In his recent meeting with writers, Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh announced the imminent launch of the digital education course, which is likely to commence from the fourth grade of elementary school provided that the facilities are in place. This is a qualitative course we have been waiting for.

Personally, I hope that it would start from the pre-school level of education, because today we need this sort of direct educational awareness from the very early phase of schooling. The child now deals with devices, not just for entertainment but his school, which is now inside this device, and who knows his future job may also be inside it.

The coronavirus pandemic has made us come up with many concepts not only for education but for work as well. I would like to emphasize that the qualitative transformation that the Ministry of Education is witnessing is unique and it is the birth of a new era in science and knowledge.

What does digital citizenship mean? Simply it is a technical and social empowerment based on three basic pillars — learn, respect and protect.

Along with acquiring digital learning; there should be respect for oneself and others; and ensuring protection while localizing technologies through educating children since their early age on the importance of achieving a balance in things and protecting private information without sharing pictures and confidential matters.

Digital education will enhance children’s relationship with their new world but it should be in a value-based and balanced way. Technology is no longer a choice but a reality and the most important thing is that people should realize that this reality is imposed on them all around the world.

And hence we have to join hands and reinforce the values of giving, in addition to keeping an eye on those around us with lending a helping hand to all those in distress.

The concepts of citizenship beyond 2020 would bring about discourse about digital citizenship and global citizenship, which must be an ingredient in the changed educational scenario so as to empower students, who come from diverse geographical regions, to compete and excel.

For this, the students must have fluency in more than one language and possess more than one skill along with preparing themselves to meet the challenges with a reinforced psychological flexibility. Therefore a recovery from the old educational system is an urgent societal need.

For this, we have to resist some people who are still not ready to embrace the new pattern of education. Similarly, we have to rid ourselves feelings of anger and resentment towards initiatives to introduce distance education as an educational practice to serve the interests of our children.

You cannot provide support to your child while you complain about this online mode of education in front of him. So share with him in his device, choose with him username to create his e-mail with a respectable identity such that it does not resemble fake identities and inappropriate names.

Digital citizenship is a lifestyle. What we acquire in distance education through digital awareness will be beyond expectations. Hence, instead of being preoccupied with obstacles, we can continue going ahead as causing any halt of this would be fruitless.

— The author can be reached on Twitter: @areejaljahani