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would be considered appropriate to a digital citizen. Using examples from the nine elements of digital citizenship helps define the types of
irtappropnate activities sn' that might occur o f } r ^
r-u y 1 p ^ (
t^y SUilis for the Future
Why is the topic of digital citizenship important to students and their future?
This is the world that these students arc growing up in, and schools need to be a part of this process. In a Kaiser Family Foundation study
(Rideout et al. 2010) of students that were heavy users of media (more than 16 hours a day), nearly half earned only fair to poor grades.
Students need to understand the long-term impact of excessive media consumption.
Perhaps not all of these topics dealing with appropriate technology use will fit within the curriculum, but educators need to be aware that
their students are coming to school with these questions and concerns. There may be situations where students use their technology
inappropriately outside of school, which become issues for the teacher and school community. Now that Internet and social networking
applications can be used on a cell phone, these events can occur at any time, both in school and out. While the technologies may change, the
concepts of using these tools appropriately will remain the same. This is why teaching these skills to students (even as young as
prekindergarten) may become a priority for schools.
Technoiog}/ Skills Development
Teachers must learn more about digital citizenship. There are a growing number of resources that are beiny made available on this topic. The
book Digital Citizenship in Schools (Ribble and Bailey 2007) and its companion book foi parents Raising a Digital Child (Ribble 2009) cover the
concepts of the nine elements in much more detail. The website vvww.
digitaldtizenship.org also has some basic information.
Common Sense Media has updated its website to include topics and - information related to digital citizenship at
www.commonsensemeciia.org/digital- citizenship. This site provides information and activities for educators and students to better understand
the topics surrounding technology. Another site launched more recently by the U.S. government is vwwv. admongo.gov. That website helps
students discern the information of digital commerce and decide what information is true and what is not. Other resources such as the
Microsoft5 sponsored site http://digitaldtizenshiped.com and ISTE's information page www.iste.org/learn/ publicalions/leaming-and-
leading/issues/ Passport Jo Digita!_Citizenship.aspx provide educators with a wealth of information. Most of the content on these pages is free
and available to educators.
Once the information about digital citizenship has been identified, the concepts and ideas can be integrated into the classroom and
discussed in an organized fashion. By understanding the elements of digital citizenship, teachers will be able to address the issues that
students are having with technology both in the classroom and at home. Connecting with other teachers to discuss the problems they may be
having in the classroom can help to find strategies that work in other schools or districts. Digital citizenship is not a topic separate from the rest
of the curriculum, but spans across ail areas of education. Today, more than any time in history, students need to become global citizens, and
the use of technology provides a conduit for those connections. The themes within digital citizenship help educators to explain these ideas to
students.
Closing Thoughts
Now is the time to begin making changes in the classroom. Students already are coming to school with this knowledge,
i and now teachers need to catch up.
I Educators need to look to the tools that are available and work with their technology personnel to set a path for where and what they want to
do to ensure digital citizenship in their schools.
It is true that technology continues to change, but schools and districts need to begin setting a direction for how to use the tools of technology
and provide the best education for students. The technology is only part of the equation; it needs to be coupled with solid, tested educational
curriculum.
Ideally, the focus on areas such as digital citizenship in schools will begin the process of creating an organized plan for how to integrate
these ideas into lessons.
As the impact of technology continues to grow, both inside schools and out, the skills needed to become effective digital citizens will be ever
increasing. Educators can no longer wait for the next digital tool or federal mandate to be released. Digital citizenship education is needed
I today.
References
1
Collier, A. Z009. A definition of digit.til literacy b citizenship. NetfanviyNe>vs, September 15. Available- al: wwv.nptfamilynews.org/7p-28594.
: Common Sense Media. 2010. Digital citizenship. San Francisco. CA: Common Sense Media. Available at: .vwfv.coinmonspnsemedia.org/edncolors/ curriculumfk-5. .
; International Society for Technology in Education. V 2000. National education standards. Washington, DC: ISTE. Available at: www.isie.org/standQrdi/ ne ts-far-teacher s.aspx.
International Society for lechnology in Education. 2008. National education standards. Washington, DC: ISTt. Available al: www.isle.org/stQndardi/ nets-far-teachers.aspx.
Kiker, R. 2011.5 strategies tor I to I classroom management. 1 to 1 Schools website,
March 18 post. Available at: 1 tot schools net/?s=5+strategies.
Online Safety and Technology Working Croup. 2010. Youth safely on a living internet. Washington, DC. OSTVVG. Available at: www.ntia.doc.goir/f>hn/nti:i/ pubiications/ostwg_tingl_rcporl
070610.pdf.
. Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2012 Website
I home page. Washington, DC: PZI Available alive.-// p21 .org
| Ribble, M. 2009. Raising a digital child Eugene.
OR: HomePage Books/lnternaiional Society for Technology in Education.
! Ribble, M., and G. Bailey. 2007. Oinitnl citizenship in schools. Eugene, OR International Society lot Technology in Education.
1 Rideout, V. )., U. C. Foehr, and D. F. Roberts. 2010 (feneration AT": Media in the lives al X- to hS year- olds. Menlo Park, C.A: The Henry j Kaiser Family Foundation.
KAPPA DELTA PI RECORD * OC1 DEC 20'. J 151
Three Types of Citizenship
Westheimer and Kahne (2004) suggested three types of citizens: the personally responsible citizen, the participatory citizen, and
the justice oriented citizen. They also stated that these three categories are not necessarily cumulative. Though commonalities
may exist among the three citizen types, they felt that it was important to make each category distinct.
According to Westheimer and Kahne, a personally responsible citizen acts dutifully in his or her community by doing things such
as recycling, obeying laws, or contributing to local food and clothing drives. A participatory citizen actively partakes in the civic
 MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2010

affairs and the social life of the community at local, state, and national levels (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, p. 4). Participatory
citizens need to understand how government and community organizations work, and they need to understand how to plan and
lead meetings.
Westheimer and Kahne (2004) defined the justice oriented citizen as one who pursues social justice. They provided an example
where a justice oriented citizen focused on the root of peoples hunger, rather than donating food or even organizing a local food
drive (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). This type of citizen does not simply respond to a problem. Instead he or she works to find a
solution to the cause of it. A justice oriented citizen also understands how to value and incorporate diverse and even opposing
views when addressing the roots of social problems (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Digital Citizenship
The International Society for Technology in Educations most recent technology standards for students contained a major
category about digital citizenship. These standards state that a digital citizen practices conscientious use of technology,
demonstrates responsible use of information, and maintains a good attitude for learning with technology (ISTE, 2007). However,
these standards do not promote the idea that critical literacy and civic responsibility are equally important characteristics of a
digital citizen (OBrien, 2008; Salpeter, J. 2008; Makinen, 2006). Still, these standards and the types of citizens proposed by
Westheimer and Kahne (2004) can be combined and adapted to describe three types of digital citizens.
A personally responsible digital citizen may opt out of paper mail for electronic mailings, communicate respectfully on public
discussion forums, and subscribe to information feeds about local volunteering events from Web 2.0 resources such as blogs or
social networks. A participatory digital citizen might use a discussion forum to organize a local clothing drive or use an online
social network to raise money for a local charity (Center for Social Media, 2004). A justice oriented digital citizen might start to a
Web 2.0 resource such as a wiki or a public discussion forum that directly deals with social issues (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
He or she might support a movement towards social justice by joining an appropriate online social network.
Recent Noteworthy Use of Web 2.0 Tools
In 2008, the number of Democratic voters that showed up increased from 2004 while the Republican turnout decreased (Joyner,
2008). Though a number of mitigating circumstances may have contributed to this increase, one important factor was how
Barack Obama used the power of online social networks to recruit voters, share information, and engage people who had limited
access or ability to contribute to political activity. At first, Obamas team tapped existing grassroots networks such as Organizing
for America, using their energy and resources to build momentum for their own campaign. As Obamas popularity grew,
individuals with no official connection to the campaign began organizing their own supportive meetings using online social
network sites like Facebook and Linkedln. Obamas team eventually created their own online social network to take advantage of
peoples desire to take part in this historic election (OHear, 2007).
Previous candidates such as Howard Dean had used the Internet for their campaigns, but mostly just to raise funds (Carr, 2008).
Obama and his campaign team may have seen the Internets ability to engage peoples desire to be justice oriented citizens.
Many individuals took their own time and resources to help make a change in the United States after possible disappointment
with the previous administration (Carr, 2008). Obamas Presidential office has continued to use the social networking model to
develop their community service driven initiative, connecting people to civic and social service projects.
In June 2009, protests over a controversial election began to take place in Iran. Irans government, following a predictable
pattern, tried to control information about the protests from going out over TV, radio, and the Internet (Guardian UK, 2009). As
commercial media outlets were not able to give the protests adequate coverage, individuals began using blogs, social networks,
and other Internet tools to

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