A collaboration between Google India and NCERT to develop 'Digital Citizenship and Safety' course for schools announced

Vinod Kakumanu
May 31, 2019, 10:43 a.m.

A course on “Digital Citizenship and Safety” in the curriculum of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be introduced from class 1 to 12 and will span over 14 lakh schools across the nation.

The year is seeing plethora of policy decisions pertaining to education. The progressive stance NCERT is evident in its collaboration with Google to incorporate a course on “Digital Citizenship and Safety” in the curriculum of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The said course will be introduced from class 1 to 12 and is believed to span no less than 14 lakh schools across the nation.

The purported objective of the course is to build a generation of responsible digital citizens who are not only adept in the use of digital technology but are also aware of the social, ethical and legal aspects of the use of the technology and the Internet.

In a bid to reinforce its efforts to make World Wide Web a secure platform for one and all, Google India announced a collaboration with the NCERT to develop for incorporation of the course on digital safety. Structured classroom modules will be developed for the pedagogical purpose.

Sunita Mohanty, Director, Trust and Safety at Google India, elaborated on the purpose of the initiative by stressing on the importance of awareness of the users newly initiated in the internet about the possible negative experiences that they are likely to encounter. He said that the integration of the course on digital safety into the ICT curriculum in tandem with NCERT will initiate a dialogue on the hazards of the digital space and the essential danger identification and safety measures.
To ensure the pedagogical efficiency, Google is also reported to have developed a curriculum for teachers on the subject of Digital Citizenship.

Amarendra Behera, Joint Director, CIET - NCERT, said that while acknowledging the fact that internet is emerging as a globally connected learning space, it becomes an imperative to educate children on the internet safety.

The course composes of specific resources for students and educators alike, empowering them with the adequate tools to learn extensively about the digital safety and responsible digital citizenship. The syllabus will be systematically graded and is structured by four major overarching themes--
Being Smart; Being Safe; Being a Digital Citizen and Being Future Ready.

The curriculum corresponds to the intellectual capacity of the children and is devised into an age –appropriate syllabus. The syllabus will advance with the advancement of the students and become progressively intensive to include advanced concepts like privacy issues, device handling and management, intellectual property and reputation safeguarding.