Digital Citizenship

This image was created by commonsense.org for educators. Can be found at:
https://d2e111jq13me73.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/uploads/landing_pages/pauseandthinkposters-040915.pdf

This article from 2004 cites "evidence of misuse and abuse of emerging technologies in U.S. schools." Fourteen years ago, problems such as "using web sites to intimidate or threaten students, downloading music illegally from the Internet, plagiarizing information using the Internet, using cellular phones during class time, and playing games on laptops or handhelds during class" were in their infancy. By now they must be in full-blown adolescent defiance.

One of my major concerns in regards to digital citizenship was an article title in the NY Times last November, 

Rise in teen suicide connected to social media popularity:study

.

I had a close family member die from a possible suicide. One explanation his parents offered to me as his motive for taking his life was the bullying he was receiving via social media. Before Braxton died, he posted a video of himself singing on YouTube. The video has become a cherished family heirloom of a truly beautiful boy with an amazing depth of emotion and a desire to sing his feelings. I just went to snag a screenshot of how cruel someone had been online even AFTER his death. If you hit they link, you will notice on the YouTube comment section that many people mention @bewareofbunnyrabbits, including myself. @bewareofbunnyrabbits had made very insensitive comments, but they are now deleted. Maybe one of his teachers gave him a lesson on digital citizenship? One can hope. @bewareofrabbits was a great example of horrible digital citizenship when he said he was glad that my nephew was dead. He even had the gall to get into with Braxton's bereaving sister when she asked him to take the comment down.

In a 2010 essay I found the abstract to align with my personal beliefs about digital citizenship:

Responsible and ethical use of the Internet is not something that teenagers, in particular, consider to be important, and serious consequences are beginning to emerge as a result of careless and offensive online behaviour. Teachers and teacher-librarians have a duty of care to make students aware of the potentially devastating effects of thoughtless, inappropriate or malicious online behaviour, and to guide them into making wise choices when interacting in a digital world.  

As a teacher, I commit to spending at least one class period a year in full digital citizenship training mode. I think to effectively teach anything, it requires a lot more than just one lesson, so I also commit to constant dialogue about responsible digital usage. I believe this will help my students in many ways. Not only can it give them better researching skill, but if I can train them to post responsibly, it can help them save their personal reputation especially in future job-searching. If I can teach them to manage their social media wisely, it can save relationships and emotional well-being. These are some benefits that I am passionate about, but honestly the ramifications for unwise digital stewardship are endless.

I will teach digital citizenship for those vast reasons, some of which I many not even yet have my own awareness, but one of the main reasons is better seen than said:

Braxton Lane Richard Wills is very loved and missed.

Digital Citizenship could have saved his life.