Collaborating with Digital Natives on Digital Civics and Citizenship
Proposal
The growing majority of students on the campuses of colleges and universities are being described as “digital natives.” It isn't necessarily the case that they are well-informed about what their rights and responsibilities are in the digital part of their lives. Like electricity, this access is an essentially ubiquitous service that seems to only gets deep and critical attention when users identify a break in that service. Digital natives haven't had to consider evaluating something that seems to be available everywhere. In this exploration, the authors propose combining existing information literacy efforts with the parallel and expanded pedagogical opportunities offered by the Digital Citizenship Initiative.
The impetus of this proposed educational initiative comes from repeated encounters with students, and sometimes even faculty and staff, who are not aware of the practice of digital civics and citizenship. Evidence of this educational gap is evident in social media exchanges. In short, the desired outcome is to guide student to “think” before they “post.”
The exploration of information literacy, digital citizenship, and traditional civics instruction will identify these pedagogical strands and combining them to present a stronger, more integrated approach. Using the Project/Problem Based Learning (PBL) method, specific instructional approaches are proposed. This approach is designed to support and build a thoughtful, responsible, and informed digital citizenry.
Using the REP framework of the Digital Citizenship Institute, educators inside and outside libraries have a structure that supports partnership, and integrates the nine elements/themes of digital citizenship into existing curricula.
The learning experience is rooted in the Problem Based Learning2 method, which must also have differentiated approaches. The “P” in PBL typically represents a focus on “Problem” solution. The authors have added “Project” in order to authentically address the topic as fully as possible. The “Problem” approach challenges students to operate in a leadership role with decision making responsibilities for a group, while the “Project” approach challenges students to interact with a relevant situation from an individual perspective.
Collaborating with Digital Natives on Digital Civics and Citizenship
The growing majority of students on the campuses of colleges and universities are being described as “digital natives.” It isn't necessarily the case that they are well-informed about what their rights and responsibilities are in the digital part of their lives. Like electricity, this access is an essentially ubiquitous service that seems to only gets deep and critical attention when users identify a break in that service. Digital natives haven't had to consider evaluating something that seems to be available everywhere. In this exploration, the authors propose combining existing information literacy efforts with the parallel and expanded pedagogical opportunities offered by the Digital Citizenship Initiative.
The impetus of this proposed educational initiative comes from repeated encounters with students, and sometimes even faculty and staff, who are not aware of the practice of digital civics and citizenship. Evidence of this educational gap is evident in social media exchanges. In short, the desired outcome is to guide student to “think” before they “post.”
The exploration of information literacy, digital citizenship, and traditional civics instruction will identify these pedagogical strands and combining them to present a stronger, more integrated approach. Using the Project/Problem Based Learning (PBL) method, specific instructional approaches are proposed. This approach is designed to support and build a thoughtful, responsible, and informed digital citizenry.
Using the REP framework of the Digital Citizenship Institute, educators inside and outside libraries have a structure that supports partnership, and integrates the nine elements/themes of digital citizenship into existing curricula.
The learning experience is rooted in the Problem Based Learning2 method, which must also have differentiated approaches. The “P” in PBL typically represents a focus on “Problem” solution. The authors have added “Project” in order to authentically address the topic as fully as possible. The “Problem” approach challenges students to operate in a leadership role with decision making responsibilities for a group, while the “Project” approach challenges students to interact with a relevant situation from an individual perspective.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/eldc/2015/all/20
