Creating Digital Citizens
Raising Awareness and Intentional Pedagogical Integration
Why?
- There is currently not a focus on digital citizenship in education.
- Digital citizenship is a priority of employers in the workplace.
- Employers report digital citizenship as a deficiency of new workplace entrants.
What do Teachers in My School Say?
Data Tells the Same Story
- Only 51% of the districts reported employing a full time technology leader.
- Over 90% of the districts reported offering teacher professional development in technology, yet only 58% agreed that teachers are sufficiently trained in technology.
Employers' Perspectives
"As the world has transitioned from the 20th century Industrial Age to the 21st Information Age, there is an increasing awareness that the skills that led to success in the 20th century are no longer sufficient to lead to success and prosperity in the 21st century." (Kivunja, 2015, p. 2).
The following information is outlined from a collaborative report conducted by, The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
What do employers value?
- Professionalism/Work Ethic, Teamwork/Collaboration, Oral Communications and Ethics/Social Responsibility are rated as the four “most important” applied skills needed by entrants into today’s workforce.
- We must accept that these skills are inherently a part of the growing integration of digital technology in the workplace.
What do employers report?
- Over 70% of new entrants with a high school diploma are 'deficient' in Professionalism/Work Ethic. Students are not learning this skill in school. This skill was ranked highest in importance by employers.
- Over 44% of new entrants with a high school diploma are 'deficient' in Ethics/Social Responsibility. Students are not learning this highly important skill in school.
Who are My Students?
- Ethnicity:
African American: 8 students
Asian: 9 students
Hispanic: 50 students
Multiracial: 6 students
White: 46 students
Special Education: 6 students
Regular Education: 113 students
Language
English Language Learners: 4 students
Non English Language Learners: 115 students
Female: 63 students
Male: 56
What do My Students Say?
- "If I stop and think about, it makes sense, but I don't usually think about it with school stuff." Maria D.
- "Most digital assignments I can do on my phone. If I can't do it on my phone, I don't do it." Jorge O.
- "Some of my teachers talk about how to use the internet responsibly, but most of them barely know how to use the internet" Anonymous
What Now?
Immediate impact in my practice
- I have began to specifically focus on digital literacy and citizenship in planning and delivering lessons.
- I have focused on my own digital literacy and citizenship in modeling for my students. Particularly in emails and other electronic mediated communication with the students.
- I have engaged colleagues in meaningful discussions around digital citizenship.
Teacher Training
- Meaningful professional development of teachers. Giving them ownership in developing 21st century skill based curricula that seamlessly integrates digital literacy and citizenship into all high impact standards.
- Teachers must stay current on new technology as it progresses at an accelerated rate.