EDLD 5316

Reflective Essay

Digital Citizenship

By Melanie Cockshott
 Digital Citizenship

Although born as part of the iGeneration, today’s kids are not born knowing how to

responsibly behave on the internet. Parents and schools spend countless years teaching kids good

manners and social responsibility. They learn about their political freedoms, civil rights, and

social obligations in order to become productive citizens. They are given years of opportunity to

practice these skills, and are gently retaught and redirected when they start to veer off track. Yet,

when it comes to their digital lives, we rarely provide any guidance or education on how to be

safe, responsible digital citizens. According to Common Sense Media’s 2019 census, just over

half of all teachers spend any time teaching digital citizenship (Vega & Roob, 2019), and yet

95% of teens report having a smartphone, or access to one (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The

increasing use of technology in our classrooms and by our students in their daily lives requires

that we, as teachers, incorporate some type of digital citizenship curriculum into our lessons on a

more consistent basis.

It has been suggested that the most effective method of teaching digital citizenship is not

as a stand alone curriculum, but rather as an embedded part of a well-rounded curriculum

(Mattson, 2018). Including opportunities for students to use technology within their everyday

lessons allows them to more authentically practice the various aspects of good digital citizenship.

In order to integrate our curriculum and the aspects of digital citizenship, however, we must first

learn what they are.

What is digital citizenship?

 Before this class if I had been asked what digital citizenship meant I would have

responded that it had to do with being kind to others while on the internet. That definition is not

completely wrong, just very shallow. I think that the reason many teachers fail to incorporate

digital citizenship into their curriculum is because, like me, they don’t realize the complexities of

what it means to be a responsible digital citizen. My eyes have been opened to the fact that

digital citizenship not only includes digital etiquette, but according to Ribble (2015) also

includes:

1. Digital Access: The ability to use technology. Full digital access includes both hardware

and software access, as well as reliable internet connections.

2. Digital Commerce: Using technology to buy and sell goods and services. Important

considerations are using secure sites for payment transactions, and being an informed

consumer.

3. Digital Communication: Digital interactions between ourselves and others. How we use

our devices to communicate with others, both personally and professionally has lasting

implications in the form of digital footprints and tattoos.

4. Digital Literacy: Educating others and ourselves on how to use technology effectively.

Becoming proficient users of technology is essential in the ever-changing technological

landscape.

5. Digital Etiquette: Socially agreed upon responsible digital behavior expectations. This is

not limited to how people behave when interacting digitally, but also when it is

appropriate to use technology in social situations.

 6. Digital Law: The legal ramifications underlying issues of technology use. Though often

unintentional, many people break these laws on a daily basis by ignoring copyright

protections and intellectual property rights.

7. Digital Rights and Responsibilities: Agreed upon boundaries and expectations of

members in a digital society. This includes the expectation that the legal rights of digital

work posted to the internet will be respected.

8. Digital Health and Wellness: The physical, emotional, and psychological health of

technology users. This includes the appropriate ergonomically correct set up of

hardware, and limits to usage in ways that could cause an over dependence or addiction

to technology.

9. Digital Security: Utilizing up to date hardware and software to protect private

information from hackers. This personal protection further protects both our professional

and social communities by preventing access to electronic data in our possession.

Ribble further categorizes these 9 elements into 3 sub-categories based on how they affect

student learning, behavior, and life outside the school environment (Ribble, 2015). The guiding

principles underlying these elements are based on a S3 framework- safe- protect yourself and

others; savvy-educate yourself and others; and social- respect yourself and others (Ribble &

Park, 2020).

How does this affect my students?

Entering fifth grade is a big step in our community, as it means moving from the

elementary campus to the intermediate campus. For many students it also means getting their
own cell phone for the first time. According to Pew research (2020), of the 17% of parents polled

who said their children had their own smartphone, 51% of them received them between the ages

of 9 and 11. These are the ages of students on our campus, and from my experience, the number

of 9-11 year olds with cell phones on our campus is much higher than those represented in the

research. The introduction of their own personal technology, in addition to new independence,

ushers in a variety of new issues in being part of a global digital community (Curran 2012).

These issues not only include digital citizenship, but also building an intentional digital tattoo,

and what to do if they are being cyberbullied.

Digital tattoos

It comes as a surprise to many students that everything they do on the internet contributes

to their overall digital tattoo. A digital tattoo consists of the traces left behind as you use the

internet. This tattoo can be used in a variety of ways by many different companies and people.

Search results, shopping recommendations, and even the news are shaped by your online usage

(Pariser, 2011). Many colleges and employers now use your digital tattoo as a way to investigate

you before they hire you or admit you into colleges. Part of our 21st century students’ education

should encompass teaching them how to build an intentional digital tattoo. While most 9-11 year

olds are not thinking ahead to what colleges may look at, or how their search histories can

influence various results, we are remiss if we don’t introduce the topic to them as part of a digital

citizenship curriculum.

Cyberbullying
 Unfortunately, with the addition to constant internet access and social media at this age

we also see a rise in cyberbullying. The majority of teenagers in the United States, 59%, say that

they have been cyberbullied (Anderson, 2018). For the tweens in our age group, this number is

slightly lower, about 20% (Patchin & Hinduja, 2020). Globally, this bullying can take the form

of name calling, harassment, spreading rumors, and threats. At our school we tend to see

spreading rumors and name calling most frequently. While many of these incidents take place

off school grounds, the repercussions of what is happening makes its way onto campus fairly

frequently. Being a victim of cyberbullying has been identified as an Adverse Childhood

Experience with long-term effects such as poor school performance, loneliness, and eating

disorders (Stopbullying.gov, 2017). Educating students on ways to prevent, avoid, and stop

cyberbullying should be an integral part of any digital citizenship plan.

My Digital Citizenship Plan

For this final project I chose to create a Nearpod lesson for my 5th grade classroom.

While I agree that many of the digital citizenship lessons I would like my students to learn this

year should be embedded in the curriculum for more authentic learning, I also feel that spending

the time to define and explain what digital citizenship is has its own benefits. After introducing

all 9 elements of digital citizenship, we will spend time focusing on the various social aspects of

being a responsible digital citizen, as this is the topic that most affects 5th graders navigating the

freedom of new technology. Nearpod allows for more interaction as we move through the

lessons. It gives my students a chance to voice their opinions and understanding throughout the
lesson, as well as allows me to monitor their comprehension and correct any misconceptions as

we progress through the slides.

Digital Citizenship Week is quickly approaching- October 18-22, and I will use this week

for my lessons. My Nearpod is organized in 5 10-15 minute lessons, one to be shared with my

class each day. The topics include:

1. What is digital citizenship?

2. Digital etiquette

3. Digital tattoos

4. Cyberbullying

5. Digital health and wellness

Following the week of lessons, and moving forward in the year, I will be mindful about

incorporating various digital activities that embed the opportunity to practice safe and

responsible digital habits. Access to technology is the norm in both schools and at home for 21st

generation students, it is therefore our responsibility as teachers to spend time educating our

students on what it means to be good digital citizens, and giving them the opportunity to practice

those skills within the safety of our classrooms.

 References

Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018, May 31). Teens, social media and technology 2018. Pew

Research Center.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/

Anderson, M. (2018, September 27). A majority of teens have experienced some form of

cyberbullying. Pew Research Center.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-s

ome-form-of-cyberbullying/

Auxier, B., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., & Turner, E. (2020, July 28). P arenting children in the age

of screens. Pew Research Center.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/07/28/parenting-children-in-the-age-of-screen

s/

Curran, M. (2012, June). iCitizen: Are you a socially responsible digital citizen? [Presentation]

International Society for Technology Education Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.

icitizen_paper_M_Curran.pdf .

Mattson, K. (2018, September 21). Embed digital citizenship in all subject areas. International

Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

https://www.iste.org/explore/Empowered-Learner/Embed-digital-citizenship-in-all-subjec

t-areas
Patchin, J., & Hinduja, S. (2020). Tween cyberbullying in 2020. Cyberbullying Research Center.

https://cyberbullying.org/tween-statistics

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd

ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Ribble, M., & Park, M. (2020, September 9). Making digital citizenship “stick.” Tech and

Learning. https://www.techlearning.com/resources/digital-citizenship-framework-updated

Stopbullying.gov. (2017) Bullying as an Adverse Childhood Event (ACE). 2017.

https://www.stopbullying.gov/sites/default/files/2017-10/bullying-as-an-ace-fact-sheet

.pdf.

Vega, V., & Robb, M. B. (2019). The Common Sense census: Inside the 21st-century classroom.

San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/2019-educator-c

ensus-inside-the-21st-century-classroom_1.pdf.