Ensuring students’ safety and responsibility online must be a priority for schools. While educators often focus on teaching students about digital citizenship and literacy within the classroom, it is important to engage parents and the entire school community. School leaders play a critical role in fostering this.
Digital citizenship reinforces the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use. Etiquette, security, and the ethical use of digital resources serve as the framework to use digital tools safely and effectively. Understanding these concepts is crucial for students' success and safety while engaging in their digital orbit.
Digital and social engagement offers major advantages and at the same time the potential risk for significant negative impacts on children and families. We see this online, everyday. Shifting to the positives of supportive networks and messaging online, rather than admonishing the detrimental impacts, is the road to success for school communities. Educators owe it to families to teach how to interact in constructive online engagement.
First, Understand the Trouble Spots
Recently, I heard a quote: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Some debate exists about where this originated but it appears to be centuries old, and could be a derivative of the Jonathan Swift saying from 1710: “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.”
My point? All the noise about misinformation online is something that has always existed in other formats. We used to call it propaganda. We likewise have age-old methods for righting the digital citizenship ship in our schools.
A study conducted by Twitter (now X) demonstrated that false news travels six times faster and farther than the truth. Sound familiar? Maybe Swift foresaw, or little has changed. Either way, it reinforces the significance of helping our school communities to foster a constructive approach to good, honest digital citizenship, with some age-old wisdom, as well as develop new techniques to leverage the very technology that disrupts a positive experience for online users.
Social media also creates other landmines, such as the online disinhibition effect, about which I’ve written. When misinformation spreads rapidly online, the school community is affected by the "hyperactive hive mind," a sort of destructive gang mentality which leads to toxic groupthink. This has no place in schools, where children should find sanctuary in learning and development.
7 Things School Leaders Can Do To Promote Digital Citizenship in the Community
1. Disrupt negative interactions such as the hyperactive hive mind by promoting positive online interactions through the benign disinhibition effect. This method cleverly flips the script, by which supportive and monitored online groups can provide healthier engagement alternatives for students. People feel liberated in this safe zone, more comfortable sharing personal information, feelings, and vulnerabilities online than in real life, where they fear judgment and the danger of social ostracism.
People can provide compliments, defend others, and donate to charitable organizations when anonymous online, since they fear being judged by others disagreeing with them less. Kindness, support, and generosity fosters a network of prosocial contexts, and these happen everyday online for digital citizens. Informing families of these safe spaces can be the catalyst for altering online engagement to constructive interactions.
2. Promote critical thinking by questioning the credibility of sources and recognizing misinformation. By providing tools and strategies for identifying reliable content, it fosters a culture of skepticism and inquiry.
3. Emphasize the importance of adults modeling responsible digital citizenship. Children often mimic the behaviors they observe, so it is crucial for parents and educators to demonstrate ethical online conduct.
4. Avoid rabbit holes. “Reply only twice” is a method that encourages us to limit our responses to two online exchanges to foster clarity and efficiency, while preventing prolonged threads of back and forth.
When digital communication with the school community becomes inefficient and unclear, redirect the conversation to direct dialogue, such as a phone call or meeting. This shift allows for real-time clarification and a more personal interaction, reducing the risk of misinterpretation and enhancing understanding. Additionally, this provides the experience so many new generations need, to learn to interact in person, during which empathy and understanding always have the edge.
5. Encourage open conversations at home, and even help structure it. In communications with parents, provide them with conversation starters and strategies for talking to their children about digital citizenship. For example, ask them to discuss the consequences of sharing personal information online or the impact of digital footprints on future opportunities. This open dialogue builds a foundation for mutual trust and accountability. It is also helpful to schedule homework or other family activities around the student to help further family interactions about digital citizenship.
6. Partner with local organizations. Partner with local organizations and law enforcement agencies who specialize in digital safety. These partnerships can provide valuable resources and additional expertise for your school community.
For example, inviting a local cybersecurity expert to speak at a parent night or coordinating with a nearby community center to host a joint event can expand your reach and reinforce your school’s commitment to digital citizenship. This was one of the most profound experiences we had in our school community, because parents got to see firsthand examples of how significant these interchanges can be, for better or worse, and much depends on how the adults steer this.
7. Celebrate good citizenship. When you see students practicing responsible digital citizenship, acknowledge their efforts publicly. Share these stories in your newsletters or on your school’s social media channels. Recognizing these positive behaviors not only reinforces the message but also encourages others to follow suit.
Ultimately, It is essential to ensure that students, parents, and educators understand the significance of responsible and informed use of digital technologies.
By prioritizing digital citizenship and literacy, we can prepare our students, families and school staff to navigate the digital world responsibly and safely. It is a collective effort that requires the involvement of each of these stakeholders. Through open communication, education, and modeling responsible behavior, we can cultivate a school community that values and practices digital citizenship, ensuring a positive and productive digital future for our students.
