CRITICAL ISSUE RESPONSE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY USE

Student Technology Use:

Do students know how to use technology responsibly or must it be taught?
Introduction
In 2001, Marc Prensky published a paper titled, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. In
this paper Prensky identifies what he called a singularity which was occurring with the
students of the 1990s and early 2000s. He defined this singularity as an event that changes
things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back. For those students, the
singularity was the arrival of digital technology. Prensky (2001) went on to point out that
students of this time period thought and processed information in a fundamentally different way
than those students before them. These students were, in a sense, Digital Natives. They were
speakers of a new language spoken on computers, video games, the internet, and cell phones
(Prensky, 2001). The interesting fact is that this article was published almost 14 years ago and
while technology has progressed exponentially during that time, the time spent educating
students about its proper and safe use has not really significantly changed.
Today, the risks to youth are greater than ever, mainly due to the digital culture that we
live in (Jones, Mitchell & Finkelhor, 2012). The digital environment that these students inhabit
on a day to day basis is characterized by rapid technology changes and equally rapid protective
adaptations. Companies like Facebook and Twitter are constantly changing and providing new
controls and security options for users. Despite this, Jones, Mitchell, and Finkelhor (2012)
concluded in a study of trends in youth reports of unwanted online sexual solicitation,
harassment, and exposure to pornography that, over the past 10 years, some types of encounters
have decreased, while others have increased. Between the years of 2000 and 2010, in the study
of over 1,500 students, the amount of online harassment experiences and reports had risen from
6% in 2000, to 11% in 2010 (Jones, Mitchell, & Finkelhor, 2012). From these results, Jones,
Mitchell, and Finkelhor (2012) conclude that online harassment is a major problem facing the
youth of the current generation and something must be done to slow down this upward trend.
These results are also seen in an eight year study done by the Cyberbullying Research Center,
which shows over those years, on average 25% of students who have been a part of the study
have been a victim of online harassment or cyberbullying at some point in their lives (Hinduja &
Patchin, 2014). In addition, the student surveys have indicated that over those eight years, an
average of 16% of students admitted to having cyberbullied another student at least once during
that time (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014). These statistics are shocking and the trends are on the rise,
in fact the Cyberbullying Research Center indicates that the number of victims of cyberbullying
in their studies went up to 34% in 2014 (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014). This is a major problem that
doesnt have an easy answer; however understanding the task may help us find a solution.
What are the Options?
In a book by Richard Guerry titled Public and Permanent, the author reminds us again
that anything posted in an online format has a permanent, lasting implications. In his book he
gives real life examples of how poor digital decision making can lead to lasting consequences
that range from expulsion from school to years in prison (Guerry, 2013). Guerry (2013) points
out the need for the establishment of appropriate beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors for
responsible digital decision making. His Golden Rule of whatever is posted in a digital sense

CRITICAL ISSUE RESPONSE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY USE

is public and permanent is a lasting message that educators must pass on to their students
(Guerry, 2013). Mossberger, Tolbert, and McNeal (2008) define activities such as these as being
a good Digitial Citizen. Digital citizenship can be broken down to the skills, access, and
education needed for participation in the information age (Mossberger, Tolbert, & McNeal,
2008).
In order to be effective Digital Citizens, parents and students need quality information
about what to do in cases where internet harassment has occurred as well as the steps to prevent
such happenings (Jones, Mitchell, & Finkelhor, 2012). Guerry (2012), in a previous paper,
addresses the topic of conversation by presenting previous discussions about student online
safety. These discussions centered on two issues: how to stay ahead of what our students are
doing with digital technology and what controls are available to prevent access to inappropriate
information (Guerry, 2012). However, this is fundamentally flawed question, due to the fact that
educators are always one step behind the students. As soon you ban one website the students
have already moved on to the next one (Guerry, 2012). Instead, the focus should be on how to
effectively communicate personal accountability and awareness when using digital tools and
technologies (Guerry, 2012). Student must be taught this at a young age within the school
system. Students need to be taught the appropriate beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors that
they need to make responsible digital decisions. In essence, students must be taught how to be
good Digital Citizens.
Teaching Students How to be Good Digital Citizens
As noted above, the need to be informed about the best practices in digital citizenship is a
growing need in education today. However, how can teachers be ready for this type of
integration and prioritization of digital citizenship? This answer is not an easy one and the
problem is something that teachers should not and cannot face alone. For the sake of our youth,
it will take parents, teachers, administrators, academics, technology professionals, media
specialists and students to find a solution to this growing problem (Hollansworth, Dowdy &
Donovan, 2011). In order to help simplify where to begin it may be helpful to look for goals or
objectives that deal with digital citizenship.
There are many resources available for educators on the best practices in digital
citizenship. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) addresses within
their standards for students, teachers, and administrators the need for awareness about Digital
Citizenship issues. In the ISTE standards for students, it is outlined that, Students understand
human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical
behavior. This is mirrored in the ISTE standards for teachers, where the promotion and
modeling of digital citizenship and responsibility are key aspects of emphasis. The ISTE
Teacher standards state, Teachers understand local and global societal issues and
responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their
professional practice (Iste.org, 2015). Using these resources and standards a plan can be put
together to help remedy this growing problem.
These standards allow schools to come up with plan to promote digital citizenship within
their curriculum. The most important step in this plan is educating the entire school community
about responsible internet use through an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) (Hinduja & Patchin,
2014). This is a series of rules that parents and students agree to in order to access internet-based
and other technology resources while at school. However, this must start in the lower grades to

CRITICAL ISSUE RESPONSE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY USE

be highly effective in changing students attitudes with regard to digital citizenship

(Hollansworth, Dowdy & Donovan, 2011). In order to accomplish this students must see how
digital citizenship relates to them as a student and a person, they must see the value. Often this
value comes too late because by the age of twelve a students behavior patterns with regards to
technology have already been set and can be very hard to change. As a result, digital citizenship
training must begin earlier in the primary grades and build on topics each year to be effective in
solving digital citizenship problems (Hollansworth, Dowdy & Donovan, 2011).
However, the most effective way to facilitate a community where proper technology use
is promoted and cyberbullying is not tolerated is by creating a positive school climate (Hinduja
& Patchin, 2014). A positive school climate can produce not only safe and respectful learning
environment, but also consistent attendance and even higher student achievement (Hinduja &
Patchin, 2014). In order to promote and facilitate a positive school climate all members of the
community must be involved in the process, especially parents (Hollansworth, Dowdy &
Donovan, 2011). Acceptable use policies within schools are not longer good enough. It is going
to take an active relationship and discussion between all members of the community to find a
solution and advance the digital citizenship of our students as they learn to use technology tools
more and more within their lives.

CRITICAL ISSUE RESPONSE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY USE

References
Guerry, R. (2013). Public and permanent: A golden rule for the 21st century. Chapin, SC:
YouthLight.
Guerry, R. (2012). Building a Digital Consciousness: Make" Public and Permanent" the Golden
Rule. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 77(7), 57-59.
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. (2014). Cyberbullying fact sheet: Identification, prevention, and
response. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved March 17, 2015, from
http://www.cyberbullying.us/Cyberbullying_Identification_Prevention_Response.pdf
Hollandsworth, R., Dowdy, L., & Donovan, J. (2011). Digital citizenship in K-12: It takes a
village. TechTrends, 55(4), 37-47.
Iste.org,. (2015). Retrieved 24 March 2015, from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/2014_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf
Jones, L. M., Mitchell, K. J., & Finkelhor, D. (2012). Trends in youth internet victimization:
Findings from three youth internet safety surveys 20002010. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 50(2), 179-186.
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J., & McNeal, R. S. (2008). Digital citizenship. The internet, society,
and participation, 1.