Title

Ensuring Ethics and Equity: Policy, Planning, and Digital Citizenship

Abstract

The volatile political landscape of our country, the wide-spread use of social media by both students and educators, and the availability of mobile technology are both seen and unseen land mines on the intellectual freedom and development of our children. Mobile technology has inundated our life on both a personal and professional level. The struggle to embrace or band its use has school leaders’ face with a daunting environment that can and does manifest itself within the culture and climate of the school. In addition to the struggle with mobile technology, school officials face issues with social media use. There are numerous research studies on the benefits and pitfalls of the use of social networking tools. “Social networking sites have been rapidly adopted by children and, especially, teenagers and young people worldwide, enabling new opportunities for the presentation of the self, learning, construction of a wide circle of relationships, and the management of privacy and intimacy. On the other hand, there are also concerns that social networking increases the likelihood of new risks to the self, these centering on loss of privacy, bullying, harmful contacts and more” (Livingston & Brake, 2010, p. 75). This framework has necessitated the need for digital citizenship instruction. Due to the rapid development of new technology, instruction begins in kindergarten and never ends. The American Library Association (2017) recognizes the critical need for access to library and information resources, services, and technologies by all people, especially those who may experience language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation; physical or attitudinal barriers; racism; discrimination on the basis of appearance, ethnicity, immigrant status, housing status, religious background, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression; or barriers to equal education, employment, and housing.

Department(s)

Reading, Foundations, and Technology

Document Type

Article

Keywords

reading instructors

Publication Date

11-1-2019

Journal Title

Education

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