Page 81 - digitalliteracy

©Credit Goes Here

Title Goes
4.1 Digital Citizenship and

Here
Etiquette Awareness

In the 1960s Canadian theorist Marshall McLuhan recognized that technology and media
allowed people to share ideas and interests in ways that were previously unknown. McLu-
han coined the term global village to describe how we are connected with others through
technology. McLuhan, of course, wrote long before the Internet had been invented, but he
recognized the fact that when we engage with other people, no matter the context, we have
shared rights and responsibilities. A digital citizen can be defined as a person who uses digi-
tal resources to engage in society (Mossberger, Tolbert, & McNeal, 2008).

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed standards for
identifying a good digital student–citizen. The society defines digital citizenship among stu-
dents in the following way: “Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related
to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior” (ISTE, 2007, p. 2). Good digital student–
citizens, in the ISTE’s (2007) view, conform to the following four actions:

1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,
learning, and productivity.
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship. (p. 2)

65