Over 1,000 MaSci students get lessons on responsible digital citizenship

DTP 3

Over 1,000 grades 7-11 students of Manila Science High School (MaSci) received valuable lessons from Globe Telecom on how to be responsible digital citizens in a world now being dominated by the internet.

MaSci was the first school to participate in the Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP) of Globe under its regular run.

DTP is a school-based educational program co-designed by the Karrikins Group which provides activities that not only focuses on cyber wellness but also tackles the impact of technology on the students’ social activities and how it can be used to achieve their life goals.

“The youth are greatly represented in the online community. It is imperative that the next generation learns the importance of online safety, and digital citizenship so they can take full advantage of the technology that surround them. Thus, to aid in the development of responsible, proactive, young netizens, we have decided to bring DTP to the Philippines,” said Fernando Esguerra, Director of Globe Citizenship.

Co-designed by the Karrikins Group, DTP is composed of a series of workshops patterned after the Optus DTP in-school program where it has already reached 81,000 high school students across Australia. Globe also aims to do the same by educating as many Filipino youth on digital citizenship in view of a recent Philippine National Police report that half of the internet users are adolescents aged 17 years old and below.

Using the DTP modules, the MaSci students learned how to keep their personal information secure, be careful of what they post online as such can have positive or negative impact on themselves and others, and realize how technology empowers personal success.

The program was piloted early this year in Sico 1.0 National High School in Batangas, and Dasmarinas East National High School in Cavite, covering 2000 students. It offers three exciting modules for students designed to increase students’ knowledge of digital citizenship and cyber safety by taking a critical look at their online behavior and helping them develop insights into the influences of the online world and the choices they are making.