Digital Citizenship Action Plan

Brandon Schwenk
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
July 2014

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Children and teenagers are growing up with technology and all its benefits and pitfalls.
New video game consoles include the ability to play online matches against players all over the
world. Cell phones come with the ability to communicate with someone instantaneously through
texting. Computers and the Internet put a world of information at anyones fingertips. Tethered
to the entertainment and social aspects of these devices, smartphones in particular, children and
teenagers are also potentially being exposed to hate speech, cruelty, cyberbullying, and apathy.
Technology has rapidly advanced in the past decade with little guidance about appropriate use
(Ribble & Miller, 2013). To remedy this, parents and schools can work together to teach them
digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is defined as the self-monitored habits that sustain and
improve the digital communities that individuals enjoy and depend on (Heick, 2013).
It will take the combined efforts of teachers, parents, students, and members of the
community to build within students a core of digital citizenship principles that guide them
towards respect, compassion, empathy, and responsibility. It falls upon district leaders to create
learning opportunities for all students to learn about digital citizenship. There are a few steps
they can take to do this: provide professional development for teachers to learn about digital
citizenship, host seminars for parents and community members to become better educated on the
topic, and require students to complete a digital citizenship curriculum on a regular basis. Several
districts are already providing this sort of training; moreover, educational leaders are
increasingly being expected to become digital leaders for their school communities (Ribble &
Miller, 2013). Several resources already exist for the third option.
A study by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project shed some light
on the types of misuses on social media that could be mitigated by teaching digital citizenship.
Among their findings (Lenhart, et al., 2011):
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Nearly 90% of teens have seen someone be mean or cruel to someone else.
15% of teen social media users have experienced harassment in the past year.
Some social media teens have had a face-to-face argument, ended friendship,
nervousness about going to school, or physical fight due to something that
happened on a social network site.
Approximately one in ten teenagers have been cyberbullied via text message in
the last 12 months.
Many social media-using teens have ignored online cruelty and witnessed others
ignoring mean behavior at some point. (Many also report defending the victim or
telling the other person to stop. This isnt a contradiction just a difference in
behavior depending on the situation.)
Both positive and negative behavior is modeled on social media on a frequent basis, but schools
can play a role in reducing the negative behavior that is displayed. A well-taught digital citizen-
ship curriculum in schools can encourage students to demonstrate kindness, resilience, morality,
courage, and sympathy in the face of cruelty, harassment, conflict, bullying, and indifference.
Mike Ribble describes nine elements of digital citizenship necessary for digital citizens
and sorts them into three categories: respect, educate, and protect. Teaching these three
categories should be the goals of districts interested in implementing digital citizenship. Schools
should strive to teach students digital access, digital etiquette (how to be good in the digital
world), digital law (unethical and illegal actions), digital communication (how to avoid
misunderstandings and drama), digital literacy (how to use technology), digital commerce (how
to protect personal information online), digital rights (a right to privacy and responsible free
speech), digital safety (passwords and virus protection), and digital health (how to set limits on
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technology use) (Ribble, 2014). Imparting this knowledge to students will enhance their ability
to deal with the rigors of digital life.
Fortunately, there exists a K-12 curriculum for educators to teach digital citizenship at the
Common Sense Media website (www.commonsensemedia.org). It includes 80 45-minute
lessons, numerous videos, tip sheets for parents, assessments, and addresses such topics as cyber-
bullying, creative credit and copyright, digital footprints, information literacy, Internet safety,
privacy and security, and self-image and identity. Other videos of interest include teenagers
reacting to the culture of smartphones (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsO9MIaIazM) and a 35-
minute documentary by Werner Herzog about the dangers of distracted driving
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BqFkRwdFZ0). The Common Sense Media curriculum is divided
into age-appropriate materials for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. A school district could decide,
for instance, to teach digital citizenship for a few weeks to 2
nd
, 5
th
, 8
th
, and 12
th
graders. By doing
so, the school district would demonstrate a commitment to fostering students digital literacy and
citizenship skills and do their part in making the digital world a better place.

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References
Heick, T. (2013, May 2). Definition of Digital Citizenship. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from
TeachThought: http://www.teachthought.com/technology/the-definition-of-digital-
citzenship/
Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K., & Rainie, L. (2011). Teens,
Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites. Pew Research Internet Project. Retrieved
from http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-
network-sites/
Ribble, M. (2014). Nine Elements. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from Digital Citizenship: Using
Technology Appropriately: http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html
Ribble, M., & Miller, T. N. (2013, January). Educational Leadership in an Online World:
Connecting Students to Technology Responsibly, Safely, and Ethically. Journal of
Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 135-143.


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