Digital citizenship within global contexts

EduSummIT 2013 featured a working group that examined digital citizenship within a global context. Group members recognized that, given today’s international, regional, political, and social dynamics, the notion of “global” might be more aspirational than practical. The development of informed policies and practices serving and involving as many sectors of society as possible is desirable since a growing world’s population, including students in classrooms, will have continued access to the Internet, mobile devices and social media. Action steps to guide technology integration into educational settings must address the following factors: national and local policies, bandwidth and technology infrastructure, educational contexts, cyber-safety and cyberwellness practices and privacy accountability. Finally, in the process of developing and implementing positive and productive solutions, as many key members and stakeholders as possible who share in—and benefit from—students’ digital lives should be involved, from families and educators to law enforcement authorities, from telecommunication organizations to local, provincial and national leaders.