Digital citizenship and all that comes with it was the primary focus of this week. Through the readings, videos, and other resources, we found that there were nine elements of digital citizenship and those were even further broken down into three categories. Regular citizenship is both similar and different to that of digital citizenship. Citizenship in the physical sense, in my opinion, is being a kind person, who brings good things to a community. Digital citizenship is not only being a good productive member of an online community, but it is in all aspects of technology use. The nine elements of digital citizenship include: Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication and Collaboration, Digital Etiquette, Digital Fluency, Digital Health and Welfare, Digital Law, Digital Rights and Responsibility, and Digital Security or Privacy. Those are then broken down into the S3 framework which is safe, savvy, and social. Essentially, the S3 framework is there to make sure we are protecting ourselves and others, we are continually educating ourselves and others, and we are being respectful of ourselves and others on a digital scale. Admittedly, when I thought of digital citizenship, I definitely didn’t think about all of these moving parts to it, but rather as being a good, respectful part of an online community. I was clearly mistaken and learned a lot this week, especially in regards to my own classroom. In my classroom, we are teaching students who have never been to school of any kind before, it is vital that we teach them appropriate ways to interact with others in person as well as online. One might think that pre-k students may not need to understand digital citizenship because they are so young, but I need my students to be aware of how they utilize technology and digital media. This year has been rough, out students are having to adapt to the unthinkable and so are we. At any moment we can be moved back to completely virtual and if that is the case, my students will be aware of how to behave while we are communicating through the internet. I think the element of digital citizenship that stuck out to me the most would have to be digital access. I work in a title 1 school and many of our students live just above or below the poverty line. Equity in resources is especially difficult especially when it comes to digital learning. When we are in the classroom face to face, it is easier to give them all the same opportunities because we are 1:1 with devices. However when they go home or when we are doing virtual learning some students don’t have the internet in their homes, some may not even have electricity or running water. It is heartbreaking and my district has offered hotspots to some individuals, however that still doesn’t solve the complete issue. I want to ensure my students have the same opportunities, but as I said, that’s easy in person, but much much more difficult virtually. The nine elements have broadened my view of digital citizenship for the better and I hope to continue trying to give my students the access they need to be successful.
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