Digital citizens

Social networking, collaborative technology. Wow the World Wide Web has really turned the world into a global community. Everybody is connected and thinks they have to stay connected. What should be our response to this new space in which we exist? Several times I heard Aisha make reference to us as digital citizens, so I decided to explore the term a little further. As a digital citizen we are not part of a futuristic, sci-fi location but as digitalcitizenship.net puts it "a person who participates in society using a certain amount of information technology”. Normal0 falsefalsefalse EN-USX-NONEX-NONE To qualify for the unofficial title of digital citizen a person must have the skill and knowledge to interact with private and government organizations through means of "digital" tools such as computers or mobile phones, along with access to these devices. Long before I heard the term my students were already digital citizens, some good and upstanding and others well let’s just say if there were digital prisons they will be in it. As we introduce our students to the digital world the onus is on us therefore to also teach them to be responsible citizens who respect others and are willing to live and play by the rules.