Last August, we unveiled our inaugural Digital Citizenship Research Grants program, a $200,000 initiative aimed at improving understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with how kids are growing up in a world of social media and technology. Today, we are pleased to announce the recipients of our first round of grants. Read the note below from Facebook’s Chief Security Officer, Joe Sullivan, to learn more about the researchers we selected and the work they do:

Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected. At the heart of this mission is the belief that an increasingly social world, where people can more directly and easily communicate, can have a profoundly positive impact on people’s lives – changing the way we share, discover, and learn.

It was in the spirit of that mission that we announced a Digital Citizenship Research Grants program last summer. We reviewed nearly 100 applications from more than 10 countries.  Applications were evaluated by both Facebook employees—including in house researchers, safety and security professionals, and parents—and our Safety Advisory Board.  Submissions were evaluated based on several criteria, including focus on issues related to kids and the impact of digital and social media, global application, novelty of research topic, previous experience in conducting world-class research, and extent to which the research is open sourced and shared broadly.

Based on these criteria, we selected four recipients from academic and non-profit organizations spanning the United States, Canada and Europe. The four grant awardees have substantial experience in the field and presented compelling research plans, the fruits of which we believe will help to further our understanding of how social media can impact the next generation of youth. Their research is focused on the interlocking roles of teens, parents, educators, and companies working together to foster digital citizenship, use social media productively and reduce bullying.

The grants were awarded to:

• Education Development Center (EDC) 

EDC is a global nonprofit organization that addresses some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. EDC manages 350 projects in 35 countries.

• Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE)

SITE, a society of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), is an international, educational, and professional organization dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge, theory and quality of learning and teaching at all levels with information technology.

• Define The Line, McGill University

Define The Line, a bilingual website, is supported by a team of McGill University education and law students who develop resources, workshops and interactive online forums to reduce cyberbullying and enhance responsible digital citizenship. Dr. Shaheen Shariff is an Associate Professor at McGill University, whose research is focused on youth and digital media. She guides schools, parents, youth and policy-makers to navigate a balance between online free expression, privacy and safety.

• European Schoolnet (EUN)

EUN is a network of 30 Ministries of Education in Europe and beyond  whose vocation is to transform teaching and learning through the integration of innovative technology.

You can learn more about these organizations and the individual researchers

here. 

The Digital Citizenship Research Grants are part of a broad safety program we’ve undertaken, ranging from digital citizenship and suicide prevention to partnerships in bullying prevention torobust safety information  on our site. These activities and programs underscore our commitment to the safety of everyone, and in particular the millions of teens, who use Facebook throughout the world. Facebook believes that by fostering a culture that promotes safety and by working with public and private organizations to promote safety initiatives, we can maintain a trusted environment.

 Bill Gates quote

 SITE PROJECT AND LEADERSHIP

The Announcement from KEAN
The advent of social media has brought students face to face with new ethical challenges.  Dr. Michael Searson, Executive Director of Kean University’s School for Global Education and Innovation, is concerned that educators are failing to properly equip young people for today’s digital culture.
Searson believes in classroom applications of social media.  “We can use social media in powerful ways,” he says, “particularly in an international context.”  Dr. Searson’s digital citizenship project will bring together a coalition of international scholars, researchers and practitioners to explore ethical dilemmas inherent to the new digital age.  In his role at Kean and as President of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE), Searson works with educators across the globe.

Dr. Searson’s research was  used to develop an “open source“ classroom course.  Materials, assessment tools and individual course modules will be made available at no charge to the educational community.

The group working with SITE included prominent researchers, national and international, professors, and teachers. They worked through the research, attended prominent digital citizen conferences as a part of the learning process and shared resources and ideas over the internet and in person.

Dr. David Whittier, Lead Researcher

The project will be shared in this panel