"Its time to teach students about the Internet as a force for Good and not evil"







The Internet


Digital citizenship education is too geared towards warning young people about the dangers of the internet, so we need to develop a new approach to digital literacy.
Today, children are largely living their lives online. So, how have we allowed our schools’ curricula to fall so far out of step with the world that we are not fully preparing young people for this reality?

However, the bulk of the classroom material available was (and still is) on cybersafety and digital citizenship. In other words: rules about what not to do online, and rules about how to be a well-behaved user of the internet.

A holistic approach

Knowledge and awareness of the crucial role of the internet in our society, and how we should interact most appropriately with digital technology, is key to helping students thrive, both in social, work, and academic environments. Blocking, filtering, and scare tactics are certainly not constructive approaches to helping them learn to navigate the new digital ecosystem and become true citizens of the wired world. Our students are certainly relishing the opportunity to learn both about the nuts and bolts of the internet, as well as about internet culture and to discuss their own online experiences in a non-judgmental environment.

Digital citizens

Fortunately, there is a growing recognition that in limiting ourselves to teaching a predominantly negative and reactive view of the digital world, we are in fact doing students a disservice. The “fake news’ epidemic amply demonstrated that students (as well as adults) urgently need guidance. And as the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications succinctly pointed out in its March 2017 report, Growing up with the Internet: “Digital literacy, that is, the skills and knowledge to critically understand the internet, is vital for children to navigate the online world...no child should leave school without a well-rounded understanding of the digital world.”
Our goal should be to educate students so that they may function as responsible, ethical, informed and critical members of society, both on and offline. How else can they take full advantage of all the opportunities that the internet has to offer, as well as protect themselves against the inevitable pitfalls?


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