Digital literacy and citizenship, each embodied in the DQ Institute’s Digital Intelligence (DQ) framework, are perhaps a set of digital skills which weigh heaviest in the public conscience in recent years. With an uptick in data breaches, online scams, cyber bullying, and identity theft, the thought of turning your child loose in this online landscape can be terrifying. Thankfully, new resources available from the LEGO Group can help. LEGO’s Digital Citizenship Program, including Doom the Gloom, Digitally Smart Guide and Explorer, and Build and Talk, was co-developed with the experts in digital skills and digital safety, the DQ Institute, and the program includes a mix of game play, interactive videos, guides and activities that provide children with the opportunity to playfully explore and learn more about safety, wellbeing, and empathy in the digital world.
If you are interested in child online safety initiatives, visit https://www.dqinstitute.org/dqseal
This program is an important step forward in providing a safer internet for people of all ages, beginning with children. Through a series of partnerships, the DQ Institute hopes to build a global network of capacity building initiatives capable of educating all children in how to confront and manage the risks of connected life, whilst adopting a sustainable online etiquette for internet use. These digital skills are essential in order for children to become proactive digital citizens and masters of the virtual world, which is accelerating due to the private sector’s strategic investment in the metaverse. The partnership with LEGO Group is one of key examples of how the DQ Institute is leveraging the private sector to champion global digital literacy.
LEGO Group’s Digital Literacy Program, powered by DQ, explores 8 key areas of digital literacy. One such area seeks to enforce kindness and empathy in the digital space, an ideal that LEGO stands strongly behind. LEGO’s program is founded on the DQ Global Standard (IEEE 3527.1tm) and draws from the knowledge and experience gained from the DQ Institute’s #DQEveryChild, global digital citizenship initiative for children. In fact, by working with partners like the LEGO Group, the DQ Institute is able to extend and ensure continuity from #DQEveryChild that ended in 2020. The DQ Institute hopes to continue to build on this momentum and create a global system capable of educating people of all ages, not just children, on the importance of a healthy and sustainable connected life that is driven by sound human values.
Many of the programs provided by the DQ Institute seek to foster a parent/child conversation about digital literacy and online safety. The fun-but-informative activities designed by LEGO are a perfect example, where the Institute continues to expand on one of its objectives: Providing opportunities and platforms for these conversations to take place, so that individuals like you can benefit from the years of research behind the DQ Global Standard.
The DQ Institute has been an important contributor to the global digital skills development movement, collaborating with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to further their goal of equipping human kind with the right competencies and confidence to become masters of the artificial intelligence (AI) age.
If you are still skeptical about your child’s online safety, try exploring the LEGO Digital Citizenship program and other DQ Institute’s resources. Their trove of educational materials, research and tools will give you all the guidance and support you need!
Dr. Yuhyun Park, founder of the DQ Institute, had this to say about their programs: “As children are spending more and more time online with home-based learning and social distancing, it is critically important for parents and families to be equipped with the tools that they can easily use to empower their children in becoming good digital citizens with critical thinking at a young age.”
Visit https://www.dqinstitute.org/dqseal to ensure a safe, enjoyable online future for your child!
