Digital Competency: Exercising Ethical Citizenship in the Digital Age

The Digital Competency Framework defines ethical citizenship as the ability to take a step back when considering ethical issues. It’s easy to assume that, since they’ve grown up with digital technology, younger generations instinctively know how to use it properly. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. While generally tech-savvy, young people don’t always use technology appropriately or ethically. For example, they may occasionally violate content usage rights (plagiarism), spread fake news, or share personal information online simply out of ignorance.

Thus, the first dimension of the Framework aims above all to empower individuals (both children and adults) and develop their ability to think critically, reflect on the consequences of their actions, and remain vigilant about the risks associated with technology.

More concretely, ethical behaviour with regard to digital technology can be broken down into three parts: awareness, reflection, and action. Before a person can act, they must be aware of all the issues at play and understand the repercussions of their actions. Only then can they make an informed decision about what they want to do.

Dimension 1 of the Framework has four elements:

• Ethical behaviour: Behaving respectfully towards diversity and considering the social, economic, environmental, and professional context when interacting with others
• Impact of digital technology on well-being: Understanding that the use of digital technology can have negative physical and psychological effects, and finding ways to ensure your well-being
• Issues related to digital technology: Understanding how digital technology affects our lives and the issues it raises
• Ethical reflection: Understanding and reflecting on the laws governing the use of digital technology

There are a number of things you can do in your personal and professional life to exercise ethical citizenship and set a good example for your students. Students tend to emulate their teachers, which means that no matter what grade you teach, you serve as a role model.

Here are a few examples of good habits to adopt in connection with some of the themes listed in the Digital Competency Development Continuum:

• Website credibility: Before sharing an article or video online, check that the source is reliable and that the content is true and accurate to avoid inadvertently spreading fake news. If you’re looking up information during a class, don’t hesitate to explain your decision-making process to your students when assessing the credibility of a source.
• Copyright: Use royalty-free content and images. If the opportunity arises, explain to your students how you make sure to avoid copyright infringement.
• Commodification of personal information: Before downloading and using an educational app in the classroom, read the privacy notices and policies to ensure that your students’ personal data won’t be used for commercial purposes. Consider planning a class discussion about what happens when personal information is shared or leaked.
• Cyberbullying: Teach your students about the risks of cyberbullying when using online platforms by explaining how to avoid it and going over resources they can turn to if they need help.

If you’d like more information on ethical behaviour, here are some additional resources:

• Citnum.ca (French only), a website created by RÉCIT that contains numerous resources for teachers, including free training
• CADRE21 course on cybersecurity (French only)
• UQAM’s five videos on digital citizenship (French only), which cover cyberaddiction, misinformation, digital identity, Wikipedia, and the metaverse
• The CSSMI’s resources (activities, videos, and more) on ethical citizenship in the digital age (French only)
• Let’s Talk Science’s videos on digital citizenship

To help your students learn to exercise ethical citizenship, check out these 25 videos featuring the stars of La vie compliquée de Léa Olivier (French only) or this video on digital citizenship from MediaSmarts.

Students who have developed ethical citizenship may demonstrate their knowledge in various ways:

• Being aware of how their use of video games affects their physical, mental, and social well-being
• Paying attention to copyrights when using information from the internet in their schoolwork
• Being vigilant when browsing online and when sites ask for personal information (name, age, address, etc.)
• Paying closer attention to and being able to identify phishing and spam emails
• Being aware of image rights, for example by asking their friends before taking their photos
• Etc.

To set your students on the right path, here are a few teaching resources and classroom activities we recommend:

• Ideas for doing an interactive reading of the book Un grand jour de rien (French only) and addressing digital citizenship (elementary school, Cycle 3)
• Click if You Agree, an educational game about privacy policies (Grades 7 to 9)
• Ta photo, ma photo? (French only), an activity that gets students thinking about image use rights (preschool)
• Portrait sur son utilisation du numérique (French only), an activity to increase students’ awareness of their internet use (elementary school, Cycle 1)
• Éthique lors du travail collaboratif (French only), an activity about online etiquette when working with others (elementary school, Cycle 2)
• Mon avatar (French only), an activity that explores digital identity (elementary school, Cycle 3)
• Dans ta face (French only), an activity on the uses and ethical issues around facial recognition (high school, Cycle 1)
• IA-tu pensé? (French only), an activity on the basics of artificial intelligence and its ethical issues (high school, Cycle 2)