Digital Citizenship in Adult Learning - What's Our Role?

As instructional designers involved with adult learning the concept of "digital citizenship" - the promotion of ethical behavior while using technology - is an interesting concept. Over the past few years this concept has more or less evolved from direct observations of our experiences in our connected worlds. As children began branching out into these shared online spaces parents became concerned about how to both keep their children safe in these environments, and ensure they're also acting appropriately (the same expectations as someone in a physical environment). No bullying. Not sharing personal information with strangers. Making sure that they're reporting any instances of misuse or anything inappropriate. Again,  the same types of concerns parents have had going back for decades, albeit now also spilled over into a digital environment.

Obviously, the concept applies to adults as well. In the sense of "one can never stop learning," practicing good digital citizenship habits is akin to any other behavioral practice - obeying the laws of the road, treating coworkers with respect, and so forth. It's something we have to work on, and think about when we visit these online spaces. Making sure we're respecting those we're engaging with, and promoting the same types of "do unto others" mentality that we would practice in the real world. 

Teachers are expected to help students become well rounded digital citizens, and for instructional designers associated with adult learning it's perhaps a good idea to continue to promote this behavior and spend some time thinking through how we can effect change. After all, it makes good business sense to ensure that your employees are representing not only themselves, but the company they work for, with respect and privacy protection principles in mind. 

Some practical ways in which we can promote stewardship in this area are fairly straight forward. For employees visiting/posting to social media sites, ensure that they're not sharing sensitive or protected data. If using internal communication channels, such as Teams or Slack, promote thoughtful and respectful conversations among employees. If provided by the system, use built in "think before you post" type reminders. Additionally, regular communications addressing the subject via email, or team meetings can often work well.