The Age of Digital Citizenship - ED 6376

 

The Age of Digital Citizenship 

When defining digital citizenship, it is the responsible use of technology by users in different digital environments. With current society being technology-driven, digital citizenship has now become part of everyday life. As stated in the Research and insights behind the Common Sense K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, Digital and social technologies have become increasingly pervasive and are now arguably indispensable tools for navigating our world. Today's young people lead profoundly connected and networked lives (James, Weinstein, Mendoza 2019). Users must be knowledgeable about how they use technology and what can happen as resulting implications. There is a whole other digital world out there where people are active citizens within it. Technology is used daily in our modern-day society, anywhere from smartphones, computers, tablets, smart televisions, and many more.  Just like one is expected to be a good citizen in their actual community, one is now expected to be a good digital citizen as well. Citizens must know how to navigate their online environments in a productive way that will not negatively impact others or themselves. They must exhibit empathy towards other digital citizens and understand how people act and behave appropriately online.  As well as be aware of their digital footprint where everything users do online is never truly “deleted”. As indicated in Research and insights behind the Common Sense K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, Students consider the benefits and risks of online sharing and explore how their digital expressions affect their sense of self, their reputations, and their relationships. They focus on the dispositions of "exploring perspectives" and "envisioning options and possible impacts" (James, Weinstein, Mendoza 2019). As digital citizens, they need to learn how to maneuver these spaces respectfully. When digital citizens participate actively as a part of online communities, there comes great responsibility with so much freedom to roam the Internet and platforms. As reported by the Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, The modern hypermedia environment provides users with a high degree of freedom in navigating through different domains of knowledge but also presents them with problems arising from the need to construct knowledge from large quantities of independent pieces of information, reached in a nonlinear, “unordered” manner(Eshet, 2004). 

The age of digital citizenship has impacted teaching and learning alike. Technology has shifted the way students learn from a more traditional approach to education to a more student-centered, technology-driven form of instruction. As technological advances continue to flourish especially within educational systems, it is evident that digital literacy skills are a necessity to have. In order to keep up with the wave of the future, educators and students alike must hone their digital skills and fine-tune them to meet their technology needs. Without adequate skills, students will struggle through their educational journey and possibly even most careers. It is no longer a luxury to be technical savvy, it is a competency that all people need to have in order to thrive. 

For one to become a productive digital citizen, one must acquire strong digital literacy skills. Without the vital technological foundation necessary to build these digital literacy skills, there will be difficulties maneuvering through this technology-driven world. When one thinks of “literacy”, one usually correlates it to reading and writing because the definition of literate is the ability to read and write. Generally, one does not think in a digital or technological sense. Digital literacy is being competent and knowledgeable in a specific area of technology and have the skills required to utilize it effectively. As noted in the Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Digital literacy involves more than the mere ability to use software or operate a digital device; it includes a large variety of complex cognitive, motor, sociological, and emotional skills, which users need in order to function effectively in digital environments (Eshet, 2004).  These skills then correlate to that of being responsible digital citizens. One utilizes their digital skill set when interacting within online environments. Using devices and handling information, creating and editing. As well as when communicating and transacting with others on these platforms. 

In conclusion, the ultimate form of good digital citizenship is being safe and responsible online. Learners and teachers use their digital skills as part of their educational process and it is crucial to exhibit them effectively and appropriately. Eshet (2004) indicates that, Cyberspace has its own unwritten rules. It is not only a global village; more precisely, it is a jungle of human communication, embracing an infinite quantity of information, true and false, honest and deceptive, based on goodwill and evil. Activity in cyberspace may be risky for immature, innocent users who do not understand the “rules of the game”.

References

Eshet, Y. (2004). Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival Skills in the Digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106. Norfolk, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved October 27, 2022 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/4793/.

James, C., Weinstein, E., & Mendoza, K. (2019). Teaching digital citizens in today's world: Research and insights behind the Common Sense K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum. Common Sense Media.