Digital Community, Digital Citizen

Our news headlines increasingly describe the tragic fate of cyber victims.Young people share horrific stories of text bullying and online harassment.A recent Harvard study conducted by Dr Carrie James concluded that most young people were devoid of ethical thinking or consideration of others when using the internet.Students reported alarming incidents of cyber bullying (Grove, 2010).Unfortunately parents are often unaware of their children's virtual lives and therefore unable to give guidance.Technology is becoming a ubiquitous part of the lives of children who have grown up digital, and current generations are born digital.Yet, for many parents, teachers, and policy makers the power of these new media and social networking spaces is often poorly understood.Digital citizenship was a very topical issue in 2010 and, appropriately, this complex subject continues to receive a great deal of attention.In his latest book, Digital Community, Digital Citizen, Dr Jason Ohler casts some understanding on what can be done to address these issues.His book is divided into three main themes: the call to digital citizenship, the role of technology, and the importance of character education in the digital age.Dr Ohler explains many issues relating to virtual space, and sets guidelines for virtual behaviour and creating online learning communities.These recommendations are supplemented with many practical activities for teachers to consider.He uses straightforward language and engages the reader by complementing the text with suggestion boxes, tables, and prompts.