(Singh, 2023)
There are many things that can cause the digital divide, especially when we consider our students and the general school community. The term “digital divide” is considered as the gap between having and not having or in digital terms access to devices, internet, and digital literacy skills or the lack of. Thinking about my own school environment, we are lucky we have a device for each student and the internet is mostly workable (disconnects sometimes). Since the pandemic every public school in Canberra was issued with new Chromebook for students to use at home and upon their return, were assigned to year groups who needed them. Since then, any unworkable devices are replaced or fixed, so our school is lucky. However, this is not the case for many schools, especially in some big cities or remote areas where they are looking at hundreds of thousands of devices to be issued, deeming it an almost impossible task or internet accessibility is not reliable.
I think as a society we take connectivity and owning a device for granted, especially where an entire generation of Australian have grown up accessing the internet and using technology as a norm. However, for those who are socially and financially disadvantaged, they find themselves on the other side of the digital divide. The Australian Education Union (AEU) conducted a report from an independent reporter on the impacts of the digital divide and found that many students had a long-term digital gap in accessing the internet, affordability, and no device availability. Public schools were more vulnerable towards the digital gap than independent and Catholic schools, social economic and cultural status was a factor and demographic played a role in increasing the digital divide (AEU, n.d).
So, why is digital citizenship important?
It is important to equip all students with the skills and competencies to acquire the knowledge needed to access, engage, use, share and create information. Furthermore, equipping teachers with the knowledge, professional learning, and tools to work within a framework to foster global citizenship and digital literacy is vital to transfer that knowledge to their students (UNESCO, 2024). Guidelines to assist with and demonstrate the importance of using technologies ethically and responsibly is falls on everyone using a device so teaching students from an early age prepares students to engage as responsible global citizens.
Build a personal brand and supporting students
This is important as a teacher and a teacher librarian (TL) as students look up to their mentors. Building a personal brand or simply putting your best foot forward is something that will be noticed in and out of the classroom. As educators our personal brand influences, motivates and contributes towards students’ engagement reflecting a positive, and helpful persona. Additionally, effective communication and collaboration will only enhance and develop the growth of the library and its usage by the whole school community (McPherson, n.d; Johnson, 2018).
The challenge for schools in balancing educational networking and social networking in enhanced with the ever-growing platforms of social media which has become an integral part of people’s lives and the way the communicate and share information. It was evitable that social networking would make its way into the education sector. However, the way we socially network can act as an opportunity to enhance communication and collaboration with other students with similar interest. This also provides access to learning resources providing a wealth of content that is easily accessible and convenient (Pappas, 2023). Additionally, it provides educators a means to build professional networks to share information, content, and ideas, staying up to date with the latest developments. Furthermore, students connect and collaborate with their own peers to assist developments in their own learning. On the other hand, where there are benefits to educational and social networking, there are challenges. Some include, privacy concern, cyberbullying and harassment, misinformation, distracting away from the task, addiction, and isolation (Pappas, 2023).
In conclusion, the globalisation on education and the rapid development of technology and communication adds new dimensions across educational sectors that need to adapt. By providing guidelines and policies, the integration of technologies into school communities become transparent of how to use them responsibly and understand their full benefits of their usage. Information technology is a tool and when used respectfully, responsibly, and ethically can assist educators and students positively. However, there are challenges and impacts to those technologies that need to be taught to develop students in becoming responsible digital citizens. Using digital literacy appropriately and learning the importance of educational and social integrity in networking is imperative. The TL as a leader in technological communications, information, and curriculum content is in a great position to assist, coordinate and establish best practices for technological usage for the whole school community. Therefore, developing skills and knowledge into information systems early on as a student will enable students to not only become lifelong learners but also embed safe, responsible digital usage beyond their academic years.
Reference
Australian Education Union [AEU]. (n.d). Digital divide impacts vulnerable students. https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/digital-divide-impacts-vulnerable-students#:~:text=An%20independent%20report%20commissioned%20by,school%20students%20from%20disadvantaged%20circumstances.
Johnson, M. (2018). Personal branding to promote school librarians. Journal of the American Association of School Librarians. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/personal-branding-promote-school-librarians/
McPherson, M. (n.d). The influence of teacher librarians’ personal attributes and relationship with the school community in developing a school library programme. ???
Pappas, C. (2023). What is the impact of social media on online learning. https://elearningindustry.com/what-is-the-impact-of-social-media-on-online-learning
Singh, A. (2023). Globalisation [Image]. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/globalization-abhishek-singh/
UNESCO. (2024). Q&A: Why digital global citizenship education is essential. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/qa-why-digital-global-citizenship-education-essential#:~:text=It%20has%20the%20power%20to,in%20particular%20social%20media%20platforms.