behavior. This made me think as an educator am I doing enough to facilitate my students becoming responsible digital citizens? This question prompted another search for digital citizenship lesson plans--ReadWriteThink to the rescue. This online lesson plan resource, which displays plans focused on meeting standards as well as teachers' needs, had several lessons for teaching different aspects of digital citizenship. (Check it out.)

As of now, this investigation of digital citizenship continues...