5:Digital Citizenship.Educational administrators provide digital age leadership and management to continuously improve the organization through the effective use of information and technology resources.
As the digital age advances, the importance of educating students in the appropriate use of web-based tools and resources grows. This means helping students become not just consumers, but critical consumers, of online content. Administrators can do this by setting the expectation that students must think about the accuracy and reliability of content they find online and become curators of the internet, which will ensure their own cyberwellness while creating and managing the information that’s out there for future generations.
To promote responsible use of the internet, administrators must also ensure all students learn how to be good citizens of the digital age. Digital citizenship refers to the behavior, knowledge and skills that people should demonstrate when interacting with digital tools. Children cannot become digital citizens without adult guidance. Although they are often very comfortable using technology, they still need help from their teachers to understand the regulations and safety concerns inherent in using the internet.
Not all teachers know how to demonstrate and teach digital citizenship skills. The increasingly complex and ubiquitous nature of technology necessitates ongoing training. Therefore, administrators should provide teachers with opportunities to continuously improve their understanding of digital citizenship.
In the activities described in the table below, three principals have decided they want to foster digital citizenship in their schools by improving teacher knowledge of this subject. However, each has gone about it in a different way. Some meet the standard and others do not. Although the activities refer to principals and assistant principals educating teachers in their schools, you can easily translate them to all levels of administration.