Digital Citizenship

                                       

                                        

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Through classroom readings and discussions, I have come to the realization that digital citizenship is a broad category which covers a wide array of ethical issues that are similar to responsibilites and expectation that we are expected to follow and make in other aspects of our dailylife. The article Seventeen Topics to Teach K-8 About Digital Citizenship reviews  not only some of the responsibilities, but also some of the hazards that we can encounter using the internet. Although I was aware of issues such as "plagiarism" and "stranger danger, I was not aware of other issues such as "cyberbullying" and "digital footprints" which can cause problems to internet users of all ages. As a result, articles such as Media and Digital Literacy: Resources for Parents are important because their focus is on how to help parents protect their children from internet hazards. Children are the most vulnereable population of internet users who can succumb to its hazards because they are not as experienced as adults are in dealing with dangerous situations.
    The article Media and Digital Literacy: Resources for Parents provide useful tips for parents on how to monitor their children's internet usage. I especially like the idea of parents and children using the internet together. This not only gives parents to find out what their children are interested in, but also provides bonding time between children and parents. If children encounter something strange or unusual on the internet, they are more likely to share what they encountered with their parents if they are use to sharing the internet. Thus, allowing parents to investigate and deal with a potential internet hazard such as cyberbullying. Another important idea stated in this article is that everything on the internet can become public. By explaining the possibiliy of "digital footprinting" to their children, parents will help their children realize the possible hazards of sharing too much information about themselves on the internet. As a result, children might think twice about sharing a possibly embarrassing photo or piece of information about themselves on the internet.
     However, it is not only important to teach children and students about the hazards of using the internet. It is equally important to teach them about the benefits. After all the internet is a wonderful piece of technology that has potential benefits for its users. It would be a shame to prevent children or students from using it just because of potential dangers involved in using it. Frotunately, the internet can be used as a tool to help model good behavior practices for both children and students. A useful article entitled Why Teach Digital Citizenship? offers guidelines to children and  students on how to practice digital citizenship. By being taught virtues such as not to commit plagiarism on a blog and to proofread what one writes in an e-mail, parents and teachers can help their children and students become positive role models and make issues such as "cyberbullying" become less of a threat to internet users.
     To control potential hazards of the internet, teachers as well as parents need to act as role models for children. In the article Why Teachers Need Digital Citizenship , the author discusses the importance of teachers to make an effort to know as much about the internet as possible. By understanding how important the internet can have in students' daily lives, teachers will be able to take action against some of the negative parts of the internet. For example, teachers can show websites to students that are educational, entertaining, and harmless. By exposing students to such websites, the teacher can help prevent students from going to websites which might be hazardous to students.
     In conclusion, parents and teachers can work together to help prevent children from being exposed to internet hazards. The internet is an amazing tool that can be entertaining and educational to students. As mentioned above, it can offer potential hazards to students. However, by giving students an idea of the importance of digitial citizenship, students can not only learn appropriate behavior skills on how to be a good internet user, but they can also learn the potential hazards of it. Once they become aware of its hazards, they can take appropriate steps to resolve any problems they may encounter.     
      
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