Digital Rights and Responsibilities

First I believe that every student should have the right to access the digital world in general.  There are too many students and school districts that still struggle with technology, essentially leaving them far behind their counterparts. While I am currently not in a classroom daily, my experience has been working with high school drop outs and GED students.  My student population has had limited access to digital technology throughout their academics and in the home.  It stands to reason that they also have limited understanding of the rights and responsibilities of being a good Digital Citizen.  Many of my former students found it difficult to understand the concept of inappropriate comment and picture posting and sharing. Without easy access, some students will never grasp the importance of making proper choices when accessing technology. Our world is at the point where this concept is required.  When we were young, our parents had the knowledge and skills to teach us appropriate social MANNERS.  We now need to develop a skill set for teaching our children appropriate technology MANNERS.  Safety, kindness and integrity should be applied to how we act in our digital world just as we do in life.