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Schools can prepare students to safely navigate the digital world and take advantage of the wealth of information that defines life online.
We start off early in life learning about staying within the lines. Mom always chided me to color within the lines with the crayons. Later, we learn the lines are not just a nuisance. In driver education, we learn the lines on the road help us work and play well with others on the highway. Knowing the rules of the road is a must. Cross those double yellow lines and you'll end up in a head-on collision.
We face the same challenge in the virtual world. As educators, citizens and parents, part of our responsibility is to teach our youth about where these lines are. Digital citizenship is how we can teach where the lines of cyber safety and ethics are in the interconnected online world our students will inhabit.
What It means to be a digital citizen
Digital citizenship for our youth is garnering greater attention. In lune 2010, the Online Safety and Technology Working Group sent a report to Congress entitled "Youth Safety on a Living Internet," prepared in accordance with the Broadband Data Improvement Act and the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. One of the conclusions of the report was that new media education is essential to protecting 21st century youth.
The report said research shows that "civil, respectful behavior online is less conducive to risk, and digital media literacy concerning behavior as well as consumption enables children to assess and avoid risk, which is why this subcommittee urges the government to promote nationwide education in digital citizenship and media literacy as the cornerstone of Internet safety."
On the value of online safety education, Susan Crawford, assistant to the president for Science, Technology and Innovation put it more succinctly: "The best software is between the ears." We cannot monitor our children every minute that they are online. In the absence of adult supervision, young people increasingly play with their own safety online. Risk to youths online can be reduced through Digital Citizenship education.
Beyond Internet safety
Ubiquitous connectivity allows us access to information any time...