Google to introduce 'digital citizenship' lessons in Indian classrooms

To commemorate Safer Internet Day 2018 and reiterate its commitment to make the web a safer place for everyone, tech giant Google announced its collaboration with NCERT to integrate a course on digital citizenship and safety in the information and communication technology (ICT) curriculum.

Students from class I to class XII across 1.4 million schools in India will now learn how to become good and responsible digital citizens, through structured classroom modules on the social, ethical and legal aspects of internet safety. In addition, Google also created a curriculum for teachers, so that they can help students learn all about digital citizenship in their classrooms.

"This makes it important for us to start a dialogue on the dangers and threats they can be exposed to when surfing the net. Through our course integration with NCERT, we aim to catch children young and teach them the essentials of staying safe, while exploring the online world," said director, Trust and Safety, Google India, Sunita Mohanty.

Dr. Amarendra Behera, Joint Director, CIET - NCERT, added "School education is the foundation for a successful future. In an increasingly connected world, the internet is fast emerging as a learning space for our students and it's our responsibility as educators to provide them with a safe learning environment. We hope this initiative will prepare our students to identify the threats and ensure a safe web experience online."

The program includes a range of specific resources for kids, and educators, enabling them with the tools they need to learn and educate themselves on internet safety. The syllabus for online safety presented in the curriculum will be systematically graded and has been divided into four overarching themes - Being Smart; Being Safe; Being a Digital Citizen and Being Future Ready.

The curriculum is structured to match the intellectual and curiosity needs of different age group of the children. For example, in lower classes, students will focus on engaging with technology and learning the use of basic digital tools. In middle classes students will be introduced to basics of the internet, concepts of account safety and distinguishing good content from bad.

As they advance through their classes, they will be taught more advanced topics such as privacy, device management, intellectual property and reputation management. Finally, as they become ready to graduate as digital citizens, they will be prepared with online financial literacy and cyber crime concepts so that they are future ready.

On this occasion, Google also announced the winners of the third edition of its Web Rangers competition -- an initiative that is designed to spread awareness about Internet safety and promote digital citizenship.

In addition to the collaboration with NCERT, Google has also proactively partnered with other like-minded organisations and the government to work towards raising awareness about digital citizenship and internet safety among people of all age groups in India.