After reading both articles, I have learned that, according to Bailey, Ribble, and Ross (2004), Digital Citizenship is defined as standard actions to follow when using technology (pg. 7). Within the behavioral norms of digital citizenship, there are nine different sections (pg. 7). Bailey, Ribble, and Ross (2004) mentions that these include “etiquette, communication, education, access, commerce, responsibility, rights, safety, and security” (pg. 7). All of these terms encompass the importance of ethics, and the ways in which technology is implemented into society. It is vital to give author’s credit for their work, as it is the moral thing to do, and encourages them to continue producing and creating. If ethics are not being met online, authors are less inclined to share information and we are abusing our technology privileges. Besides the negative effects that technology can bring, digital citizenship also includes the positive ways technology has expanded business, communication, and education in schools. It is also important that we are “helping students cultivate a positive digital footprint”, as it is how we function in today's world (Malmstrom & Ohler, 2012).
I certainly believe we should teach digital citizenship in schools. In the article “By Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools be Required to Teach Digital Citizenship?” Malmstrom and Ohler state that since “technology is largely invisible to us, this will require a special approach to character education that is uniquely suited to address the digital lifestyles we have all adopted” (Malmstrom & Ohler, 2012). I agree we must inform children about Digital Citizenship for students to stay current with technology and communication. Also, it is essential that children know from a young age what is and isn’t ethical, so that positive habits can be formed. Children are the future, so it is essential that we are creating a fair and productive society. In addition “we need to reward student efforts in digital citizenship, which we currently don’t do often enough” (Malmstrom & Ohler, 2012). This is also an example as to why we should implement digital citizenship into our school’s curriculum. It is vital that students are encouraged and rewarded for advancing their technological skills, as we hope to create and promote confident users. They will then be prepared to compete and add value to our society, that relies so heavily on technology.
Works Cited:
Behavior" Learning and Leading with Technology, 32(1), 7-11. Retrieved July 1, 2015, from
http://cc.csusm.edu/ pluginfile.php/354492/mod_resource/content/3/digital_ Citizenship _ISTE
%281%29.pdf
Malmstrom, M. & Ohler, J. (2012, November 30). "By Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools Be
Required to Teach Digital Citizenship?" Learning & Leading with Technology. Retrieved from
http://cc.csusm.edu/pluginfile.php/ 354493/mod_resource/content/ 2/ Teaching_ Digital_
Citizenship_Y-N.pdf
I agree with you that Digital citizenship should be taught in classrooms. I use to watch a lot of pirated TV shows and movies for free on a website called Megavideo. At the time I didn’t think much of watching free content on this site. I actually paid money for a subscription to watch the content this website offered. Megavideo had every TV show available the day after it aired on TV and all past seasons. This website has since been taken down and the company heads put in jail. I would never walk into a store and steal DVDs. I didn’t realize when I was watching season 1 of Vampire Diaries on Megavideo, that I was doing the same thing as walking into Target and stealing the Season 1 box set of DVDs. If there was a Digital Citizenship course in my high school, maybe I would have realized the seriousness of my actions and not participated in this crime.
ReplyDeleteI know some people might think illegally watching TV shows is ok, even knowing it is a crime. I was a film major in college and have had first hand experience with the hard work that goes into creating movies and TV. Not only is it hard work, but also hundreds of people’s salaries are paid with the money made from those TV shows. Watching these shows through illegal channels means money is not getting back to the people or company who put the time and hard work into making the show.
I agree that digital citizenship should be taught in the classroom, mainly because technology has become such a big aspect of daily life that we need to teach younger students how to behave with technology and with others. I especially agree with your statement that children must be taught how to ethically behave on the internet and with technology.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to ethical behavior online, one experience that comes to mind immediately is cyber-bullying. There are so many cases of pre teens and teenagers harassing each other online. You only need to look at social media sites such as Facebook or even Youtube comments to see how people can be cruel. I have seen so many cases of cyber-bullying when I go on social blog sites. To me, teaching digital citizenship is not just about teaching students how to properly use the technology--it is also about how to teach students to be ethical while using technology.