Digital Citizenship and Its Nine Elements

After a week of diving deep into what digital citizenship is, I was able to explain it to my aunt, who had pretty much no clue what it was. I tried to pull the definition from my brain- "the teaching of what is right and what is not right about the digital world." She was a little confused, so I pulled out my new definition- "the ability for a digital citizen to be prepared, responsible, respectful, and safe as they move through the digital world." I was able to explain Ribble's (2015) nine elements of digital citizenship:

1. Digital Access- This is the way that the students and the parents have access to technology to get in contact or turn in assignments to schools. Teachers need to think about the different groups (like socioeconomic status, disabilities, or physical location.) Schools have helped this situation by giving students in specific grades a laptop or Chromebook. Ribble (2015) includes this in the respect category because all these groups have different access to technology (maybe not the "newest.")
   
2. Digital Commerce- This is the buying and selling of things on the internet. Learners should realize that they could get in trouble and that their credit follows them for life. They should make sure that they are safe in creating strong passwords because they might have identity theft. Ribble (2015) includes this in the educate category because people need to be aware of how to protect their personal information while also buying online.
   
3. Digital Communication- This is the understanding of the different ways to communicate (or message) others with abbreviations, emojis, or even Bitmojis. There are some terrible things like sexting, cheating on tests, or cyberbullying. Ribble (2015) includes this in the educate category because this gives people choices on how to see how a message would fit on different methods like email or Twitter. 
   
4. Digital Literacy- This is understanding what the process is in the teaching and learning about the digital world. Many times, teachers are given a program or app that they have to use in their classroom. They are not explained thoroughly how to use it in their class (or they are told to use it a week before school starts) and so the program usually crashes and burns. If the teachers are allowed to explore or develop the plan, it will be better utilized. Ribble (2015) includes this in the educate category because people can even learn from their peers or family members.
   
5. Digital Etiquette- This is the understanding of the conduct that people should utilize when using things "digital." Ribble (2015) calls it the role model to tell the learners what is appropriate or inappropriate when going into the world of digital. This includes the acceptable use policies (AUPs.) Ribble (2015) consists of this in the respect category because what we post, tweet or text can affect others and might be misunderstood. 
   
6. Digital Law- This tells what is legal and not legal in the world of digital. This includes file sharing, pirating software, hacking, stealing identities, and illicit photos. It is the electronic responsibility for actions or deeds (i.e., rules or policies.) Ribble (2015) includes this in the respect category because most of the materials made for online are from people that it is their living and that this is like stealing.
   
7. Digital Rights & Responsibilities- These are the requirements and freedoms extended to everyone in the digital world. When given these, people are expected to act right by citing sources or reporting behaviors that are inappropriate. Ribble (2015) includes this in the protect category because if something happens online, they need to share what happened and that it is essential to have passwords.
   
8. Digital Health & Wellness- This is the physical and psychological well-being of people that use things to get in the world of digital. This includes ergonomics, how high or low the tables are for students, and how much time they are on the computer. Ribble (2015) consists of the protect category because there needs to be a balance on time between being online or not online (includes different types of games that are "mature.")
   
9. Digital Security- This is protecting self and others while they are doing things digitally. This includes changing passwords or passcodes, data backup, and protection against hackers, including spyware/ adware. Ribble (2015) consists of this the protect category because people should make sure that their passwords are not given to just anyone.
   

 I started this week watching videos from CyberWise (2015) and Bbrandino68 (2010.) These videos let me get the necessary 101 on what digital citizenship was and how I was going to put the nine elements of digital citizenship in place. CyberWise (2015) said that digital citizenship was the rules of the road and the collaboration, connection, and learning community information access. I liked that I could find out what the nine elements were in Bbrandino68's (2010) video, and then I went into detail in Ribble's (2015) book.

     With all that I have read, internalized, and reflected on, I realize how critical digital citizenship is. Ohler (2012) commented that digital citizenship is like "character education" for things online and needs to be talked openly, so everyone has a buy-in. I have introduced digital citizenship with four items to my first graders for three years. I have four objects in a bag- padlock, toothbrush, permanent marker, and toothpaste. For the padlock, I explain that it is essential to have passwords, and they need to be strong (I give an example of bank accounts for parents.) For the toothbrush, I tell them not to share their passwords (but I say that it is okay for parents and teachers to know.) For the permanent marker, I tell them whatever they post or write online will be permanent. They need to be careful about what they post because it could hurt others' feelings. For the toothpaste, I tell them that what comes out online is hard to get back in (again- don't say mean things.) These four things are in the category of digital etiquette with digital rights & responsibilities and digital security. One boy in my class told his mom what a toothbrush and toothpaste stood for- this is pretty cool that kids do listen to us, teachers.

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References
Bbrandino68. (2010, December 15). The nine elements of digital ditizenship. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87JiUrWaQVk
CyberWise. (2015, June 10). What Is digital citizenship? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=OH6869bD8iU
Ohler, J. (2012, April). Digital citizenship means character education for the digital age. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 47(Sup1), 25-27. doi:10.1080/00228958.2011.10516720
Ribble, Mike. Digital citizenship in schools: nine elements all students should know. International Society for Technology in Education, 2015.

Resources
What is Digital Citizenship? By Common Sense
https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/what-is-digital-citizenship
How to be a responsible digital citizen?
https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/entertainment-technology/digital-life/digital-citizenship
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Responsible-Digital-Citizen
How to be a prepared digital citizen? (THINK)
https://www.k12k.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=416052&type=d&pREC_ID=908919
How to be a respectful, responsible and safe digital citizen? (video with lesson)
https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/we-the-digital-citizens