In an era where technology shapes every facet of our lives, the concept of digital citizenship has emerged as a crucial pillar for educational technology providers. As classrooms increasingly blend with virtual spaces and students navigate a labyrinth of online resources, understanding digital citizenship transcends mere digital literacy. It embodies a commitment to fostering ethical behavior, promoting online safety, and cultivating responsible digital interactions.
A 2023 survey shows that 60% of US teachers are using digital citizenship materials in their classrooms, and this responsibility also falls on education solution providers who augment traditional classroom experiences. Mastering this nuanced responsibility is not just about enhancing technological tools but about shaping the very principles that guide the next generation of digital innovators and leaders.
What is Digital Citizenship?
As so much of the world has shifted online, many people are now spending as much time (if not more) in digital space as they are in physical space. The tenets of digital citizenship aim to recognize this change and codify a set of ideals, principles, and best practices that can serve us as we interact with each other online. Being a good digital citizen means acting in a way that is safe and responsible while actively and respectively engaging with others in digital spaces.
Digital citizenship thus aims to shape the values that govern our online interactions so that the online environment is safe, inclusive, and effective in mediating digital communication.
5 Key Components of Digital Citizenship
There are five key components that make up digital citizenship, each of which comes with its own considerations and best practices that are relevant to education technology companies:
- Digital Literacy. This refers to people developing the skills and knowledge required to effectively and responsibly use technology in a meaningful way. Technology providers often take this for granted because they are so close to the products that they are building, but this is a mistake. Part of your contribution to the EdTech sector should be a commitment to increasing digital literacy amongst the people you serve, and catering your solutions to the appropriate level of digital literacy so that your users get the most out of what you’re building.
- Digital Etiquette. This refers to people being respectful and considerate in their online interactions, similar to the social norms we have already established in the physical world. This is crucially important for education products where communities gather together and communicate in real time. Strong digital etiquette only comes from training, moderation, and setting consequences for when rules and guidelines are broken.
- Digital Rights and Responsibilities. This refers to the rights and corresponding responsibilities that lie with users on a digital platform. These can include intellectual property rights, confidentiality, privacy, freedom of expression, and more. Technology providers need to be very direct with how they protect these rights and ensure that users are never deprived of them whether in the product itself or in the way that a service is delivered. In addition, there needs to be an established protocol for how someone can raise a complaint or concern if they feel that their rights have not been respected.
- Digital Safety and Security. This refers to cybersecurity protocols that need to be in place to ensure that users don’t have their sensitive personal information leaked or stolen by external parties and that any aggregated information is sufficiently anonymized to avoid personal identification. The details here are typically laid out in a terms of service agreement, but companies need to go further than that, ensuring that the users understand any risks involved with their data and how the tool works on their behalf to protect their rights and digital safety.
- Digital Health and Wellness. This refers to a user’s physical and mental health in relation to the digital products and services that they are engaging with. This is becoming increasingly important as we all spend more time looking at screens within more sedentary lifestyles overall. Technology providers should be mindful of this as they try to find the balance between making an engaging user experience while also not aiming to monopolize time or attention which can lead to poorer health outcomes.
These key components come together to form the wider digital citizenship discussion and education technology providers should consider the impact of their products and services on these core pillars when they are in the process of designing their solutions.
The Importance of Digital Citizenship in Education
It’s difficult to understate how important the tenets of digital citizenship are in our educational system. Today’s students are entering a fully digital world where the vast majority of their interactions will likely be in online spaces. They do not know anything different, so we need to come up with new norms and guidelines to govern the new way that humans communicate. Digital citizenship teaches some essential skills for navigating the internet responsibly and effectively.
Here are some of the key skills that need to be built by modern students:
- Critical Thinking. The sheer volume of information online is unfathomable, and that is making it more and more difficult to ascertain the credibility and accuracy of information that you read online. Students need to develop critical thinking at the meta-level and then specific digital strategies that can help them evaluate online information on its merit, and decide how to utilize that information in the right contexts.
- Responsible Community Behavior. Students need to learn how to foster a culture of respect and empathy online and to avoid, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the nastier sides of cyberbullying. Children must learn that there is another human on the other side of the screen and that they should treat that person like they would want to be treated. We have to work hard to break through the illusion of anonymity that digital spaces can sometimes exaggerate – and work hard to maintain the human values that we strive for in real-life interactions.
- Digital Ethics and Reputation. Students need to learn about their digital footprint and how the things that they share impact on their reputation both now and in the future. This sort of ethical training often gets ignored, but that is a mistake. We must be clear and direct about how student’s online behavior can impact their lives so that they understand the consequences of their decisions.
- Work-Ready Skills. As students exit traditional education and enter the world of work, they will also encounter digital landscapes, tools, and norms in which they must immerse themselves. Therefore, educational institutions and technology providers should prepare their users for this eventuality and give them the tools and ways of thinking that they need in order to be successful in their careers.
- Lifelong Learning. Lastly, students should be made aware that technology is always a moving target. Gaining digital citizenship is not a once-off event. It’s a commitment to continually learning about how things are progressing and upskilling yourself to remain relevant and useful to a world that is constantly in flux. This attitude to lifelong education is potentially the single most important thing to instill in a child to give them the best chance of a long and happy life.
If our educational system can help students gain these skills and mindsets, then it sets them up for life. They can embark on any career journey that they have, knowing that they have the tools that they need to succeed.
How Do You Promote Digital Citizenship in Your Education Company?
Hopefully, we’ve now convinced you of the importance of digital citizenship in all its spheres, specifically in the world of education. The next natural question is how these principles can be embedded within your education company and the solutions that you offer to clients. Based on our experience here at The Renaissance Network, we see three ways that you can implement these ideas in your operations:
Integrate them into your curriculums
If you are providing teaching material of any kind then it makes sense to integrate these key ideas into your teaching plans – especially if they are being delivered digitally in the first place. When you integrate digital citizenship into your curriculum you are helping to build strong foundations for your students that will not only allow them to get more out of what you are teaching, but also that will set them up for long-term success as they move forward in their journey.
Invest in professional development for educators
Another way that you can create positive knock-on effects is to invest time, effort, and money into professional development opportunities for both your internal staff and the educators who are your clients. If you are intentional and savvy with how you share this knowledge then those ideas will trickle down to the end users and have a much wider impact. As an industry, we all need to work together to champion these values, and as a company operating in the space, you can achieve a lot by just passing on the new knowledge and thinking that you’re picking up yourself.
Create a positive digital culture.
Lastly, if you are moderating or running a digital community of your own, the onus is on you to craft and nurture a positive experience for everyone there. Embody the ideals of strong digital citizenship to set a good example and demonstrate what these ideas look like in the real world. This will be much more effective than just talking about it, and if you do it well, it can inspire those around you to also focus on improving digital citizenship in the spheres they work in.
These simple changes take time and effort to execute, and they might not always seem like the most urgent fixes, but they’re crucially important if you want to be a purveyor of positive, healthy, safe digital spaces. This is a responsibility we all have to carry in the modern world, and hopefully, you will be ready to take on the challenge.
TRN: Building World-Class Teams to Impact Education and Communities
Here at The Renaissance Network, we frequently think about all things “Education”, and how we can bring the best leaders and employees into your organization. If you’re looking for top talent who have the digital understanding and cultural fit that can make a difference, then we can help. Get in touch today and let’s spread the values of digital citizenship far and wide across the EdTech ecosystem and beyond.
