Article Review # 2
Digital Citizenship in Schools
By:
Mike Ribble
In “Digital Citizenship in Schools”
Mike Ribble mentions the nine elements of digital citizenship. He states the
importance of following the rules of the digital world and being good digital
citizens. This article made me realize the significance of teaching students
about being good digital citizens. There are many youngsters who are exposed to
our digital world who are not realizing that there are many rules and
responsibilities that come along with using the Internet. As parents and
teachers, we need to educate our children because you never know when your
child or student will be using the Internet inappropriately and they are not
even aware of it.
Although there are nine elements to
being good digital citizens, the three elements that struck me as most
important are digital access, digital communication and digital health and
wellness. It is too often when teachers ask students to type their homework up.
However, the teacher should realize that he/she is leaving out those students
who do not have access to a computer/Internet. I understand that we live in a
society where Internet/computer access is available to mostly everyone yet;
this does not mean that everyone has access.
Furthermore, even if schools were
able to provide each student with a laptop, who’s to say that these students
will absolutely, make appropriate use of this advantage? As a future teacher,
before I can introduce any type of online space, I will make sure my students
understand the importance of digital communication. There have been many cases
around the world in which students/young ones have lost their lives over the
misuses of the Internet. I will make sure to teach my students why it is so
important to respect one another on the internet and not promote
cyber-bullying.
Additionally, I remember in High
School when I would abbreviate all my words because I was subsequently used to
using the texting language. This had a negative toll on me because when I was
taking my SAT exam, I had to sit there and remember how to spell again. Who
knows, maybe I could have gotten a higher grade if it weren’t for my
inappropriate use of digital communications. Also, I know for a fact that
everyone of my peers was once a MySpace/Facebook addict. I personally would
spend around 14-18 hours a day on the Internet and this also had vast negative bearings
on my life. I had to get glasses because my vision was being affected by staring
at the computer screen all day long. Plus, I was slouching my back more than
ever. I had severe back pain for months because all I would do is sit on a
chair and surf the Internet. Ribble states that computer ergonomics has
tremendous negative consequences on our health and I wholeheartedly agree with
him. Computer ergonomics had its effects on many of my peers and myself as
well. Therefore, I will make sure to educate my students about the importance
of digital health and wellness.
Children are very susceptible to the
dangers of our digital world and it is our job as educators to educate them on
the appropriate and inappropriate uses of it. We have to make sure that they
are fully aware of what is really going on around them. They also need to be
aware of the fact that there are many predators that surround their daily
digital lives hence, they need to be cautious of what type information they are
releasing on the internet. Further, if educators took a step and taught these
nine elements to all of their students then those students will implement these
elements to their outside lives, causing them to become good digital citizens
forever.
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