Digital Citizenship 1

Digital Citizenship in Elementary Schools

Tamison Yancy

University of West Georgia

 Digital Citizenship 2

Digital Citizenship in Elementary Schools

Introduction

According to Mike Ripple, "Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of

appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use" (Ripple, 2014). The purpose of

my study is to understand digital citizenship for elementary school students by looking at the

students level of internet usage, the amount of knowledge they have with social websites and if

they are able to understand digital citizenship. Students in the 21st Century have way more

technology than ever before. Technology has grown significantly and is continuing to grow.

Adults have to learn to keep up with their children because they are becoming more advanced in

technology use than their parents. Many elementary school students know a lot more knowledge

about technology than teachers. Times have changed and we have to make sure that our students

are being safe while using the internet.

Many students today have cell phones, tablets, and computers that are all connected to the

internet. If a student does not have a technology device, they usually have access to the internet

at school or the public library. They have access to the internet twenty-four hours a day, seven

days a week. The internet is unfiltered and can be very dangerous for students. It is nearly

impossible for teachers and parents to completely control what a student is accessing on the

internet. This is why digital citizenship is extremely important for all students to have. It

provides students with the tools to safely use the internet and to know the signs when something

is wrong.

Interaction among students on social networks have increased tremendously throughout

the years. Social networks have paved a way for some students to become cyber bullies. Many

cyber bullying cases have acquired in middle and high school students. There have been some
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cases of students in elementary. In middle and high school, it is too late to teach students about

digital citizenship. Digital citizenship needs to start in elementary school. Students have access

to the internet at a very young age, so they have to start using the internet responsibly.

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to understand digital citizenship for elementary school

students by looking at the students level of internet usage, the amount of knowledge they have

with social websites and how they can affect the level of understanding of digital citizenship.

The following questions will guide this study:

What is the level of understanding of digital citizenship?

Does the amount of time spent on the internet affect the understanding of being a digital

citizen?

Does the knowledge of social websites have an influence on digital citizenship?

In this study, I will define some of the terms that will be used. When measuring

internet usage, this will mean that the students will be asked questions relating to the

amount of time they spend on the internet. These questions will also consist of the type

of technology they are using. Social websites for this study will be defined as any

website that students are able to share with the public such as, Facebook and Twitter.

Social websites may also include the students school discussion postings or any other

blogging website that is used in school. The levels of understanding will be based on

four levels, with a 4 being the highest rate of understanding and a 1 being the lowest

rating of understanding.
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Literature Review

There is a lot a research on digital citizenship and the importance it is for students in the

21st century. Digital citizenship provides students with the tools to use the internet safely and

provides them protection from the unknown. I am going to talk about two studies relating to

digital citizenship. The first study, Toward Digital Citizenship: Examining Factors Affecting

Participation and Involvement in the Internet Society among Higher Education Students by

Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani. The second study I chose to review, Digital Citizenship by Aaytekin

Isman and Ozlem Canan Gungoren. Both of these studies support the fact that digital citizenship

is important and relevant to students in the 21st century.

The first study, Toward Digital Citizenship: Examining Factors Affecting Participation

and Involvement in the Internet Society among Higher Education Students by Abdulrahman Al-

Zahrani was conducted in Saudi Arabi. This study used a quantitative approach by using

surveys. The research problem for this study is that digital citizenship may be part of the

equation toward achieving use of technology and lessening the negative effects, efforts to control

the risks associated with digital technologies plagued with difficulties and still long overdue

(Al-Zahrani, 2015). The questions that this study wanted to answer was the factors that may

have affected digital citizenship. The factors that the study looked at were computer

experience, daily average technology use, the students attitude toward the Internet, and

computer self-efficiency (Al-Zahrani, 2015).

There were 174 students that participated in this study. These students took a survey that

consisted of two main sections that used the Likert scale (5=strongly agree, 1=strongly disagree).

The survey had a total of 46 items. The sub-sections were Internet Attitude, Computer Self-
 Digital Citizenship 5

efficiency, and Digital Citizenship. This study found that the students have acceptable levels of

perceived Internet attitude and computer self-efficacy. They showed good levels of digital

citizenship, especially in terms of respecting oneself and others online. Technology expertise, in

terms of computer experience and daily average technology use, despite computer qualifications

is suggested to be positively correlated with digital citizenship (Al-Zahrani, 2015).

The second study I chose to review, Digital Citizenship by Aaytekin Isman and Ozlem

Canan Gungoren looks at how schools have the responsible of training students to be good

digital citizens. This research wants to develop a scale about digital citizenship and determine the

levels of digital citizenship among students. They defined digital citizen as those who use the

Internet regularly and effectively (Mossberger, Tolbert & McNeal, 2011). There were 229

students that participated in this quantitative research. These students filled out a questionnaire.

The questionnaire consisted of 34 items. This questionnaire used the five-point Likert scale

(5=Strongly Agree, 1=Strongly Disagree). The findings of this study was that the scale they

created was valid and reliable. This research I felt was relevant because to my research because I

wanted to find the level of digital citizenship among elementary students and have a valid and

reliable questionnaire would make my data valid and reliable.

Both studies show the importance of digital citizenship. They provide the background

information about internet usage in the 21st century. Students today have an unlimited amount of

resources at their fingertips because of the internet. I felt that focusing on elementary school age

students would be appropriate research because we have to start internet safety early. Students

are staring to use the internet earlier in life. Many elementary schools are implementing BYOD

(Bring Your Own Device) and this gives students the ability to have their own technology

devices at school. Teachers have to trust students are using the devices safely, this is why digital
 Digital Citizenship 6

citizenship is so important in our elementary schools.

References
Al-Zahrani, A. (2015). Toward Digital Citizenship: Examing Factors Affecting
Participation and Involvement in the Internet Society among Higher
Education Students. 203-217.
Isman, A., & Gungoren, O. C. (2014). Digital Citzenship. The Turkish Online
Journal of Educational Technoloy, 73-77.
Ribble, M. (n.d.). Digital Citizenship: Using Technology Appropriately.
Retrieved February 13, 2014, from
http://digitalcitizenship.net/Home_Page.html