Fostering Ethical Online Practices for Inclusive Student Engagement

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_3How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Digital Platform; Plagiarism; AI

Abstract

The rapid integration of digital technology into higher education has transformed how engineering students learn, collaborate, and communicate. While these advancements offer tremendous opportunities, they also demand that students develop responsible digital citizenship — encompassing ethical conduct, online safety, professional communication, and respect for diverse digital communities.

This descriptive study examined the state of digital citizenship awareness among 120 engineering undergraduates using a structured questionnaire covering digital literacy, cybersecurity, online etiquette, and social media responsibility. Findings revealed that while 72% of students actively use digital platforms for academic collaboration, and 65% demonstrated awareness of basic cybersecurity practices, only 48% understood broader digital citizenship concepts such as ethical online behavior and professional accountability. Additionally, just 41% acknowledged issues like cyberbullying, plagiarism, and misuse of digital tools, though 58% recognized the value of respectful communication in professional digital spaces.

A targeted awareness workshop yielded notable results — 81% of participants reported improved understanding of responsible online behavior afterward — highlighting how brief, focused interventions can meaningfully shift student attitudes.

These findings suggest that digital citizenship cannot be left to chance. Engineering programs must weave these competencies into their curricula through faculty mentorship, structured awareness initiatives, and real-world application. As future professionals, engineering graduates will operate in globally connected environments where ethical digital conduct is as essential as technical expertise.

Cultivating responsible digital citizenship ultimately prepares students not just to use technology, but to lead with integrity in an increasingly interconnected world.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - L. Chaithanya
AU  - R. Deepa
AU  - P. Anitha
AU  - Arati Kharatmul
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Fostering Ethical Online Practices for Inclusive Student Engagement
BT  - Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 22
EP  - 32
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_3
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_3
ID  - Chaithanya2026
ER  -