It is hard to believe that 12 weeks have already passed, and the time to write the final blog post is here. It has been an unbelievably thought-provoking and eye opening semester as a student in ADED1P32, and I am confident that the skills I have developed as a digital citizen will lead to lifelong benefits as a learner.
When I Googled myself this week, I was fortunately only able to find my LinkedIn account, which have all of my academic and career accomplishment so far on it. Otherwise, I have found no other information about myself that is available to the public. However, having a positive digital footprint is so much more than what you can find when Googling yourself. It is a result of everything that you do with informational technology online - every message, blog post, forum post, and Twitter mention. Leaving a positive digital footprint is part of being an effective online citizen. The most important elements of digital citizenship related to having a positive digital footprint is understanding digital rights and responsibilities, and digital etiquette.
What have you learned about digital citizenship that could be used to promote quality online interactions with others?
In learning about the digital etiquette element of digital citizenship, I discovered that the most important thing to do to promote quality online interactions is to be empathetic and understanding. We must try our best to understand what others' are feeling as they type the words into their screens, and make sure that we're able to respond and communicate in an appropriate manner. This applies also to responding to those who do not interact positively with others - we still must understand that they are human, and we can't call them out or abuse them even if that's what they have done. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
As a digital citizen, what will you do to promote appropriate behaviors in others? Are you finding valuable web sites that support your idea of appropriate use of the Internet?
Promoting appropriate behaviours in others starts with displaying appropriate behaviours - by using kind words, refraining from all caps, and developing effective online communication skills. Though other students have discussed their view that it is important to call others out when they are behaving inappropriately, I feel that this could potentially be seen as retaliation and being condescending, which can further spark aggression. Instead, in most cases of abuse, it is best to refrain from responding, and directly contacting those in charge of the website about the situation. http://www.digizen.org/ is a good website to use to review appropriate use of the Internet.
As a digital citizen, how will you help others develop the knowledge to work and live in the digital society appropriately?
I believe that I can help others develop the knowledge to be an effective digital citizen by developing positive habits for behaving in digital society, then sharing them with my friends and family when the situation presents itself. It is very important to get digital citizenship into daily discussion - I hadn't even heard of the term until I took this course! The digital world is beginning to play a larger and larger role in our society, so appropriate use should have more attention than it does at the moment.
