Saturday, September 1, 2018

1: Rights in Addition to Responsibilities in an Online World

Reading the AASL article about information freedom in the school library and reading the ISTE standard that states students must learn their rights in a digital age makes me reflect on our focus when we teach digital citizenship to our students.  Our focus has been on teaching students about their responsibilities as participants in the digital world.  This isn't wrong.  Students must be taught to assume responsibility for the choices they make as they navigate online life. 

But in this time of a push back against digital companies and a call for more accountability of how these companies use our data, it is not enough to only teach students their responsibilities online.  We must also teach the students about their rights as well.   The AASL article states that "as we instruct students in the concepts of digital citizenship, we must continue to teach them that they have the right to privacy in this digital world, give them the skills to protect their own privacy, and help them to understand the importance of safeguarding their privacy" (Adams, 2016).  

That statement aligns with the Digital Citizen ISTE standard for students which states "Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical" (ISTE, 2018).  It's interesting that "rights" appear before responsibilities and opportunities in that ISTE standard.  This emphasis on student privacy rights indicates where our focus needs to be for our students to develop into fully informed and prepared digital citizens.

Adams, H.R. (2016). 65 Years & counting AASL and school librarians- Still champions of intellectual            freedom. Knowledge Quest, 45(1). 34-41.

ISTE. (2018). Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

2 comments:

  1. Heidi I totally agree with you. It is not enough to just teach students about the responsibilities of the digital world but we must teach them about their right in the digital world. Student need to know that they also have the right to read, research, connect, and collect information they need. They also need to know about there own privacy with so many social media issues coming up. I also believe it is our job to inform others about the right of our students and what that means in the libray.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I entirely agree with your sentiment. It is imperative that we teach our students how to be good guardians of their data, and what information of theirs is being shared whenever they interact with the digital world. It is also important that we be good guardians of their information and not allow any student or volunteer helps access to our students' information whether it be what they are checking out or searching for on the internet. That being said, it is important to be mindful of what our students needs are so that we can help guide them to the information they are truly searching for.

    ReplyDelete