The concept of digital citizenship is alive and well in the
halls of BDCHS. It would be safe to say that “digital driver’s license” is a
trending topic in the classrooms as students work to complete it, discuss it,
and of course, question it. (Video above courtesy of Flocabulary --- It was viewed by entire school during a digital citizenship lesson last week.)
As any teacher or parent who deals with a teenager knows,
the question “Why do I have to do this?” is about as common as “What is there
to eat?” or “Are we there yet?” I have enjoyed the opportunities to speak to
students about why their DDL is an important step in the learning process. As I
have shared with them, it is not an end-all-be-all, but just a humble beginning
in raising some awareness about digital citizenship and our technological
lifestyles.
For example, it has been intriguing to discover how many
students are unfamiliar with such growing websites as LinkedIn. Nowadays, there
is an increasingly growing number of businesses using the site and hunting down
potential employers --- see Forbes
article on the subject. Teenagers in 2014 need to understand the importance
of a positive online presence and generate a digital footprint that will
jump-start their careers, rather than hinder their opportunities. LinkedIn
recently lowered their age limit to 13, in fact, which goes to show it’s never
too early to create a resume and start networking.
Students also seem to be unclear about online privacy. They
seem astonished at how easy their data is tracked, stored, and used for profit.
Many seem surprised to learn that you can brose the web privately and that you
can adjust social media settings for sites like Facebook to better control what
appears on your profile page.
Teacher and author of the blog Mindful Stew, Paul Barnwell recently shared five
reasons why we must teach digital citizenship. Barnwell explains that
digital and social media is a new literacy we must teach our students. He also
writes that there is a gap between what our students do with digital tools in
school versus what they do with them outside the classroom. It seems obvious,
but the majority of schools are far behind in terms of this line of thinking.
Obtaining a DDL at Brooks DeBartolo is just a small, simple
step towards better insight into the complex topic of digital citizenship; and
while none of us will ever get “there” on the ever-changing information
highway, we hope the DDL will spark their curiosity and provide our students
with some essential tools to navigate it safely and responsibly.
