Digital citizenship education handbook: Being online, well-being online, and rights online

Introduction

The Council of Europe has, over the past quarter of a century, striven to protect children’s rights and foster educational and cultural opportunities for them in the digital environment. More recently it has complemented this work with actions designed to empower children as active digital citizens within a framework closely linked to the competences for democratic culture, which aims to prepare citizens for Living together as equals in culturally diverse democratic societies.

▬ To that end, the Steering Committee for Education Policy and Practice set up a Digital Citizenship Education Expert Group in 2016, comprising eight members from half a dozen different countries and wide-ranging backgrounds, to undertake several tasks over the coming years. The work of this group has been underpinned by a literature review on digital citizenship,¹ and a multistakeholder consultation² investigating good practice in digital citizenship education as well as the gaps and challenges in formal and informal learning contexts.

▬ One major challenge highlighted in the consultation report is the lack of awareness among educators of the importance of digital citizenship competence development for the well-being of young people growing up in today’s highly digitised world, and the limited number of suitably targeted pedagogical resources available. A closer look at competence development projects and resources reveals that there seems to exist considerable confusion among experts and educators between what is generally referred to as internet safety and the multidimensional, more proactive development of citizenship Values, Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge and critical understanding. These are the four areas of the Council of Europe’s competences for democratic culture and a highly relevant framework for fostering digital citizenship.

▬ Although this competence framework decrypts the end goals of digital citizenship into a language that easily resonates with educators, families and education policy makers, several essential ingredients are missing to facilitate adoption into education practice. This is the aim of the Digital citizenship education handbook. It strives to build on the digital citizenship education framework concept, glossary of terms and policy guidelines that have been developed by the Digital Citizenship Education Expert Group since 2016 and draws on the resources and good practices highlighted in its activities. The handbook is intended to be a practical publication that will deepen understanding of the importance of digital citizenship for our future society, and spark ideas for classroom practice.

▬ To facilitate discussion on the issues and challenges digital citizens encounter in the online world, the Digital Citizenship Education Expert Group divided online activity into 10 digital domains. Each domain is analysed in the dimensions areas of the handbook from a multifaceted perspective, underlining aspects related to education and citizenship. The dimensions are completed by 10 fact sheets that look at ethical issues and guide users through creative, collaborative citizenship-oriented ideas and activities aimed at supporting educators and empowering young citizens, and encouraging learners to explore the on- and offline communities around them.

It takes a village to raise a child is a proverb much quoted in the world of education. However, it is important to reflect that the reverse is true too. The prosperity and well-being of a village, or community, can be measured by the level of active contribution of each of its citizens towards shared goals within a democratic culture.

▬ The Digital citizenship education handbook endeavours to enhance this process.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE?

▬ This guide is divided into three sections:

Section 1: Being online – Information related to how we engage and exist online, it comprises three digital domains: access and inclusion, learning and creativity and media and information literacy.

Section 2: Well-being online – Information related to how we feel online, comprising another three digital domains: ethics and empathy, health and well-being, and e-presence and communications.

Section 3: Rights online – Information related to being accountable online, comprising the final four digital domains: active participation, rights and responsibilities, privacy and security and consumer awareness.

▬ In each section, domains are further divided into dimensions and fact sheets. The two are meant to be complementary, as the dimensions provide the theoretical and historical background to the issues, whereas the fact sheets provide scenarios and situations that can be used in classrooms or within families. Dimensions and fact sheets are cross-referenced to ensure that the information provided is done so in the most effective manner.

▬ Dimensions provide the fundamentals to help you understand the why before you use the fact sheets to help you do. Dimensions explain the domains and provide other definitions to further help your understanding of the digital domain. Dimensions may cover one or more of the following key points:

▶ definition of the theme

▶ how it works

▶ personal development

▶ educational and citizenship value.

▬ Fact sheets provide activities for school classes, families and other scenarios where children can participate outside of classrooms. They present information and resources and may cover one or more of the following key points:

▶ ethical considerations and risks

▶ ideas for classroom work

▶ good practice/living digital citizenship

▶ further information and resources.

▬ A glossary is provided at the end of the guide with references to dimensions and fact sheets.

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

Digital citizenship defined

▬ A digital citizen is someone who, through the development of a broad range of competences, is able to actively, positively and responsibly engage in both onand offline communities, whether local, national or global. As digital technologies are disruptive in nature and constantly evolving, competence building is a lifelong process that should begin from earliest childhood at home and at school, in formal, informal and non-formal educational settings.

▬ Digital citizenship and engagement involves a wide range of activities, from creating, consuming, sharing, playing and socialising, to investigating, communicating, learning and working. Competent digital citizens are able to respond to new and everyday challenges related to learning, work, employability, leisure, inclusion and participation in society,³ respecting human rights and intercultural differences.

Competences for democratic culture

▬ The Council of Europe’s competences for democratic culture (CDCs),⁴ illustrated in Figure 1 below, provides a simplified overview of the competences which citizens need to acquire if they are to participate effectively in a culture of democracy. These are not acquired automatically but instead need to be learned and practised. In this, the role of education is key. The 20 competences for democratic culture, frequently referred to as the CDC butterfly, cover four key areas: values, attitudes, skills and knowledge and critical understanding.

Figure 1: The 20 competences for democratic culture

From 20 CDC competences to 10 digital domains

▬ To place these competences into the digital environment in which young people grow up today, and drawing on research from frequently cited experts and organisations in the field,⁵ a set of 10 digital domains have been defined as underpinning the overall concept of digital citizenship. These are divided into three areas, which correspond to the three sections of this publication: Being online, Well-being online and Rights online. The domains are described as follows.

Being online

Access and inclusion concerns access to the digital environment and includes a range of competences that relate not only to overcoming different forms of digital exclusion but also to the skills needed by future citizens to participate in digital spaces that are open to every kind of minority and diversity of opinion.

Learning and creativity refers to the willingness and the attitude of citizens towards learning in digital environments over their life course, both to develop and express different forms of creativity, with different tools, in different contexts. It covers the development of personal and professional competences as citizens prepare for the challenges of technology-rich societies with confidence and in innovative ways.

Media and information literacy concerns the ability to interpret, understand and express creativity through digital media, as critical thinkers. Being media and information literate is something that needs to be developed through education and through a constant exchange with the environment around us. It is essential to go beyond simply being able to use one or another media, for example, or simply to be informed about something. A digital citizen has to maintain an attitude relying on critical thinking as a basis for meaningful and effective participation in his/her community.

Well-being online

Ethics and empathy concerns online ethical behaviour and interaction with others based on skills such as the ability to recognise and understand the feelings and perspectives of others. Empathy constitutes an essential requirement for positive online interaction and for realising the possibilities that the digital world affords.

Health and well-being relates to the fact that digital citizens inhabit both virtual and real spaces. For this reason, the basic skills of digital competence alone are not sufficient. Individuals also require a set of attitudes, skills, values and knowledge that render them more aware of issues related to health and well-being. In a digitally rich world, health and well-being imply being aware of challenges and opportunities that can affect wellness, including but not limited to online addiction, ergonomics and posture, and excessive use of digital and mobile devices.

e-Presence and communications refers to the development of the personal and interpersonal qualities that support digital citizens in building and maintaining an online presence and identity as well as online interactions that are positive, coherent and consistent. It covers competences such as online communication and interaction with others in virtual social spaces, as well as the management of one’s data and traces.

Rights online

Active participation relates to the competences that citizens need to be fully aware of when they interact within the digital environments they inhabit in order to make responsible decisions, while participating actively and positively in the democratic cultures in which they live.

Rights and responsibilities are something citizens enjoy in the physical world, and digital citizens in the online world also have certain rights and responsibilities. Digital citizens can enjoy rights of privacy, security, access and inclusion, freedom of expression and more. However, with those rights come certain responsibilities, such as ethics and empathy and other responsibilities to ensure a safe and responsible digital environment for all.

Privacy and security includes two different concepts: privacy concerns mainly the personal protection of one’s own and others’ online information, while security is related more to one’s own awareness of online actions and behaviour. It covers competences such as information management and online safety issues (including the use of navigation filters, passwords, anti-virus and firewall software) to deal with and avoid dangerous or unpleasant situations.

Consumer awareness relates to the fact that the World Wide Web, with its broad dimensions, such as social media and other virtual social spaces, is an environment where often the fact of being a digital citizen also means