introduction
At a young age students learn what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior from the guidelines established at home by their parents. As educators we too must teach our students appropriate school and classroom behavior. In addition, students must be taught the rules and regulations of good Digital Citizenship. These rules can be taught through the school’s Acceptable Use Policy and reinforced when both teachers and parents model appropriate internet behavior. Students need to learn about internet safety and how to responsibly use technology and all that it has to offer. According to the NET’s standard for digital citizenship, students are expected to “advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2007). This particular standard addresses digital rights and responsibilities and together parents and educators can work in unison to promote the safe, legal, and responsible use of technology.
ISTE NETS Student Standards 2007. (n.d.). ISTE NETS Student Standards 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007
What Are Digital Rights and responsibilities?
Taking advantage of the all that the internet has to offer is not all just fun and games. A person has to be aware of both their rights as a digital citizen as well as their responsibilities. As digital citizens people are able to enjoy the many possibilities that technology opens up to them (their rights), but they also are expected to follow rules involved with the use of technology (their responsibilities). A good digital citizen uses technology appropriately and ethically. According to Ribble & Bailey Digital Rights and Responsibilities are “the privileges and freedoms that are provided to users of technology and the expectations of behavior that come with them” (2007).
A person’s digital rights are numerous. As the video states, a person has the right to express themselves on line as long as it is in an appropriate way (Vettorino 2013). In addition a person has the right to privacy online. They also have the right to receive credit if someone else uses information they have posted online. As educators we must teach our students that although they have freedoms in the digital world, they must act responsibly. We need to teach our students to think beyond themselves and to think how their behaviors online may affect others.
A person’s digital responsibilities are also numerous. Good digital citizenship can be summed up by the guideline of “do no harm” a tenet of good digital citizenship adhered to by Google (Ribble & Bailey, 2007, p. 29)). Expanding on this, a person has the responsibility to report inappropriate activities that happen in the digital world just as they would if they were happening in the real world. It is so important to teach our students to report activities such as cyber bullying and sexting. Students need to know that proper procedures must be followed to legally download materials such as pictures, movies, or music. Also a person has a responsibility to keep their identity private online and they should never pose as someone else online.
On her website, Ferris (n.d.) clearly outlines an individual’s digital rights and responsibilities as it pertains to Digital Citizenship :
Digital Rights:
- Right to freedom of expression
- Right to privacy
- Right to credit for personal works
- Right to digital access
- Right to our identity
Digital Responsibilities:
- Responsibility to report bullying, harassing, sexting, or identity theft
- Responsibility to cite works used for resources and researching
- Responsibility to download music, videos, and other material legally
- Responsibility to model and teach student expectations of technology use
- Responsibility to keep data/information safe from hackers
- Responsibility not to falsify our identity in any way
Ferris, Dianna. (n.d.). Digital Rights and Responsibilities - Digital Citizenship DFerris. Digital Rights and Responsibilities - Digital Citizenship DFerris. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from https://sites.google.com/site/digitalcitizenshipdferris/digital-rights-and-responsibilities
Ribble, M., & Bailey, G. D. (2007). Digital citizenship in schools. Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education.
Vettorino, M. (2013, January 15). Digital Rights & Responsibilities. YouTube. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHn5x3crBfE
Ribble, M., & Bailey, G. D. (2007). Digital citizenship in schools. Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education.
Vettorino, M. (2013, January 15). Digital Rights & Responsibilities. YouTube. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHn5x3crBfE
It is important for teachers and parents to model good digital citizenship for our students. In turn the students will learn what is considered appropriate behavior and safety while also learning what to do should they come across inappropriate internet behaviors. Doing so will enable everyone to be better able to make good use of all the technology available to us.
how do i know what my rights and responsibilities are?
For high school age students it is important that they follow their schools Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) in order to be good digital citizens and stay out of trouble. They must be sure to cite material that they use in reports and projects in order to avoid being accused of plagiarism. They must never use technological tools such as cell phones to cheat on a test.
The following Public Service Announcement talks about the importance of following a school’s AUP.
The following Public Service Announcement talks about the importance of following a school’s AUP.
other resources
St. Mark's H.S Acceptable Use Policy
Son of Citation Machine- This site will help both students and teachers with proper citing resources.
Connect Safely- This website provides safety tips for teenagers as well as parents and educators.
Stopbullying.gov- This particular website provides a plethora of information for teens, parents, and educators about cyberbullying.
Teaching Copyright- This site helps students learn about copyright laws.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act- This site provides information about copyright laws.
Son of Citation Machine- This site will help both students and teachers with proper citing resources.
Connect Safely- This website provides safety tips for teenagers as well as parents and educators.
Stopbullying.gov- This particular website provides a plethora of information for teens, parents, and educators about cyberbullying.
Teaching Copyright- This site helps students learn about copyright laws.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act- This site provides information about copyright laws.
Digital Citizenship by Tom DeMatteis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.