Engaging citizenship through digital technologies

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Engaging citizenship through digital technologies
Introduction Click to read

Engaging citizenship through digital technologies pertains the general digital competence of Collaboration and Cooperation, which includes being able to:

•    Participate in society through the use of public and private digital services
•    Seek opportunities for self-empowerment and for participatory citizenship through appropriate digital technologies

 
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Digital Citizens & Digital Citizenship Click to read

Digital citizen 
someone who, through the development of a broad range of competences, is able to actively, positively and responsibly engage in both on- and offline communities, whether local, national or global
 
Digital Citizenship
involves a wide range of activities, from creating, consuming, sharing, playing and socialising, to investigating, communicating, learning and working in digital environments
 

Source: ESCO – Classification of Skills & Competences, Engaging in Citizenship trough digital technologies


 

 

 
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Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes Click to read

1.    Understand the differences between the available digital services on the internet (public, community-based and private)
2.    Know about your ‘Digital Rights’ and Secure Electronic Identification(s)
3.    Understand and be aware of the impacts that AI evolution and real-life application can have on people
4.    Be aware of civil society e-platform offering citizens opportunities for proactive participations in public consultations and decision making cycles
5.    Know the role that tradition and e-media have in democratic societies		 1.    Know how to identify areas where AI-applications can have a concrete and tangible impact (for the better, as well as for the worst)
2.    Know how to engage and nurture civil e-discussions and leverage on digital technologies for inclusion and participation of all
 		 1.    Capacity of adapting to digital processes and procedure of Public e-Administration
2.    Tackles, and address and participate in ethical discussion related to AI application into civil society
3.    Understand, comprehend and replicate and positive attitudes on your online behaviour to seek opportunities for constructive participation in democratic and public-based decision making cycles
 
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Participating in digital societies
Introduction Click to read

 

Participation in digital societies manifests in the following:

1.    Safe use of online technologies
2.    Digital literacy
3.    Active & Responsible digital life
4.    Digital skills for employability and life (basic and advanced)

 
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Safe use of digital technologies Click to read

Safe use of digital technologies is a broad concept that implies one’s capacity to promote, trough his / her behaviour and attitudes, a digital environment free from:

•    Hateful speech
•    Promotion of disinformation / misinformation
•    Content that may harm peoples sensibility
•    Barriers to inclusive and equal ecosystems

 
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Digital Literacy Click to read

Digital Literacy is a broad concept that implies one’s capacity to understand:

1.    How the internet works – which threats exists in the digital environment, and which potentials the World Wide Web has  
2.    Evaluate and discern content  

3.    How to protects and safeguard privacy and data

  • Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication to protect your accounts.
  • Keep your software up-to-date to avoid security vulnerabilities.
  • Be cautious when opening emails or clicking on links from unknown sources.
  • Use antivirus software to protect your devices from malware and viruses.
  • Be mindful of your privacy settings on social media platforms and other websites.
  • Use encryption tools to protect your sensitive data.
  • Use parental controls to protect children from inappropriate content online.
  

 
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Active and Responsible digital life Click to read

Active and Responsible digital life is a broad concept that implies one’s capacity to:

1.    Acknowledge the digital divide of people and foster support means for all
2.    Practice digital wellness and remain aware of the impact that digital content might in real-life scenarios
3.    Engage with & promote useful content

 
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Digital Skills for employability and life Click to read

Digital skills for employability and life is a broad concept that implies one’s capacity to:

1.    Interact with digital public administration portals
2.    Manage digital services (i.e., checking the bank account, paying bills, etc.)
3.    Find a new job opportunity in the digital job market
4.    Find and capitalise on digital opportunities for professionalisation, education, training and self-empowerment

 
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Seeking opportinities for self-empowerment
Introduction Click to read

In other to better help readers in better understanding what might be a suitable base of reference for this new empowerment journey, we recommend them to look into the Competence Framework for Democratic Culture from the Council of Europe.

This competence framework provides for a solid, robust and reliable roadmap of the coordinates that lead to better informed and engaged e-citizens.


 
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Digital competence for digital citizenship Click to read

In a digital setting, this competence framework is break-down into 10 digital competences in total, distributed across three education domains.

AREA 1 – BEING ONLINE

AREA 2 – WELL-BEING ONLINE

AREA 3 – RIGHTS ONLINE
 
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Area 1 - Being Online Click to read

Access & Inclusion

•    Overcoming possible form of barriers preventing you and your peers to access online digital content – this relates also to infrastructures and hardware (stable and reliable internet connection)
•    Get to know the basics of browsing and evaluation digital content
 

 

Learning & Creativity

•    Using digital technologies to consolidate, empower and foster your forms of expressions (i.e., music, writing, etc.)
•    Find through digital technologies sources and references to embark in a lifelong e-learning programme strengthening critical thinking and creativity
•    Promote e-learning content and foster creative culture

 

Media & IT literacy

•    Navigating the digital ecosystem while maintaining the ability to critically evaluate content, filter what is true from what is false, what is objectives from what is pushed by an agenda
•    Recognize and deal with the many biases that are on the Web
•    Understand where this biases might come from and how to isolate them

 
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Area 2 - Well-Being Online Click to read

Ethics & Empathy

•    In most of cases, digital communication means prevents people from having a comprehensive outlook over the non-verbal and paraverbal dimension of communication. This might wide margins for confusion and misunderstandings: in online environments it is too easy to come to hasty conclusions and have a biased opinion on certain things
•    Train you patience, moderate your tones more than you would usually do in traditional F2F conversations
•    Monitor you attitudes and behavior and try to evaluate your demeanor from a third person perspective (i.e., do you like what you see?)

 

Health & Well-being

•    Be aware of the long-term impact that the exposure to IT environments might have on your and your peers’ physical and mental health (perception of isolation, solitude, etc.)
•    The more you are exposed to certain things, the higher the risk of auto-generating and self-consolidating biases more or less explicit
•    Rationalize that what happens in digital environments has strong and evident repercussion on real-life (i.e., cyberbullying)
•    Put in check your emotion and remain vigilant of toxic digital environments
 


e-Reputation & Digital Communication

•    Build, strengthen and participate in proactive and fulfilling discussions
•    Avoid toxic environments and people that you don’t wish to be associated with
•    Maintain and promote a positive and perception of yourself

 
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Area 3 - Rights Online Click to read

Active Participation

•    Your full understanding of the context & content of the digital setting you’re in, so as to make thoughtful, meaningful and considerate contributions
•    Informed and unbiased decision-making – the information on which you based you action is reliable, fact-checked, and provided in the right context
•    The information that you share with others is meant to bring benefits
 

 

Rights & Responsibilities


Rights
•    Use electronic devices
•    Access and use digital content 
•    Create and share media
•    Privacy
•    Expression
•    Monitor and report to authorities questionable content / behaviors
Responsibilities
•    Appropriate digital behavior (netiquette)
•    Respect others’ opinion and ideas
•    Compliance with intellectual property lay
•    Follows code of conducts expressed by websites and online communities
 

 

Privacy & Security

•    Preventing, tackling and addressing threats coming from the online environment, and strategize safeguarding measures accordingly
•    Be very careful of what you say, how you say it and to whom
•    Store safely critical personal and sensitive data (i.e., information that you don’t want to be public)

 

Consumer Awareness

•    Be aware that when you consume digital content, when you browse, search and evaluate digital data, your are contributing yourself to generate data that will be used by other parties (i.e., advertisers)
•    Visit reputable websites only and be very suspicious of promotions, pop-up communications
•    Understand what cookies are and what is the extent of their action
•    Synchronize your online payments with safety and alert measures provided by your e-banking service
 

 
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Summing-up
Summing-up Click to read

Digital Citizens Competences digital citizenship
someone who, through the development of a broad range of competences, is able to actively, positively and responsibly engage in both on- and offline communities, whether local, national or global.

BEING ONLINE
Access & Inclusion
Learning & Creativity
Media & IT literacy

WELL-BEING ONLINE
Ethics & Empathy
Health & Well-being
e-Reputation & Digital Communication

RIGHTS ONLINE
Active Participation
Rights & Responsibilities
Privacy & Security
Consumer Awareness
Digital Citizenship
involves a wide range of activities, from creating, consuming, sharing, playing and socialising, to investigating, communicating, learning and working in digital environments.

 
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Test
Test Yourself! Click to Start




Keywords

Citizenship; Digital; Competences; Digital Citizens; Digital Citizenship; Democratic Participation; Being Online; Well-being Online; Rights O

Objectives / goals:

At the end of this module you will be able to:

⮚  Understand what digital citizenship stands for and what are its key defining element

⮚  Embrace a framework for development of digital citizenship competences and democratic participation in civil society
Learning outcomes:

⮚  Understand the concept of engaging citizenship through digital technologies, including the competence of collaboration and cooperation

⮚  Know the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for digital citizenship, such as understanding and using digital services, identifying and being-aware of areas where them can impact society

⮚  Participate in digital societies, including safe use of digital technologies, digital literacy, active and responsible digital life, and digital skills for employability and life

⮚ Seek opportunities for self-empowerment, including digital competence for digital citizenship and using the Competence Framework for Democratic Culture from the Council of Europe as a guide
Competences:

- Information and Data Literacy

Communication and Collaboration: Engaging Citizenship through digital technologies

- Digital content creation

- Safety

- Problem Solving

Practical advices:

  1. Build your digital literacy skills

In today’s world, it is crucial to have a basic understanding of the internet and how to navigate digital content. It is important to be able to evaluate and discern content, protect privacy and data, and understand the potential risks and opportunities that digital technologies offer. This will help you make informed decisions and participate safely and responsibly in digital societies.

  1. Foster a culture of active and responsible digital citizenship

Engage in online discussions and promote useful content while practicing digital wellness. Acknowledge the digital divide and look for ways to support others to access online digital content. Be mindful of the impact of digital content on real-life scenarios.

  1. Seek opportunities for self-empowerment through digital technologies

Take advantage of the Competence Framework for Democratic Culture from the Council of Europe as a reference point. This framework offers a solid roadmap for the coordinates that lead to better-informed and engaged digital citizens. Use digital technologies to consolidate and empower your forms of expression, find lifelong e-learning programmes to strengthen critical thinking and creativity, and promote e-learning content to foster a creative culture.

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