Digital Citizenship

At the beginning of the learning path, I am totally puzzled with the word – Digital citizenship. I have no idea what does it mean. So I googled digital citizenship definition and there are lots of information came up.

According to Dictonary.com Digital citizen: “a person who develops the skills and knowledge to effectively use the Internet and other digital technology, especially in order to participate responsibly in social and civic activities.”

Digital citizenship is the norms and rules we follow to act appropriately when using technology. 

Similarly, this website also outlines that “Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology.”

image taken from: http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/digital-citizenship-the-future-of-learning/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/

After i gain an understanding the meaning of digital citizenship, I continue to explore the next learning path. From exploring the definition of digital citizen + digital citizenship, I understand that each and every one of us is most likely a digital citizen as we are actively engage with digital technologies such as laptops, computers, mobile phones, tablets etc. Also we are reading learning path on study desk and completing this blog post using a computer, tablet or phone.

We have been asked to write a blog post about digital citizenship and the activities that we will complete during the path.

 

I can say that I am a active user of Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. I uses these social media on daily basis and I have observed cyber bullying on many occasions through Facebook posts and Instagram posts. People can leave such negative comments such as calling names or comment something that are irrelevant on a simple post that was made public. Its upsetting and unbelievable to see these people can be so dreadful to someone that they don’t even know.

I sometimes do online shopping and online payments. I am sometimes quite paranoid that if my details will be hacked. I always make sure that my website is secure whenever I am doing online shopping or making online payments. I mostly uses my iPhone or iPad to complete the above activities, I supposed it is securely protected? I seldom use my laptop to do online shopping or payments as the internet security/antivirus may expired?

I have got 2 out of 4 for the bullying quiz. Just like the students from semester 1 2016, most students got Q1 and Q3 incorrect. I have got question 1 – Students who often take part in bullying others usually have problems with low self-esteem. – false and question 3 – Cyberbullying is now the most common form of bullying that occurs in secondary schools. – false incorrect. It’s surprising that students who bully are more likely to have inflated self esteem.

I found that the quiz from cyber smart kids quiz straight forward and easy to understand and interactive, I think this is a good activity for students to complete as part of their learning about the importance of cybersafety.

I am always cautious when using social media sites, I used to post a lot in my Facebook and Instagram site but not so often anymore. I always make sure that I always revisit my facebook page privacy settings to make sure the privacy is always up to date, I deleted those people that I don’t know in facebook, I put my instagram page as private, I only approve people I know as my follower.

After reading the scary stories here and here, and from my own experiences – seeing my facebook friends account being hacked, it made me realise that I need to be more cautious (even though I am already being careful) when using social media sites and other sites on the internet.

As for my placement site, I am not certain if they have any specific policies related to cyber safety but I will find out when my placement begins, but i am certain that there are practices that teachers and students practice on daily basis to ensure the correct use of ICT.