In the nine years since Christine Greenhow (2010) wrote her article “A New Concept of Citizenship for the Digital Age” Australia has a consensus on what it means to be a digital citizen, however schools’ approach to teaching digital citizenship are still wanting.

The e-safety commissioner defines digital citizenship as:

“a person with the skills and knowledge to effectively use digital technologies to participate in society, communicate with others and create and consume digital content”(Australian Government Office of the eSafety Commisioner).

This definition allows for the continual development of digital technologies to occur with the principles of citizenship remaining intact.  Christine Greenhow could not have predicted the rise of the app store, cloud computing, social networks (such as snapchat, Instagram, what’s app) or the power of crowdsourcing for mobilised digital citizens.  For me an informed, publicly engaged digital citizen is cognisant of the power of their behaviour online and engages with their digital environment for their maximum benefit, rather than shrinking from the responsibility and burden of digital citizenship.

As a teacher in an Australian high school, I see our school digital learning environment and community, not reflecting the real-life digital environment that our students live in.  From the comfort of their personal spaces they collaborate, participate and personalise their digital environment, building networks and communities, yet often when they are at school, they are restricted to be the receiver of digital content. When they are engaged in producing content there is almost a fear from staff and students as to who will see it.  Is this not the opposite of effectively participating as a digital citizen?  Our school uses the Microsoft office programs and have effectively used Stream as a method of collating multimedia projects that students have compiled.  It frustrates me that it was deemed necessary for the student’s ability to comment to be turned off at an administrative level.  Our school, like many others, restricts access to social networking sites within the school grounds.  How can we expect students to develop digital citizenship skills if we do not promote networking within the school environment? As teachers, we should be modelling and instructing students in digital citizenship skills (Greenhow, 2010). To do this effectively, we need to create the participatory, collaborative environment that exists outside the school community, in house.

Australian Government Office of the eSafety Commisioner. Digital citizenship. Retrieved from https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources/digital-citizenship

Greenhow, C. (2010). New Concept of Citizenship for the Digital Age. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(6), 24-25.