User:Adamng926/New sandbox

Developed States and Developing Countries (New Section)
Highly developed states possess the capacity to link their respective governments with digital sites. Such sites function in ways such as illuminating recent legislation, educating current and future policy objectives, lending agency toward political candidates, and/or allowing citizens to voice themselves in a political way. Likewise, the generation of these sites has been linked to increased voting advocacy. Lack of access toward becoming a digital citizen can be a serious drawback, since many elementary procedures such as tax report filing, birth registration, and use of Web sites to support candidates in political campaigns (E-democracy) etc. have been transferred to only be available via the Internet. Furthermore, many cultural and commercial entities only publicize information on web pages. Non-digital citizens will not be able to retrieve this information and this may lead to social isolation or economic stagnation. The gap between digital citizens and non-digital citizens is often referred to as the digital divide. Currently, the digital divide is a subject of academic debate as access to the Internet has increased, but the place in which the Internet is accessed (work, home, public library, etc.) has a significant effect on how such access will be utilized, if even in a manner related to citizenry. Recent scholarship has correlated the desire to be technologically proficient with greater belief in computer access equity, and thus, digital citizenship (Shelley, et al.).

In developing countries digital citizens are more sparse. They consist of the people in such countries who utilize technology to overcome their localized obstacles including development issues, corruption, and even military conflict. Examples of such citizens include users of Ushahidi during the 2007 disputed Kenyan election, and protesters in the Arab Spring movements who used media to document repression of protests.

One example of a highly developed digital technology program in a wealthy state is the e-Residency of Estonia. This form of digital residency makes it clear for both citizens and non-citizens of the state to pursue business opportunities in a digital business environment. The application is simple, in which residents can fill out a form with their passport and photograph alongside the reason for applying. Following a successful application, the "e-resident" will allow them the chance to register a company, sign documents, make online banking declarations, and file medical prescriptions all online, though they will be tracked through financial footprints. With the project aimed to cover over 10 million e-residents by 2025 and already making much progress since its founding in 2014, there are currently over 54,000 participants from over 162 countries that have expressed an interest, contributing millions of dollars to the country's economy and assisting in access to any public service online. Other benefits include hassle-free administration, lower business costs, access to the European Union market, and e-services that are broadly ranged. Though it is aimed toward entrepreneurs, Estonia hopes to value transparency and resourcefulness as a cause for other companies to implement similar policies domestically.

Participation (Added to Section)
The development of digital citizen participation can be divided into two main stages, the first being through information dissemination. Within information dissemination, one subcategory includes static information dissemination, characterized largely through citizens who utilized read-only websites where they take control of data from credible sources in order to formulate judgements or facts. Many of these websites where credible information may be found is through the government. Another subcategory includes dynamic information dissemination, which is more interactive and involves citizens as well as public servants. Both questions as well as answers are implemented to be communicated, and citizens have the opportunity to engage in question and answer dialogues through two-way communication platforms.

The second stage of digital citizen participation is citizen deliberation, which evaluates what type of participation and role that they play when attempting to ignite some sort of policy change. For static citizen participants, citizens can play a role by engaging in online polls as well as through complaints and recommendations sent up, mainly toward the government who can create changes in policy decisions. Dynamic citizen participants can deliberate amongst one another on their thoughts and recommendations in town hall meetings or various media cites.

One of the primary advantages of digital citizenship, or the ability to participate in society online, is that is incorporates social inclusion. In a report on Civic Engagement by Talitha Dubow, citizen-powered democracy can be initiated either through information shared through the web, direct communication signals made by the state toward the public, and social media tactics from both private and public companies. In fact, it was found that the community-based nature of social media platforms allow individuals to feel more socially included and informed about political issues that peers have also been found to engage with, otherwise known as a "second-order effect." Two types of opportunity rise as a result, one being able to lower barriers that can make exchanges much easier. In addition, they have the chance to participate in transformative disruption, giving people whose political engagement has been historically lower the opportunity to mobilise in a much easier and convenient fashion.

Nonetheless, there are several challenges that face the presence of digital technologies in political participation. One way it can do so is through the use of poorly designed technology. A communication technology director, Van Dijk, stated, "Computerized information campaigns and mass public information systems have to be designed and supported in such a way that they help to narrow the gap between the 'information rich' and 'information poor' otherwise the spontaneous development of ICT will widen it."

Alongside a lack of evidenced support for technology that can be proven to be safe for citizens, the OECD as identified five struggles for the online engagement of citizens:


 * 1) Scale: To what extent can we allow every individual's voice to be heard, but also not be lost in the mass debate? This can be extremely challenging for the government, who may not effectively know how to listen and respond to each individual contribution.
 * 2) Capacity: How can digital technology offer citizens with more information on public policy making? The opportunity for citizens to debate with one another is lacking for active citizenship.
 * 3) Coherence: The government is yet to design a more holistic view of policy-making cycle and the use of design technology to better prepare information from citizens in each stage of the policy-making cycle.
 * 4) Evaluation: There is a greater need now than ever before to figure out whether or not online engagement can help meet the citizen as well as the government's objectives.
 * 5) Commitment: Is the government committed to analyze and use citizen's public input, and how can this process be validated more regularly?

The Overlapping Goals of Digital Citizenship Education (Added to Section)
According to DigCit.us, the overlapping goals of digital citizenship education include:


 * 1) Digital Footprint: An acknowledgment that posting and receiving information online can be tracked, customized, and marketed for users to click and follow. Not only the Internet use but individuals' digital footprints can lead to both beneficial and negative outcomes, but the ability to manage one's digital footprints can be a sub-part of digital literacy. Digital footprints do not simply comprise of the active participation of content production as well as sharing of ideas on different media sites, but they can also be generated by other Internet users (both active and passive forms of digital participation). Examples of digital footprints includes liking, favoriting, following, or commenting on a certain online content creation, or other data can be found by searching through history, purchases, and searches.
 * 2) Digital Literacy: Almost twenty years ago, Gilster (1997) defined digital literacy as "the ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers." Digital literacy includes the locating and consumption of content online, the creation of content, and the way that this content is communicated amongst a group of people.
 * 3) Information Literacy: The American Library Association defines information literacy as the overall ability for an individual to target information that is valuable, being able to find it, evaluate it, and utilize it. This can be through information creation, research, scholarly conversations, or simply plugging in keywords into a search engine.
 * 4) Copyright, Intellectual Property Respect, Attribution: By knowing who published sources and whether or not content creation is credible, users can be better educated as to what and what not to believe when engaging in digital participation.
 * 5) Health and Wellness: A healthy community allows for an interactive conversation to take place between educated citizens who are knowledgeable about their environment.
 * 6) Empowering Student Voice, Agency, Advocacy: Utilizing nonprofits as well as government-affiliated organizations in order to empower students to speak up for policy changes that need to be made. Currently, more than 10 different mobile applications aim to allow students the opportunity to speak up and advocate for rights online.
 * 7) Safety, Security and Privacy: Addressing freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world and the balance between the right to privacy and the safety hazards that go along with it. This area of digital citizenship includes the assistance of students to understand when they are provided the right opportunities, including the proper access to the Internet and products that are sold online. It is on the part of educators to assist students in understanding that it is crucial to protect others online.
 * 8) Character Education and Ethics: Knowing that ethically speaking, everyone will come with different viewpoints online and it is crucial to remain balanced and moral in online behavior.
 * 9) Parenting: Emphasizing the efforts of educators, many want to continue preaching rules and policies addressing issues related to the online world. Cyberbullying, sexting, and other negative issues that are brought up are regulated by the School Resource Officers and other school counsel.

Altogether, nine of these facets contribute to one another in the development of a healthy and effective education for digital technology and communication.

Digital Citizenship In Education (New Heading)
According to Mike Ribble, an author who has worked on the topic of digital citizenship for more than a decade, digital access is the first element that is prevalent in today's educational curriculum. He cited a widening gap between the impoverished and the wealthy, as 41% of African Americans and Hispanics use computers in the home when compared to 77% of white students. Other crucial digital elements include digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, and digital etiquette. He also emphasized that educators must understand that technology is important for all students, not just those who already have access to it, in order to decrease the digital divide that currently exists.

Furthermore, in research brought up through an article by Common Sense Media, approximately six out of 10 U.S. K-12 teachers used some type of digital citizenship curriculum, and seven out of ten people taught some sort of competency skill utilizing digital citizenship. Many of the sections that these teachers focused in on included hate speech, cyberbullying, and digital drama. A problem with digital technology that still exists is that over 35% of students were observed to not possess the proper skills to critically evaluate information online, and these issues and statistics increased as the grade levels would increase. In terms of videos such as YouTube and Netflix, they have been utilized approximately 60% of the time from K-12 teachers in classrooms, while educational tools such as Microsoft Office and Google G Suite have been used around half of the time by teachers. Social media was seen to be used the least, at around 13% in comparison to other digital methods of education. When analyzing the social class differences between schools, it was found that Title I schools were more likely to utilize digital citizenship curricula than teachers in more affluent schools.