Digital Citizenship Cranium

Post number 2 for my 10 posts in 10 days challenge...

How is your school supporting students to become good digital citizens?

We live in a time where successful navigation of digital technologically is a critical part of success. Don't believe me? Did you use any form of digital alarm this morning, including a digital clock or phone? Did you call or text the school when your child was sick and you were keeping them at home? On your lunch break, did you pay for your coffee with EFTPOS, credit card or Apple Wallet? Perhaps you used a GPS to find your next meeting. In the meeting you may have showcased some of your latest work using a presentation or augmented reality. Chances are that you used Spotify to get you in the zone at the gym, while out running, or in that fitness class you've been taking. When you're ready to crash tonight you might watch a show on Netflix before a quick scroll through Facebook to see the birthdays you should have remembered today. Before you go to sleep, you might turn off your phone, and settle in for a little bit of quiet reading on a Kindle before doing it all again tomorrow.

While digital technology is ubiquitous in our life and the lives of our students, it is important to remember that is only increasing. Already self-driving cars are on the increase, as are autonomous drones. An increasing array of wearable tech is also augmenting our lives. Just think Apple watch, Fitbit and bluetooth headphones. All of the above doesn't even begin to address the wide range of digital skills that our students already need (and will need) in the workplace. Additionally, the students who are in front of us today do not remember, a time before the internet, or even a time before YouTube. For some of them at least, there may not be a separation vs. online and real world, instead, it is just the world.

The explosive and exponential pace of change in digital technology means that we are essentially in a new Wild West, characterised by new frontiers, rapid expansion, and some degree of anarchy as law and order struggles to keep pace with the rate of change. It is my belief that any school that intends to prepare and support students in the world in and beyond school, needs to help students navigate the challenges and pitfalls of digital technology, as well as enable students to seize the opportunities and benefits on offer.

In response, I ran a short professional learning activity today with our staff to help promote discussion about the many elements of digital citizenship - it's a lot more than just cyber bullying! I designed the activity to help build our staff's vocabulary and awareness of the scope of digital citizenship.

The activity is quite obviously inspired by Cranium, however I have made a few tweaks to allow you to play it with large groups. 


Digital Citizenship Cranium

You will need:

• One piece of paper and pencil for each group. 
• One set of playing cards for each group (see below). 
• Timer for each group.

To play:

• The object of the game is to guess as many correct answers answers as possible in the allocated amount of time. (We played for 10 minutes today.)
• Split into small groups of 3 to 6 people. You can have as many group as you like, however each group will need their own set of cards.
• Assign one person from each group as the game facilitator. This person will read the instructions on each card to the group and start a 1 minute timer. Groups can take turns to be the facilitator or keep the same one the whole way through.
• When the timer runs out or when the group guesses correctly, go to the next card.

Click here for the high resolution cards.

Ask not what the internet can do for you, but what you can do for the internet!

Image source: www.unrestrictedstock.com

Did you know, to become a New Zealand citizen if you have not been born here, you are required to swear an oath or  complete an affirmation of allegiance?

I (your name) solemnly and sincerely affirm that ...  ...  ...   I will faithfully observe the laws of New Zealand and fulfil my duties as a New Zealand citizen - www.dia.govt.nz

In England, there is a GCSE called Citizenship Studies which "helps students to develop as active citizens of our democracy." 

What is citizenship? What does it mean to be a New Zealand citizen as opposed to a citizen of another country? What is a good citizen? How do you teach someone to become a good citizen? And should there be a distinction between citizenship and digital citizenship?  

Being a bit of an E-Learning nerd, I spend a significant amount of time thinking about Digital Citizenship. However, working with +Andrew Cowie from the National Library on this subjects recently, I have realised a few more important things... 

Firstly, that although we keep saying digital citizenship, it is really an indication of our age far more than grey hair and wrinkles could ever be. Do you have an email account? Then guess what? You are a digital citizen. Although to a lesser degree than a fourteen year old who documents their whole life through Instagram snap shots or a twenty something year old teacher who blogs about everything she learns at her new school, you are still a digital citizen. Then throw in some online banking, shopping, your iTunes account and your Facebook account. Perhaps you are occupying more of cyber space than you care to think? In fact, how many of us can really function in society without connectivity? +Andrew Cowie proposed that the "digital" might fall away eventually. I agree, but I think that it should already have fallen away. Breaking a law online, is still, breaking a law, hence, you are citizen occupying a physical and a digital space. 

As always, admitting the problem is always the first step. So now that I am aware that I am a (digital) citizen, what should I know? Certainly the traditional ideas of cyber safety are my, and probably your immediate thoughts. Don't give out personal details and so forth. However there is more to it than that. I am directly connected to the world. I have a digital persona that may reflect positively or negatively depending on how what I put out there is interpreted. And that digital version of me has a reach often much further than what I would have had on my own. What is the impact of my words online? They may not break any laws, but certainly they may impact someone's perception of me. Or they may impact someone's perception of the organisation that I work with. And certainly, if you work in New Zealand, chances are, you will meet someone in person at some point.

Although we often focus on the cyber safety and sensibility side of things. We often forget about things such as intellectual property. Do you have the permission to use certain images? When I retweet an image, do I actually have the right to do so? Have you read the fine print of who owns the images you upload to Pinterest, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Instagram? Do you know what a creative commons licence is? 

Being a good digital citizen extends beyond not breaking the law, just as being a good citizen extends beyond not breaking the law. For example I might not break any laws, but I would be considered a much better citizen if I enrolled to vote and actually bothered to vote. Or if politics isn't your thing, I might choose to get involved in my community through girl scouts or other community projects. In the digital world, this may be as simple as clicking the report spam button in Twitter. It may mean that I host events such as #kidschatNZ or that I use the internet to spread the world about a good cause like +Johanna Chambers and her ride for cancer. 

There is also genuine skill that comes into being a good digital citizen. Information is no longer a commodity but being able to sift through information and curate it in a thoughtful, useful and unique way is far more valuable. Or learning to manage online representations of ourselves is certainly also a skill with genuine value. 

Citizenship is about obeying the laws of a country. However being a good citizen is about contributing in such a way that your country benefits from you, and as a result, you from it. Being a citizen you would keep yourself safe and follow the law, but a good citizen contributes. So, ask not what the internet can do for you, but what you can do for the internet. Are you contributing by keeping not just yourself, but others safe too? Are you using the connectivity and reach of the internet to achieve positive things both in a physical and a digital space? And are you really engaging with the potential of the internet? Are you the citizen who never enjoys the beaches, the parks, the public fireworks? Or are you the citizen who embraces the full power of the the Internet's enormous diversity and makes it work for you and those around you in both the physical and the digital worlds you occupy? 

I encourage you to embrace that you are probably like me, a child of two worlds. You live in a physical and a digital space. So I invite you to step up, and live in that space as you would in your home, your neighbourhood and your community. Make it a better place!