In recent years, the City of Dublin ETB have been interested in building capacity for new programme development. This led to three teachers from Educational Services to Prisons (ESP) being funded to do the postgraduate course in Maynooth University. This course allowed ESP to develop a course in direct response to the digital needs on foot of COVID and the unique cohort of learning needs in prison education. While there are QQI minor awards at level 3 such as, Internet Skills, Digital Media, and Computer Literacy, these courses have become outdated and do not reflect the current digital environment. This led us to the development of the Digitial Citizenship programme. Throughout the journey to validation many partners engaged and supported the development from the City of Dublin FET Unit, Youthreach teachers, Belfast MET, FESS, H2 Learning and significantly Donegal ETB who developed a teaching suite of resources.
The Digital Citizenship programme aims to provide learners with the knowledge, skills and competencies to be responsible, informed and reflective digital citizens, as individuals and in their communities. Competencies gained from this can be used for the learner’s personal and work life. It can also act as a primer to further studies in many areas and can help towards gaining employment. Learners will be able to identify the components of our digital world and the rights and responsibilities we have as digital citizens. They will be given the opportunity to explore the practices and knowledge which contribute to good digital literacy and evaluate some of the risk and protective factors involved with using technology. The impact of technology and services on people’s mental, physical, social and emotional health will be explored where learners will be facilitated to develop methods of employing, maintaining and promoting digital wellbeing. Reflection on interactions with the digital world with a mind to improving critical skills and self-awareness is a key part of the programme.
This level 4 programme is suitable for adult education, prison education, early school leavers, and those returning to education. The minimum requirement for this programme is a level 3 in any area of study or having experience deemed to be equivalent to a level 3 qualification. Learners do not require any previous knowledge of this subject they will be assessed through a mix of learner reflections and a collection of work through a variety of UDL and TEL modalities as appropriate to learner resources and teaching context.
Find out more at the Digital Citizenship Resources Hub (Donegal ETB)
Guest post by Eoin Flood & Maria Ward, CDETB