This year’s eTwinning Weeks, 10-27 October, focused on ‘digital citizenship’ – they thus encouraged teachers from all around the world to initiate projects on how eTwinning can develop Europe’s next generation of active citizens.

In response to that call, our school, the 3rd Genreal Lyceum of Tripoli/ Greece, cooperated with another school, the Zespół Szkół Nr 4 of Leszno/ Poland and set up such a project, giving it the rhyming title:

But what is

and how can eTwinning promote it?

INTRODUCTION Today, billions of people all over the planet interact using various technologies. This interaction has created a digital society that provides its citizens with opportunities for education, employment, entertainment, and social interaction. Digital citizenship can be defined as engaging in appropriate and responsible behaviour when using technology.  As in any society, it is expected that digital citizens act in a certain way according to accepted norms, rules, and laws.

Most of today's students are entirely comfortable with technology, but are they using it appropriately? In an attempt to answer the above question, the topic has been divided into the well-known nine elements of digital citizenship.

1.   Digital Access:   full electronic participation in society. Helping to provide and expand access to technology should be a goal of all digital citizens. To become productive citizens, we need to be committed to make sure that no one is denied digital access.

2.   Digital Commerce:   electronic buying and selling of goods. Technology users need to understand that a large share of market economy is being done electronically. Users need to learn about how to be effective consumers in a new digital economy.  

3.   Digital Communication:  electronic exchange of information. People are now able to be in constant communication with anyone else. They thus need to be taught how to make appropriate decisions when faced with so many different digital communication options.

4.   Digital Literacy:   process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology. New technologies are not being used in schools (e.g., Videoconferencing, online sharing spaces such as wikis). Learners must be taught how to learn in a digital society, that is, to learn anything, anytime, anywhere.

5. Digital Etiquette:   electronic standards of conduct or procedure. Often rules and regulations are created or the technology is simply banned to stop inappropriate use. It is not enough to create rules and policy, we must teach everyone to become responsible digital citizens in this new society.

6.   Digital Law:   electronic responsibility for actions and deeds Ethical use manifests itself in the form of abiding by the laws of society. Users need to understand that stealing or causing damage to other people’s work, identity, or property online is a crime. 

7.   Digital Rights & Responsibilities:   those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world. Basic digital rights must be addressed, discussed, and understood in the digital world.  With these rights also come responsibilities, as well. 

8.   Digital Health & Wellness:   physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world. Users need to be taught that there are inherent dangers of technology. Digital Citizenship includes a culture where technology users are taught how to protect themselves through education and training. 

9.   Digital Security (self-protection):   electronic precautions to guarantee safety. We need to have virus protection, backups of data, and surge control of our equipment. We must protect our information from outside forces that might cause disruption or harm.

Respect, Educate and Protect (REPs)There are two aspects to each of the REPs: one focuses on an individual’s use of technology, and the other is users’ responsibility to do the same for others (which helps users to focus on empathy for others as well). 

Who are the “digitally savvy”? Consumers who are-likely to own high-tech items like DVRs, satellite radios, and VoIP phones

-likely to engage in Internet activities that include blogging, downloading music, and other web 2.0 activities.--likely to own second homes, shop in high-end stores, travel more often, and drive expensive cars (a luxury-oriented group)

-132% more likely to have a household income of $150K or more-skewed towards being young (77% under 44) and male (56%)

-the most digitally savvy city in the U.S.is Texas, where 12% of the surveyed respondents were classified as being digitally savvy – nearly twice as likely as the national average.

(A report by Consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research)

TO BE CONTINUED