Ethical Practice

Table of Contents

Digital citizenship is a topic traditionally taught within the K-12 curriculum. However, it is essential to reinforce within higher education as well as we face additional complexities.

Digital Citizenship in Higher Education

Venturing into higher educational settings, learners must continue their investigation and knowledge of being a good digital citizen in a global society. Within the K-12 curriculum, digital citizenship focuses on the following areas (Fingal, 2020):

• Inclusive
• Informed
• Engaged
• Balanced
• Alert

These areas relate to digital access, commerce, communication, information literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, and cybersecurity (Faith & John Meem Library, n.d.). For example, Fingal (2020) adds an annotation to the competency of inclusive, “I am open to hearing and respectfully recognizing multiple viewpoints, and I engage with others online with respect and empathy.” Some related topics of this competency would be communication, information literacy, digital etiquette, and digital rights and responsibilities. Many would only select digital etiquette, or netiquette, to communicate respectfully online. There is also an overarching need for both parties to communicate and exercise their right to privacy. If this conversation occurs on social media, are the platform’s settings where it is a conversation between only the two individuals? Or instead, is this conversation taking place on a public channel where other users may comment or perceive the conversation as disrespectful?

From the example, we can see many considerations need to occur before initiating a conversation to protect our privacy and our digital reputations. However, users must consider many other factors such as copyright, the credibility of information, and cybersecurity. Siddeeq (2016) provides the following fundamental questions any digital citizen should consider before posting online:

• Does taking this photo respect the subject?
• Is posting this image online harmful?
• Have I cited all of my online sources?
• Am I sharing too much personal information about myself or others?
• Does this violate the honor code?
• Is this an invasion of privacy or harassment?
• What will my employer or future employer think?

Educating Learners on Digital Citizenship

Many of the resources available on digital citizenship are for the K-12 audience. Resources such as the NOVA Cybersecurity Lab Lesson Plan and Common sense education provide excellent resources and activities on the topic. While many of the videos offer an explanation to 11 through 18-year-old learners, the inclusion of the NOVA Cybersecurity Lab Game and selected videos from both NOVA and Common sense education are appropriate to include with lessons that also provide more in-depth information on each topic within their Learning Management System.

Instructors or institutions could also utilize Microsoft Sway and others apps to create content on netiquette and other targeted topics. Many of the digital citizenship Canvas Commons courses and lessons provide Common sense education content.

Data Privacy

Data privacy is a weighty matter, along with data security within any setting. Increasingly, we can see that digital citizenship lessons within K-12 are effective, especially in computer and information sciences programs. Park & Vance (2021) provide an in-depth review of national statistics and surveys related to data privacy and student perceptions. One insight from the 2016 EDUCAUSE survey is that “[s]tudents have greater confidence in educational institutions and the government to protect their privacy than they do in technology companies.” The analysis revealed that 77% of respondents believe that social media companies have too much power and influence in politics today.

Park & Vance (2021) provide three recommendations for improving digital citizenship education within higher education:

1. Higher education institutions should teach data privacy, ethics, and literacy courses to encourage students to think critically about privacy.
2. To foster trust and cooperation, higher education institutions and technology companies should communicate how and why they collect and use students' personal information.
3. Organizations should release additional findings on students' attitudes toward privacy, and researchers should conduct more studies on specific privacy topics.

These recommendations show the need for educational institutions to make privacy policies available to learners for third-party tools available within courses. Also, learners expect an explanation of what information is on record and what shared information is available from the institution to other agencies. These are not unreasonable requests. They foster an environment of transparency. Learners will also have a better idea of what information may be available if there is a data breach.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

In 1974, Congress passed the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, a Federal Law codified under 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and having regulations under 34 C.F.R. Part 99. Section 1002.22 of the Florida Statutes requires public educational institutions to comply with FERPA mandates. As FERPA is Federal law, it is essential to keep current with any updates. Typically, there is annual compliance training available in higher education to assist you with locating relevant guidance and procedures for your institution and the information available from your State. If you have questions, you should reach out to your institution’s Legal or General Counsel Office and Registrar’s Office. As an example, Florida SouthWestern State College provides FERPA information on the Registrar’s Records Privacy page. FERPA, in a nutshell, allows students rights to access their educational records and request the non-disclosure of their personally identifiable information. Much like Data Privacy, we must be aware and protect our students' privacy and inform them of their rights to help them further protect their information.

Suggestions

1. With any educational technology, inform students about how the tool uses their data.
2. Keep a directory of technology tools used within courses and provide links or information on what information is collected, data retention policies, and the security measures to ensure that information is protected.
3. Ensure either annual or quarterly training courses are required to keep students, faculty, and staff up-to-date on the topics of data security, FERPA, and equity.

References

Davis, V. (2017, November 1). What your students really need to know about digital citizenship. Edutopia.

Faith & John Meem Library. (n.d.). Digital citizenship. St. John’s College.

Fingal, J. (2020, October 6). The five competencies of digital citizenship. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

NOVA Education. (2014). NOVA cybersecurity lab lesson plan. PBS & WGBH Educational Foundation.

Park, J. & Vance, A. (2021, February 11). Data privacy in higher education: Yes, students care. Educause Review.

Siddeeq, S. (2016, March 31). Digital citizenship for college students. Agnes Scott College Center for Digital and Visual Literacy.