An interesting point was brought up during the video conference this week about who is responsible for teaching digital citizenship. With the prevalence of the internet and social media platforms, it’s not difficult to find an individual’s information such as hobbies, interests, recent likes, etc. What’s concerning is the oversight of how posting such information can be detrimental to their themselves. Recent news reported how an employee lost their job over posting a complaint about their company, through their “anonymous” Twitter account. Growing up, we’re often told the same piece of advice: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything”; which seems to have gone out the window as the plethora of stories about people getting fired over posts continues to grow. Which brings us back to the question of who should be responsible to introduce, remind, and outline online expectations. Being a more recent graduate from the Professional Development Program (PDP), I recall we had several workshops on professional conduct which touched upon the issue of social media presence, as well as further class discussions around concerns over past / present / future social media use. In addition, we were also taught (and repeatedly reminded by the district) that simple things such as photographs with students for yearbook, newsletters, or social media need to be treated carefully due to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). In summary, teacher training and school districts have taken some of the responsibility in preparing teachers to recognize (and perhaps demonstrate) digital citizenship. But the next step would be whether it’s a responsibility of the teachers or parents or both to teach students about their digital footprint.
The answer isn’t straightforward as differing opinions or approaches between teachers and parents, combined with some teens’ aversion to risk assessment, results in efforts being non-productive or counter-productive. For example, parents may wish to prevent their children from accessing the internet, which would make it difficult for teachers who wish to introduce them to good practices. Parents (and teachers!) who make an effort to teach about digital literacy can sometimes be counterproductive as the other party does not practice what they preach, or make an effort to remind students to exercise good judgement before making a statement online. There’s also the belief that they cannot be identified, held accountable for their messages, or care enough about the consequences of their actions. All together, it makes the idea of “teaching” digital citizenship similar to teaching math: I can show you all these fancy symbols and numbers… but how likely will you remember any of it?