Techlearning blog

Over the past several weeks, I've had an opportunity to respond to a wide variety of questions from students about "digital citizenship" in the innovative ProTechT 2008 project. We hear a fair bit about "Internet safety" in educational technology circles today, and more schools are starting to address online safety issues with students. Many of these presentations do not delve into the rights and responsibilities which accompany technology use, however, as discussions about digital citizenship naturally invite. Rather than simply tell students "don't talk to strangers" and "don't reveal personal information" online, educators need to be discussing (as the ProTechT teachers are with their students) issues surrounding the ethical uses of digital technologies and the impacts those uses can have not only at a personal level, but also on larger scales.

When I was initially approached by one of the nine participating teachers in the project to share a live presentation with students over video, I suggested we start by having the students brainstorm questions about digital citizenship and post them on the project's private wiki site. Prior to this week's interactive videoconference, students posted twenty seven questions. These included the following:

1. Did you learn about digital citizenship when you were a kid?
2. Can you give some good examples of what digital citizenship is about?
3. How can students put our digital citizenship skills to good use?
4. Why do you think cyberbullying has increased and what can we do about it?
5. How do you define digital citizenship?
6. Do you think the internet will ever be safe?
7. How will the community around a student effect their digital citizenship?
8. Have you ever done anything to make the internet unsafe?
9. What prompted your participation in this wiki? Why do you feel so strongly about digital citizenship?
10. What do you think about kids using wikis? Have seen other examples of kids using wikis?
11. Do you like working with kids?
12. How long have you been using technology? What's your favorite thing about technology?
13. Do your kids use wikis and other technology? What rules and guidelines about digital citizenship do your children have to follow?
14. Have your own children seen this project? What do they think about it?
15. What made you want to spread the word about digital citizenship to kids around the country?
16. Do you travel around the world to teach kids and teachers about digital citizenship?
17. How do you know if a person is safe enough to talk to online?
18. Do you think that it is safe to IM people online that you do know? What do you use IM for?
19. What should i do if someone i don't know sends me an e-mail?
20. What do you do if someone sends you a lot of junk email?
21. What do you know about scams? I know that people chat with strangers, then they ask for money so they make money off you.
22. What do you do if you accidently subscribe to a bad site and get a virus?
23. What is the most difficult computer problem you have ever encountered?
24. How do we react to a situation online that puts you in a bad position and requires more than just getting off the computer?
25. What role do we play in advancing the research on how on-line users are protected? i.e. laws etc
26. How do you tell someone who is a good friend that he/she is being a bad digital citizen?
27. When do you know that you are being a bad digital citizen?

This is a formidable and challenging list of questions! I attempted to respond to seven of these questions prior to our live video interactions on Thursday over Ustream.tv, using both YouTube and VoiceThread. I have linked these responses beside the questions posed by students which I attempted to answer on a publicly accessible wiki page, and will continue to update that page with more links as I continue to respond to these student questions in the weeks ahead.

How many of the students at your school have questions like those above? Do they have a forum where they can ask these questions and obtain answers, both from adults as well as their peers? If you are not currently addressing "digital citizenship" at your school, consider starting a conversation about it with your principal and PTA/PTO president. As we discussed in the afternoon video presentation, the tools to which students now have access (including cell phones as well as Internet-connected computers) have far more power than the traditional "school tools" and learning tools of the 20th and 19th centuries. "To whom much is given, much is expected." This wise saying applies well to our digital infoverse.

How are you going to answer all the questions students have at your school about the safe, ethical, and appropriate uses of digital technologies? Not only do you NOT have time to address these within your alloted class time, you also likely will encounter questions for which you are unsure of the answer. Consider building on the outstanding work of the students and teachers in the ProTechT 2008 project. Invite members of your community as well as students to respond to these questions and then share answers to them using a variety of new media technologies, and post both questions and answers on a "Digital Citizenship FAQ" page linked from your school website. The "demonstration effect" of using these digital media tools for constructive and safe learning may be more powerful and important than you or your students anticipated.

How are we going to help our school board members understand the vital need we each have for digital literacy skills? This is an essential question for all communities. I think projects like ProTechT are part of the answer. If we can inspire more conversations not only about Internet safety, but about the more inclusive topic of "digital citizenship" in our communities, I think we can tangibly advance an agenda of constructive school reform and open the eyes of more adults to our immediate need for digital literacy!