Blog #1 Define Digital Citizenship

In the readings, I have come across many definitions of digital citizenship. According to Ribble and Bailey, digital citizen is many things:
- it is a way of life
- it reinforces positive aspects of technology so that everyone benefits in this digital world
- it is how individuals behave as members of this digital society
- it establishes the norms of appropriate and responsible behavior with regard to technology use
- made up of nine elements
- aims to teach everyone what technology users must undertand in order to use digital technologies effectively and appropriately.
 digital citizenship as the ability to practice and advocate online behavior that demonstrates legal, ethical, safe, and responsible uses of information and communication technologies." (2010) However, Greenhow has stated that digital citizenship is difficult to define, since there is no universal idea of digital citizenship yet. Digital citizenship can mean different things to different people.

According to Greenhow, "the 2007 NETS•S defines

I think digital citizenship is basically the standards that everyone should follow to ensure that technology is being used effectively and appropriately. Everyone should act in a responsible manner to prevent abuse and misuse of technology. It it up to parents and teachers to ensure that children and students are being responsible citizens in this new digital society; it's the same as teaching children how to be responsible citizens in general. We teach children the idea of civic responsibility which includes obeying the law, voting, paying your taxes, etc. For the most part, children are taught how to be contributing members of society and how to avoid becoming a burden. Children also need to be aware of consequences for misuse and abuse of technology just like there are consequences for breaking a school rule or a law.

I think my definition correlates with what AASL and NETS have stated as far the importance of teaching  digital citizenship and what is appropriate and why. It is not just for children but for adults as well. Adults, parents and educators have to model what is expected of children and students. "Teaching the new citizenship goes beyond simply expressing rules and policies. We must help our students understand that digital technology makes them, in a very real sense, citizens of the world." (Ribble and Bailey, 2007)