Bulletin Board Displays: Digital Citizenship and A Growth Mindset (1 of 2)

This term, our library bulletin board's themes are digital citizenship and growth mindset. The former is part of the library's campaign on #milclicks and the later is the library's advocacy on life skills development. Needless to say, we have books and resources on information literacy, media literacy as well as programs integrating research skills in the content or subject areas. Over the years, activities that promote the readership of fiction and non-fiction books that cover the development of life skills have been set-up. Drumming up the growth mindset this year is our continued commitment to support lifelong learning.

Since a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) program is already in place and the teaching of research skills is being strengthened in content area teaching, I thought of touching on the responsible behavior expected of digital citizens via our library display and bulletin board. Academic integrity and plagiarism are two ideas being emphasized to students by observing correct citation and referencing practices. This is all well and good. But the use of online resources and social media requires courtesy and respect not only evidenced by proper citations and attributions. It is important that netizens behave as people of values, with morals and ethics.

First, netizens need to know basic security measures. Use of passwords and usernames is private and personal. As much as one needs the respect of using his or her own access keys to social media accounts, so does the next person. Second, asking permission when sharing posts and content of another in social media is an act of courtesy. Not everything online or in social media is for free. This means ownership. In this age of fake news and alternative facts, sources of information are often questioned. So, think before you click. Ask permission before you share that meme, photo or image or a news item from a friend's timeline on Facebook. Lastly, netizens need to remember that the things they do online and the posts they make on social media, including the comments, the likes and the messages they circulate from one network to another can be traced. This is called digital footprints.

These digital prints can actually tell so much about who you are and what you are like.