In a world where the line is blurred as to where the digital world starts and ends (Ribble, 2015) knowing how to move toward education around digital use for students can be a challenging question. Before we even jump into what type of content should be delivered, we need to consider the following:
‘Is digital citizenship still the best terminology to use?’
Is technology even a stand alone issue? In our world that has blurred lines around reality and augmented reality, can we separate life and its experiences into digital and non-digital? Is our current rapid evolvement of technology just another form of revolution, such as the invention of the printing press? (Postman, 1994) discusses the impact of this moment in history as a catalyst to how we approached education and even the way society is organised into different groups. Are we currently living in just another printing press moment in history?
Despite all these questions, there are still a set of values, skills and techniques students need to learn in order to be safe consumers and creators online. (McLuhan, 1964) is direct in his approach that ‘a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of the story’. I can see the sense that this statement makes. As an English teacher, I teach students about the codes and conventions of different text types. A comic book and a prose novel may carry the same content (story) but the medium (and the conventions that tell me this medium is a comic) are different. Students choose to bully others online and off – however, the repercussions of which medium they use creates different results. Online bullying may go viral and cause wide spread devastation, in addition to leaving a footprint online that never disappears. Real life bullying is just as devastating, but it has different impacts due to the nature of location and spread.
Being a good citizen encompasses strength of character, selflessness and many attributes that help us to live in harmony with others. This extends to our digital life also -so perhaps the terminology of digital citizenship could have an update, however, there are definite skills and modes students need to be aware of that are digital specific.
I think the name isn’t anywhere near as important as the content. A fancy name tastes sour if it doesn’t deliver what it promises. Our students need a rigorous approach to this subject – their future. If we as teacher librarians can keep up with the rapid change of technology!
Ribble, M. (2015). A brief history of Digital Citizenship. In Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed., pp9-14). International Society for Technology in Education.
McCluhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Signet Books.
Postman, N. (1994) The Disappearance of Childhood. Vintage.