Digital citizenship: Investigating Malaysian ESL educators’

awareness

Zarlina Mohd Zamari, Nor Ashikin Ab Manan, Johana Yusof

Iza Faradiba Mohd Patel,

UiTM Cawangan Perak, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, (MALAYSIA)

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in 2017 reported from its
survey that “the percentage of Internet users in 2016 was 76.9%. Approximately, there
were 24.5 million Internet users, an increased from 24.1 million in 2015”. It also
reported that 47% of internet users are those aged from 20 to 29 years old. As educators who
teach young adults in a higher learning institutions, we understand that these learners have
now become part of the digital citizens. There is a rising concern on issues pertaining
learners’ use of the Internet which involves ethics, culture and the society at large. Most
importantly, learners are expected to practise responsible use of the materials, systems and
everything that is related to digital facilities. This study, therefore, is framed with the notion
that since educators deal with young digital citizens, they must first be aware of the issues in
order to be able to recognize any abuse of technology, protect students from misuse of the
Internet and enhance their teaching and learning with the use of Internet or digital materials.
In order to investigate ESL educators’ awareness of digital citizenship, surveys and interviews
will be conducted to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data based on responses provided
by the subjects. In addition, the researchers would also like to find out the extent of
university’s knowledge in ethical use of the Internet. Data will be collected from the students
via questionnaires that will be distributed. The findings will be useful to guide ESL educators
in facing the challenge of shaping responsible digital citizens and for the students to manage
their positive engagement with the digital realm.

Keywords: Digital citizen, online ethics, abuse of technology, digital facilities

What is the current status of related research in Malaysia and abroad? How does your proposed research differ from
them?

At international level, the emerging technology has sparked numerous interests in the studies pertaining
the quality of both educators and students engagement with digital content and communities.
According to Yang and Chen (2010), the movement to address issues related to digital citizenship
began in the 1990s, in United Kingdom. Then, educators worked hand in hand to establish the right
ways to deal with the wealth of information offered online and the way students should handle their
online activities. As Internet access and the integration of online materials in education reached its peak
in the early 21st Century, in depth comprehension of the concept of digital citizenship started to take its
shape. One of the most significant exploration of Digital Citizenship is carried out by Ribble, Bailey
and Ross (2004) who later introduced the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship which are crucial to the
understanding and application of the right online protocols. Many researches have also looked at the
role of educators ( Howard, 2015 ; Jones, 2016; Logan, 2016; Synder, 2016) in integrating digital
citizenship into lessons and others explored the students involvement ( Hollandsworth, Donovan and
Welch, 2017; Lynch, 2018 ; Mathews, 2016; Ribble, 2015).

In Malaysia, emphasis is given on educators and students’ readiness in embracing the emerging
technology as presented in findings by Ming, Azman, Nambiar, Wah and Keong, 2009, Ming, Hall
and Azman, 2010, Nooryusrina, 2016, Ming and Alias, 2017. However, researches in the areas
concerning educators’ role in assisting students’ comprehension of ethics, culture and society in
relation to emerging digital technologies is unavailable. Another area that remains untouched is
whether or not educators themselves practices responsible use of digital technologies,

Introduction

Prior to writing this paper, the researchers asked a few ESL educators at random
about their understanding of “digital citizenship”. The immediate responses were
mostly in the form of another question such as “what is that?” and “what do you
mean?”. Uncertainties expressed by these educators is expected but upon further
reflection, it could signify a certain level of