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CUIN 6320

Dr. Bulent Dogan

December 7, 2020

Digital Citizenship Top 10 List

Technology in the classroom, especially in the virtual-education era of the coronavirus

pandemic, isn’t something that educators should ban entirely from their classroom by any means.

Integrating technology in your learning environment can be highly beneficial for a student’s

engagement and interest in learning material. However, it is important that we make sure our

students are able to use technology in the most beneficial way for their education. Here are the

top 10 ways to upkeep digital citizenship in your learning environment, and how to use

technology in safe and healthy ways.

1. Teach students digital fluency

Digital fluency is an element of digital citizenship all about understanding technology

and knowing how to effectively use it (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2020). By showing them

the learning purposes of technology and the right ways to take advantage of opportunities for

technology use in education, they are more likely to make safe, productive choices in their

consumption of technology. The article “What is digital fluency?” by Karen Spencer for the

Digital Leaning Collaborative provides very useful information on the subject (Digital Learning

Collaborative, 2020).

2. Managing students’ learning via technology

If concerns about maintaining quality classroom management or student safety are what’s

stopping you from utilizing technology in your classroom, focus on some strategies to manage

the use of technology in your classroom. This will allow you to still provide your students with

the opportunity to use technology in their learning, but also will help them stay on track and use
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technology for learning purposes only. The article “Managing Technology Use In Your

Classroom” from TEACH Magazine (Hume) provides some essential tips for this process.

3. Teach students to properly take care of their device

Whether students are borrowing technology from the school to use at home or in the

classroom, or it’s their own personal device, knowledge about the right way to take care of their

device is important. Let them know to not eat or drink around the computer, leave their devices

in a place where they could be stepped on or damaged, or let the device get too hot. Also, tell

them to handle the device gently when they’re transporting it or using it in general.

4. Show students digital etiquette

Especially in virtual education, it is vital that students know that just because they can’t

be seen behind the keyboard doesn’t mean they still shouldn’t be kind and considerate to others.

Teaching children about digital etiquette can help decrease the risk of them becoming

cyberbullies (Gordon, 2019). In fact, it can even help them build a positive reputation online

(Gordon, 2019). Show your students that their posts and messages should be positive and

truthful, they should double-check messages before hitting send, and they should treat others

how they would like to be treated. The article. “5 Things to Teach Your Kids About Digital

Etiquette” from Sarah Gordon (2019) for Verywell Family provides very helpful information

about teaching children about digital etiquette.

5. Advocate for digital access

In an era where technology is almost essential in education, it is vital that all students

have reliable access to a device and the internet. However, not all students have this opportunity

easily available to them. As an educator, especially one teaching during the coronavirus

pandemic, make an effort to check-in with your students and their families about their access to
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technology and their availability to use it in your classroom. Also, take some time to educate

yourselves about the issues with digital access in education. The article “Resources for Closing

the Digital Divide” from Edutopia (Edutopia, 2016) has many useful resources and articles on

the subject.

6. Teach students how to troubleshoot their technology issues

As a teacher that uses, or is planning on using, technology in your classroom, according

to the National Education Association (2018) when something isn’t working on the computer

you’re going to hear a lot of, “My computer is broken”, in addition to “I think I need another

computer”. Since many of the common errors that you might come across while using

technology in the classroom don’t require intensive experience in IT (National Education

Association, 2018), a useful strategy to adopt in your learning environment is showing students

how they can troubleshoot their issues with technology. In the article “Your Computer Isn’t

Broken: Quick Tech Fixes for Students” by Jacqui Murray (2019) for the National Education

Association, you’ll find the common errors and solutions for typical classroom technology

problems.

7. Encourage proper digital communication and collaboration

Another element of digital citizenship is digital communication and collaboration, which

is the electronic exchange of information (Ribble, 2017). Technology gives us plenty of

opportunities to encourage our students to work together in their education. However, we need to

show them how to properly communicate and collaborate digitally so it’s in a healthy, positive,

and productive way. You can do this by considering the communication and access needs of

different learners, teaching students the different norms of communication in different settings

(York St John University, 2019), and other strategies that are identified on the helpful “Digital
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Communication, Collaboration and Participation” page from the Technology Enhanced Learning

department at York St John University (York St John University, 2019).

8. Emphasize the importance of online privacy

Even though the internet is home to many great uses for technology in education, it can

also be a dangerous place if you don’t keep solid online privacy habits. Without online privacy,

people can fall victim to cyberbullying, tracking, hacking and scams, misuse of your personal

information, and more (Cohen, 2018). To teach your students about their online privacy, the

Privacy Commissioner of Canada created a variety of resources, lesson plans, activities, and

more for educators to use (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 2019).

9. Protect students from malware

In addition to making sure students keep their devices safe on the outside, they also need

to know to make sure to keep their devices’ software safe from harm. Malicious software, or

malware, can be dangerous for computers. Malware can erase or deny access to files, perform

tracking, disable your computer, and more (Denver Public Library). Teach your students about

what malware could be spread through, the damage it can cause, and the best practices to prevent

it. The Denver Public Library created a great lesson plan for teaching about malware (Denver

Public Library).

10. Prioritize students’ health and wellbeing in relation to technology

For so many reasons, technology is wonderful. However, with any good thing, too much

of it and the improper use of it can cause concerning effects. Make sure to consider your

students’ health in wellbeing in relation to their use of technology. For example, consider

possible limitations on screen time, teach students and their parents about proper ergonomics for

computer use, and educate yourself on what electronic addiction can look like in children. PBS
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LearningMedia has created a great selection of videos on aspects of digital health and wellbeing

for students of all grades (PBS LearningMedia), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services’ has a great webpage on prevention of harm related to ergonomics (U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services).

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References

Cohen, T. (2019, February 7). ​Educating Kids About Digital Privacy​. EdCan Network.
https://www.edcan.ca/articles/educating-kids-about-digital-privacy/.

Denver Public Library. ​Viruses & Malware Basics​.

https://www.denverlibrary.org/ctc/viruses-and-malware-basics.

Edutopia. (2016, June 21). ​Resources for Closing the Digital Divide​. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-technology-access-resources.

Gordon, S. (2019, November 21). ​5 Things Every Kid Needs to Know About Online Communication​.

Verywell Family.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/things-to-teach-your-kids-about-digital-etiquette-460548.

Murray, J. (2018, December 5). ​Your Computer Isn't Broken: Quick Tech Fixes for Students​. NEA.

https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/your-computer-isnt-broken-quick-tech

-fixes-students.

Hume, K. ​Managing Technology Use in Your Classroom​. TEACH Magazine.

https://teachmag.com/archives/3510.

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (2019, July 31). ​Resources for teachers​. Office

of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/awareness-campaigns-and-events/p

rivacy-education-for-kids/resources-for-teachers/.

PBS LearningMedia. ​Digital Health and Wellness.​

https://houstonpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/engineering--technology/technological-

literacy/digital-citizenship/digital-health-and-wellness/.
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Ribble, M. (2017). ​Nine Elements​. Digital Citizenship.

https://www.digitalcitizenship.net/nine-elements.html.

Spencer, K. (2020, March 16). ​What is digital fluency?​ Digital Learning Collaborative.

https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/blog/what-is-digital-fluency.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ​Prevention.​ National Institutes of Health.

https://www.ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/HealthAndWellness/Ergonomics/Pages/prevention.as

px

York St John University. (2019, October 9). ​Digital Communication, Collaboration and

Participation​. Technology Enhanced Learning.

https://tel.yorksj.ac.uk/digital-communication-collaboration-and-participation/.