Cetic.br promotes debate on education for digital citizenship

Alexandre Schneider, Julio Gaitán, Mario Sérgio Cortella, and Roxana Morduchowicz participated in a panel on Wednesday (11/21), moderated by Regina de Assis

With a debate on "Internet Use by Children and Adolescents: Education for Digital Citizenship", the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br) launched on Wednesday (21) the publications of the surveys TIC Education 2017 and TIC Kids Online Brazil 2017. Public policies on education and media, defense of children's and adolescents' rights, skills and competencies students should develop, and the critical, safe, and responsible use of technologies were analyzed by Roxana Morduchowicz, Julio Gaitán, Alexandre Schneider, and Mario Sérgio Cortella, under the moderation of Regina Alcântara de Assis.

During the opening, Demi Getschko, CEO of NIC.br, highlighted the relevance of Cetic.br's surveys and discussions about the impact of the Internet on children and adolescents, also emphasizing important achievements of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and NIC.br as its operational branch. Among these are the Decalogue of Principles for Internet Governance and Use, which will turn 10 in 2019 and served as a foundation for the Internet Civil Framework law, as well as CGI's involvement in the newly enacted General Data Protection Law, from discussions held during the nine editions of the Seminar on Privacy and Personal Data Protection.

Alexandre Barbosa (Cetic.br) noted that the topics addressed by the TIC Education and TIC Kids Online Brazil surveys are complementary and relevant to the current scenario, characterized by profound transformations due to the adoption of digital technologies. "The impacts can be observed in the social interactions mediated by technologies and in the construction of individual identities. This scenario generates new demands for education and public policies. Schools are called to include in the curriculum the development of digital skills, to better understand the relationship between technology and education, and to employ active methodologies that improve the teaching and learning process. Parents, educators, and managers have a great responsibility," stated Barbosa, who presented indicators that supported the debate on online opportunities and risks for children and adolescents, digital citizenship at school, the interaction between teachers and students on safe Internet use, among other topics.

Roxana Morduchowicz, an Argentine specialist in Education and Media, drew attention to educational policies that have installed computers and mobile devices in schools, but emphasized the need to teach about their responsible use. "What concerns me most are the practices. As Internet access becomes more widespread, we must think about how children and adolescents are using the network, how we can strengthen safe, reflective, critical, and creative use of technologies and the Internet."

The specialist cited data from TIC Kids Online Brazil 2017, highlighting that seven out of ten Brazilian children and adolescents conduct research on the Internet. "We should ask ourselves if young people access the first link they find, if they compare the information with other sources, if they have the discernment to identify advertising content, and if they share and viralize information without checking if it is true. This is a problem that contributes to the phenomenon of 'fake news'. We are not interested in merely instrumental use, but reflective use of the Internet," emphasized Morduchowicz, who also advocated for public policies aimed at training and strengthening teacher careers.

"We have done little to protect children in the digital world, and the responsibility to provide a safe environment has not been taken seriously." This statement is from Julio Gaitán, of Universidad del Rosario, in Colombia, who echoed a warning made by UNICEF in 2017. In the expert's opinion, it is necessary to discuss ethical standards on the Internet and hold major companies accountable.

"Algorithms determine our beliefs, profile us. It is something we do not politically control, and it is said in a language we do not understand. These technical discussions define our lives, and debating them publicly is fundamental. We must demand security in the design of algorithms. Civil society and academia need to demand that ethical standards be elevated," emphasized Gaitán, also highlighting the importance of greater respect and engagement in building digital citizenship and critical mass among young people.

The debate moderator, Regina Alcântara de Assis, Director of Education, Communication, and Culture at the Roquette Pinto Foundation, added that "as guaranteed by the Constitution, children are an absolute priority, the duty of families, society, and the State," highlighting the need to balance the enchantment provided by technologies with rights. "What is the stance of teachers, managers, and academics on literacy or the introduction of new languages and new ways of conceiving knowledge and values?" the expert questioned.

The experience of the city of São Paulo in constructing a new curriculum involving students, teachers, and experts was commented on by Alexandre Schneider, Secretary of Education for São Paulo. "Regarding technology use, we want to ensure rights based on programming education, including hardware, systems, and digital literacy for the ethical use of TICs, so that students know how to research and behave creatively, with security and privacy, also using digital culture tools," he stated.

Beyond classroom work, Schneider addressed other areas of action for the Secretariat, such as collaboration for system development and opening the database and educational resources with open code. "By opening the code, we have the possibility of receiving collaborations for system improvement. It's a two-way street." Regarding the prohibition of cell phone use in the classroom, the secretary stated that there is an intention to allow the device for pedagogical use based on projects designed by schools. "We must use technologies for more freedom, to ensure we live without shackles," he added.

Professor Mario Sérgio Cortella, from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), discussed the concept of voluntary servitude, also highlighting what he describes as an evolutionary obsession of humanity. "We think things will improve, but that's not always the case. When we talk about the digital world, we spend more time issuing warnings than addressing the benefits. I'm not proposing disinvention or disuse, but perhaps it's necessary to interrupt certain paths. We are exercising more caution than joy, so as not to lose freedom and autonomy."

Cortella proposed a reflection on technology use by creating two lists with 'because of' responses, listing benefits, and 'despite', pointing out risks and challenges. "I fear that, at this moment, the list of 'despites' is longer than the list of 'reasons’. Every time we create this condition, we must be smarter. This will require us to invest our intellectual efforts to not victimize people, to ensure that technology serves us, instead of being in a state of tension with children and young people over things that we adults put in their hands. At this moment, intelligence cannot be artificial," he concluded.

Check the event photo album at https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicbr/albums/72157703976915814.

Publications
With articles from specialists on topics related to the studies, in addition to methodological reports and analysis of results, the TIC Education 2017 and TIC Kids Online Brazil 2017 publications are available for download at: https://cetic.br/publicacoes/indice/pesquisas/. The evolution of indicators can be viewed using a data visualization tool available at: https://data.cetic.br/cetic/.

About Cetic.br          
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, providing periodic analyses and information on the network's development in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Center of Studies, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a civil, private, non-profit entity that, in addition to implementing decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, has among its responsibilities: coordinating the registration of domain names — Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding to, and handling security incidents in Brazil — CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations — Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies — Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), implementing and operating Internet Exchange Points — IX.br (https://ix.br/), facilitating the Brazilian community's participation in the global Web development and providing input for public policy formulation — Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br), and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/). 

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating, and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting the technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of services offered. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, in which all sectors of society equally participate in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principios). More information at https://www.cgi.br/.

This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.