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Utilizing the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship to expand growth

Ruben Ortegon

Lamar University

Dr. Federico Padovan – EDLD 5316

September 24, 2021

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Overview of the 9 elements

The 9 elements of digital citizenship are extremely important as they set the "rules" for

technology usage in the classroom or workplace. As an educator, I never knew that such things

existed. Several times students will ask me, "Why do I need to know this?" Given the

circumstances that we find ourselves in, students need to understand the benefits and

consequences of our digital experiences. It is difficult for me to discuss which one is most

important as I feel that they are all relevant and that they work with one another. Digital rights

and responsibilities is one that I put the greatest emphasis on in my classroom as I want both the

students and parents to understand that technology in my classroom is a privilege and should not

be taken for granted. I plan on teaching the 9 elements by introducing them according to my

lesson, where I see it will be relevant. I will discuss in greater detail so that students can see the

importance of applying them in their work.

Times are changing

I began my educational career in 2008. Social networking was gaining popularity and cell

phones were becoming more advanced in features. I still remember the "death of the flip phone."

The one thing that I have witnessed through the years is that technology has advanced in our

personal lives and education has followed right behind. It is more important today than ever

before to understand how to become a digital citizen. The problem is that many teachers are not

properly trained in the use of technology. Professional development is now offered to try and

prevent issues that arise rather quickly with the use of technology in the classroom. Take for

example the start of the pandemic, several teachers were simply not ready to begin instruction

via "Zoom". One must understand what it means to be a digital citizen in order to establish a

digital curriculum. Digital Citizenship is the “continuously developing norms of appropriate,

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responsible, and empowered technology” (Ribble, 2015). Notice that this is ever-changing,

continuously developing means that there is always going to be new and improved methods to

present information and empower the use of technology.

When teaching to my students, I at times forget that they are much more educated on how to

navigate cell phones and perhaps even computers. This is because I grew up in a different time

than they did. I recall an activity that we did in a professional development session on our

campus, this activity required us to get in a line according to seniority without using our voices

and we only had 10 minutes. Many of us began to write down our birthdays and the month that

we were born in, several hand gestures were used as well. We were able to accomplish the task

within the 10 minute time frame. Our instructor later revealed that middle school students finish

in 3-5 minutes, so of course many of us were baffled as to how. The answer was simple, they

used their cell phones and got in a group chat, shared their information, and whalaaa... they were

done. As educators we need to understand that our students are much more knowledgeable in

electronic usage. My daughters use "Siri," "Google '' and "Alexa" rather than picking up an

encyclopedia or dictionary or even going to the Library for research purposes. They have

knowledge at the touch of their fingertips. It is our responsibility to utilize this and teach digital

etiquette.

Education will now have to adapt to today's society. We need to become facilitators and allow

for students to use their critical thinking skills more than ever as they can simply "google"

answers for pretty much everything. Personally, I have learned to try something new every year

so that students can see that I myself am willing to take risks and learn more. This way students
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cannot just ask me "how do I do this?" because I do not know the answer myself. We will learn

how to figure this out by using our critical thinking skills and the technology that is available to

us. It seems like almost every teacher is an expert on "Zoom" now, why? because they were in a

sense forced to learn how to use it and it brought out creativity, communication, and other 21st

century skills needed.

Digital Laws, Etiquette, and Health and Wellness

Learning about digital footprints will help you understand why it is important to follow

all 9 elements of digital citizenship. Your digital footprint defines who you are on the web. Many

companies will “Google” you prior to even giving you an interview, it sets the foundation of who

they are dealing with. It is more important in modern times to watch what you do and say while

on the internet or social media, websites, social networking platforms. The reason is because

everything you post creates a digital trail also known as a digital footprint/tattoo. Before

technology individuals had to be resourceful in different ways, for example, getting off of your

vehicle and asking for directions was something individuals did when they were lost, nowadays

most used apps like Google Maps to find their destinations. I can also remember when Garmin

navigation devices were used in cars, these devices allowed users to find places nearby like food

and shelter, lodging, and gasoline stores. Smartphones/tablets/watches/computers have rendered

such things useless. Today’s modern phone costs upwards of nine-hundred dollars but it is an

excellent device for pretty much anything you will encounter that requires technology.

The issue with technology is that one needs to be careful what they post about themselves or

others. I have heard several stories of individuals getting fired from their jobs simply because
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they posted their views on a social media platform such as Facebook, or Twitter. One needs to

understand that what you say or do will be logged on the internet for all to see. Yes, privacy

settings do exist, however, they are not full proof and information that you wish to stay private

can be seen once there is a data breach. Today’s youth will be shaped by electronic devices in

some way shape or form, it is the world that they understand and it comes with pros and cons.

Our daughters do not know how to read a map, will they need to at some point? It is becoming

more evident that our world is advancing with technology and we need to adapt with caution. I

have yet created a social media account for fear of developing a negative digital footprint. I

understand that at some point it may be required of me but until then I will continue to adhere to

the 9 elements of digital citizenship while working online.

As part of this week's activity, I searched myself online to see what I would find, I was

pleasantly surprised to see that not much comes up about me other than the websites I have

created for my schools. In other words, I have kept it as professional as possible, I think I owe

this to the fact that I am not a big fan of social media. This does not mean that your information

is not being tracked, companies like Google use your browsing history to send offers or sales

your way. They track what you are doing and use it to their advantage. This means that what you

do online is never really private.

The lesson to learn is to always practice the 9 elements of digital citizenship and carefully choose

what you post on the web. Furthermore, it is good practice to Google yourself every so often so

that you are aware of your digital footprint.

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Reflection

Overall I have learned that all 9 elements of digital citizenship coincide with one another.

In order for anyone to succeed in the digital world, one must first have access to technology, you

cannot become a digital citizen unless you have a computer. I have also learned that digital laws

and etiquette have changed over the years. People from the past have been scrutinized, today’s

digital age has given voices to the unheard. Modern times have allowed easier access to

information and other forms to distribute such materials. Education as a whole has become much

more creative. For the last 4-5 years I have been pushing technology in the classroom in almost

every lesson that I teach. I learned that once you figure out how useful it could be, it would

facilitate both teaching and learning. Students in this day and age are very fluent in the use of

technology and I could understand why they would not want to do certain assignments.

Furthermore, I believe that they knew how to do the work faster and more efficient. There was a

time when I did not want to learn how to use apps like Google Classroom because I thought it

would be too difficult for me and my students to understand. Once I learned how to use it, I

never wanted to go back to traditional teaching. Students were able to post questions,

communication increased, grading became much easier, and instruction built 21st century skills.

Students need to have opportunities to grow as well as educators, the pandemic has shown us the

importance of being fluent with technology. The most significant threats are those that involve

network breaches, students cannot take an online test if the site is down for repairs, personal

information can be shared, cheating can still exist, students need to be taught the “rules of

online” so that they don’t abuse the system. The digital world can be very harmful or beneficial

depending on wheter you follow the 9 elements to digital citizenship.

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Conclusion

To conclude, I used Canva as my platform as it allows for creative videos to be shared

without the use of talking. In my classroom I always ask the students to create projects that are

unique to them, I try my hardest not to set too many limitations as I believe that this will kill

creativity. I enjoyed the “Mantra” portion of this assignment as it allows for creative thinking.

Likewise, I generate creative ideas to share with my students in the future, this is one that I will

utilize.

Eportfolio url: [Link]

References

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

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