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Grace Ting
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Ontario Tech University
Abstract
Young learners today are born with the Internet and are surrounded by technology. The prevalence of social media inside and outside of schools has raised concerns for parents and teachers due to their negative impacts on students, including cyberbullying and privacy issues. Students know how to use technology but do not know what is right or wrong and differentiate distorted from trustworthy facts. It is not uncommon for schools to implement policies to ban or limit the use of digital tools to improve behaviour and safety concerns. However, the Net Generation is born with technology, and digital media is a part of their lives. Limiting their activity on social media is avoidance instead of a solution to the problem. While the safety of students is important, excessive concern about the use of social media neglects the positive ways that students can leverage online platforms to become responsible digital citizens, increase awareness, and address critical social issues. Social media is not only a personal communication or expressive tool. It can extend to a much greater cause globally when used appropriately. Students can learn how to use social media safely and responsibly through digital citizenship (DC) education while extending digital platforms’ value. Although the merit of DC and the need to promote it has been recognized, leveraging social media in the curriculum to develop DC skills is lacking. Many studies have investigated DC specific to a particular age group. This chapter analyzes previous studies to provide an approach to DC development for students in all age groups, including K-higher education through social media facilitated curriculums.
Keywords
curriculum, digital citizenship, digital literacy, digital media, social media, technology
Introduction
As students increasingly spend large amounts of time online, especially on social media, DC education is vital (Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Martin et al., 2019; Saputra & Siddiq, 2020). According to Rideout and Fox (2018), over 81% of teens and young adults are daily users of social media. They must develop DC skills to participate responsibly and respectfully in the online space. Educators inevitably need to guide students in the process.
New media platforms emerge, and technologies constantly evolve (Tapscott, 2009). 21st century education is no longer confined to classrooms inside school buildings but in the real world, where real problems occur. Learning through reading and writing on paper in isolation disconnects students from reality. Students must be given opportunities to observe, ask questions, and verify information in authentic environments (Fullan, 2013) until they develop the skills they need to be independent (Vygotsky, 1978). Hence, the approach to developing DC through social media facilitated curriculums is presented.
The Rise of Digital Media
In the 20th century, media theorists McLuhan (1964) and Post