Setting aside the debate of whether “digital citizenship” should just be “citizenship”,  I think there continues to be a need for  focus on the digital aspect of citizenship as people learn the in and outs of our rapidly evolving digital world.

I enjoyed an opportunity to have an in depth conversation with the WRDSB student senate and trustee  Kathi Smith  last night on this very topic.  The discussion was lively, and a number of important points were made through the evening.

In the end, we landed on digital citizenship (or D.C. as we ended up abbreviating it):

• is not a “check box” or single event
• be  embraced and lived
• must be relevant
• role modelled by staff and students
• experienced with real life tools and contexts

There was agreement that action is needed to continue to raise awareness among students in terms of managing your digital profile, understanding what online information about you is actually ‘out there’  and understanding the impact of your choices and actions.

I look forward to meeting with next year’s senate members to explore options to bring the ideas and action items identified into play.

On the drive home,  I was wondering what approaches to teaching, coaching,  mentoring and role modelling digital citizenship would look like if you applied the 4 stages of the SAMR model.   Hmmm.

There it is:  Digital Citizenship meets the SAMR model.

What do you think this might look like?   Wonder with me and share your ideas.

~Mark