Dig. citizenship as interdisciplinary competence

Keywords

Digital citizen & citizenship, rights, responsibilities, communities

Problem justification

Digital citizenship is a topic that is essential in the modern world. We are trending towards a society where more people are more connected, and as such, it’s vital that we are all aware of our responsibilities and able to navigate our own digital lives. In terms of defining digital citizenship, there are different approaches that could be summarized into the ability to use digital technology and media in safe, responsible and effective ways.

Digital citizenship aims to teach everyone (not just children) what technology users must understand in order to use digital technologies effectively and appropriately. The challenge for educators is to move beyond thinking of IT as a tool, or “IT-enabled education platforms”. Instead, they need to think about how to nurture students’ ability and confidence to excel both online and offline in a world where digital media is ubiquitous.

But digital citizenship has often been overlooked by educators, parents and local communities. This is in spite of the fact it is fundamental to a person’s ability to use technology and live in the digital world, a need which arises from a very young age and continues through the whole life. A child should start learning digital citizenship as early as possible, ideally when one starts actively using games, social media or any digital device.

Ultimately, national educational policy makers need to understand the importance of digital citizenship as the foundation of a digital society. National educators’ leaders should make it a priority to implement digital citizenship programs as part of an overall digital society framework and curriculum.

Moreover, individuals should initiate digital citizenship education in their own sphere of influence: parents in their homes, teachers in their classes, and leaders in their communities.

There is no need to wait. In fact, there is no time to wait. Children are already immersed in the digital world and are influencing what that world will look like tomorrow. 

More than that, digital citizenship is an evolving concept. This continuous urge is underlined worldwide, through different continents, different level of education (and beyond them) and through different (international) organisations, institutions and/or educational providers and stakeholders, as we can see on scientific literature, reports and/or (local, national and international) initiatives (OECD’s Better Life Initiative, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), Coalition for Digital Intelligence (CDI) etc.).

Thus, in line with the need to develop the digital skills at a more advance level, as pointed in these strategic policy documents, the proposed activity addresses the aim to enable the future teacher with a digital competence at more advance level, trans-curricular, so she/he can guide not only the students, but the parents, and other relevant stakeholders to navigate in the digital world and society.

Furthermore, the teacher needs for this so called meta-competence, as enlarged general culture and of his/her specialization culture, as all teachers preparing to teach social sciences, education for democratic citizenship, social education, etc. (see all subjects of the curricular area Man and society, as foreseen in the curriculum for primary and secondary school) need to master the Information and Data Literacy & Communication and Collaboration, as foreseen in the DigiComp Framework for teachers (EU, 2017).

Moreover, the aim of this activity is to introduce the prospective teachers to the whole concept of the digital citizenship, which, through different increasing level of knowledge, could be used for different ages and educational levels, starting even from kindergarten. The proposed activities are designed for children from primary schools, but also to be used in homework activities that could be done together with their parents.

By proposing these activities, the following elements of the digital activities are envisaged: Access: full electronic participation in society: Communication: electronic exchange of information; Literacy: process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology; and Digital rights and responsibilities – that could be extended to everyone in offline and also a digital world.

Competences

Awareness

Analytical and critical thinking

Digital and technological skills

Adaptability

Resilience

Assessment strategies and instruments

Oral and written questions

Scenarios

Actively involving students in their learning

Asking to reflect and checking for comprehension

Summarizing

Handing signals

Observation

Classroom discussions

Web and concept map (graphic organizers)

Assessment criteria

The main assessment criteria are related to the competences to be performed:

Design of the space considering the characteristics of the learners and its diversity.

Demonstrate the capacity to innovate and think “out of the box” using the resources available.

Integrate digital technologies in the space in order to facilitate learners’ autonomy, cooperation, etc.

Description of the feedback

The usual feedback in these (sub) activities is a combination of different types. All agents are usually involved, but especially teachers and parents. The received feedback on students and parents’ performance on the spot (when they are doing something good or bad, reflecting also themselves through the activity – ex, sub-activity 4) and afterwards, in the reports and discussions. Also, the feedback received is oral, written, and mixed.

The technique 3:2:1 is used:

3 important facts

2 interesting ideas

1 insight about yourself as a learner

Type of digital tools

Typeform 

Coggle 

Lino

Remind

AnswerGarden

Wooclap

Miro

The Queue

Brainio

Google Classroom

Google Meet and/or Zoom

Kialo/ /Argunet Editor/Rationale/ Argdown

Levels of potential digital transformation

Accessible and available: developed lots of times, easy and known

Example of a case

References

Be Internet Awesome. (n.d.). Digital Safety Resources. Tools for the classroom. Be Internet Awesome. https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/educators

Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

Common Sense. (n.d.). Common Sense Media. Common Sense. https://www.commonsense.org

Discovery Education. (n.d.). Discovery Education. Discovery Education. https://www.discoveryeducation.com

eSafety. (n.d.). The eSafety Guide. eSafety. https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide

iKeepSafe. (n.d.). Google Digital Literacy & Citizenship Curriculum. iKeepSafe. https://ikeepsafe.org/google-digital-literacy-citizenship-curriculum/

ISTE. (n.d.). Digital Citizenship in Action. ISTE. https://www.iste.org/professional-development/iste-u/digital-citizenship

Mattson, K. (2017). Digital citizenship in action: empowering students to engage in online communities. International Society for Technology in Education: Portland, OR.

Microsoft. (n.d.). Microsoft Learn. Educator Center. Microsoft. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/educator-center/?source=mec

Mojang AB. TM Microsoft Corporation. (2021). Minecraft Digital Citizenship Kit. Minecraft Education Edition. https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/resources/digital-citizenship-subject-kit

Punie, Y., editor(s), Redecker, C., European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators:\r\nDigCompEdu\r\n, EUR 28775 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017, ISBN 978-92-79-73718-3 (print),978-92-79-73494-6 (pdf), doi:10.2760/178382 (print),10.2760/159770 (online), JRC107466. https://policycommons.net/artifacts/2163302/european-framework-for-the-digital-competence-of-educators/2918998/

TeachingInCtrl. (n.d.). Teaching Digital Citizenship. TeachingInCtrl. https://teachinctrl.org