New Coalition Aims to Reach One Million Students with New Definition of Digital Citizenship

GLASTONBURY, Conn. - Sept. 25, 2019 - PRLog -- A diverse group of tech, education, and media organizations announced today that they have come together to launch the Digital Citizenship Commitment campaign (DigCitCommit) with the goal of redefining digital citizenship and reaching one million students by 2021. The campaign will engage educators, allow for the sharing of best practices, and provide them with the tools to teach a new definition of digital citizenship and well-being.

Through the development and sharing of curated resources, the DigCitCommit campaign gives educators, online and at in-person events, with a set of competencies that teaches youth to be safe online as well as instill in them a strong sense of digital literacy, civility, community, and engagement that fosters good in the world.

Coalition members include: ISTE, Google, KQED, HundrED, Team4Tech, Facebook Education, Common Sense Education, Digital Citizenship Institute, KidCitizen, Wiki Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Caroline County Public Schools, Generation Citizen, Media Education Lab, National Writing Project, EVERFI, National Constitution Center, The National Institute for Civil Discourse, and Newsela. Learn more about the coalition at digcitcommit.org/partners. (https://digcitcommit.org/)

In addition, the Digital Citizenship Commitment campaign is launching a new #DigCitCommit challenge, calling on educators and students to share how they are using technology to lead communities with the five DigCitCommit competencies. Prizes will be awarded for the top submissions. More information can be found at digcitcommit.org/join-us (http://www.digcitcommit.org/join-us).

The five DigCitCommit competencies – inclusive, informed, engaged, balanced, alert – are designed to focus less on a list of DON'Ts and more on a proactive approach of DOs that challenge students to stay safe, solve problems and become a force of positivity. The DigCitCommit campaign and the competencies were previewed at ISTE19 to more than 20,000 attendees.

"To us at the DCI, digital citizenship has always been about human connections online, where local, global, and digital communities need to experience becoming a force for good both on and offline," says Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran. "Today's interconnected world provides opportunities for us all to see and value the person sitting next to us, around the world, and across the screen."

"As we reflect on our own digital citizenship journey, we are so proud to be part of this DigCitCommit Coalition. When we held our first live streamed digital citizenship event in 2011 and later, our first Digital Citizenship Summit in 2015, digital citizenship was just an add-on to curriculum and professional development. The fact that the shift has finally moved beyond just the safety conversation towards a focus on positive action is just the beginning of this movement where we stop talking at our youth and we learn with them."

The DigCitCommit coalition also announced the first Digital Citizenship Commitment Virtual Congress February 11-12, 2020. The free virtual event will showcase educators and students who are demonstrating effective digital citizenship based on the five competencies.  Programming and registration will launch in tandem with the coalition's celebration of Digital Citizenship Week, which will be October 14-18, 2019.

The DCI is proud to host the 5th annual DigCitSummit online in partnership with EduMatch during Digital Citizenship Week. Each day we will connect classrooms, share DigCitIMPACT talks, and host Tweet and Talk panels each evening. We have 34 countries and over 43,000 students registered to join us for the week. On October 16, we've partnered with EdukTech in Mexico and iWomanish in Spain to host all of our offerings in Spanish. For more information to join us, register at bit.ly/2019DigCitSummit. (http://bit.ly/2019DigCitSummit)

About Digital Citizenship Institute

The Digital Citizenship Institute (DCI) revolutionizes the narrative around technology and social media with a personalized development approach. Working with local, global, and digital communities, DCI leads school communities through a process of embedded conceptual and skills-based routines, creating positive and powerful shifts in how we engage with each other online.

The Institute's DigCitSummits provide a space online, domestically, and internationally for like-minded digital citizens to collaborate on changing the narrative around our digital lives. These DigCitSummits are both tailored to the local hosting organization, as well as open to the larger public through online spaces, which allows the exchange and dialogue necessary for a paradigm shift. The transformation in communities that the DCI works with is fueled by forging intergenerational connections, coupled with a mindful digital citizenship approach. Now, with the #DigCitCommit initiative, we are thrilled to be sharing the Digital Citizenship space with our partner organizations.

For more information or to become DCI associate, visit digcitinstitute.com. Subscribe to DCI's YouTube channel and connect with DCI on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.