Journal 6: A New Concept of Citizenship for the Digital Age (NETS 5)

Greenhow, C. (2010). A New concept of citizenship for the digital age. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=March_April_No_6_1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4516&ContentID=25564&DirectListComboInd=D.

In this article, Christine Greenhow discusses one of the biggest obstacles to teaching digital citizenship. Most will agree to the definition given by Greenhow of digital citizenship as "the ability to practice and advocate online behavior that demonstrates legal, ethical, safe, and responsible uses of information and communication technologies." But the predicament that educators have run into is that there are no comprehensive universal guidelines to determine exactly what constitutes legal, ethical, safe, and responsible uses. Although it's simple for Netiquette.com to say that the golden rule of netiquette is "Remember the human," the actual interpretation of digital citizenship is basically left up to the individual educator or institution. So even though digital citizenship is as crucial a technological competency as innovation, collaboration, and technological fluency, there is no mainstream idea of what it really is. Which is unfortunate, since a large percentage of employers use these web 2.0 tools to recruit, prospect, and promote. And as adults, students need to be aware of everything they input into the world wide web.

Why will this problem continue to exist for years to come?

Just as there is no international council on off-line etiquette, it is unlikely that a panel will materialize that has any claim to authority over the matter of digital citizenship. The definitions of etiquette and citizenship vary across cultural borders, and therefore so will that of digital citizenship. For instance, burping is considered impolite in western cultures, however in China, it is a sign of respect to the chef. This is a distinction that has continued for years. How can we expect students across the world to agree on its online counterpart. (I just had a funny thought: What would be the online counterpart to burping?)

What are some main ideas of digital citizenship that may transcend cultures?

Respect for self, respect for others.