International Baccalaureate IB Digital society

Change is the evolution, transformation, adaptation or movement from one form, state or value to another

Possible initial inquiry questions: What is a technological revolution? Is technological change and innovation distinct from historical change?

Change involves understanding and evaluating people, ideas, objects and forces that shape the world: past, present and future

Possible initial inquiry questions: What caused change in the past? What is driving change in the present? What obligations do we have toward future generations? How might digital systems and technologies help us meet these obligations?

The nature and importance of change is debated

Possible initial inquiry question: Is progress an inevitable outcome of advances in digital systems and technologies?

Change may indicate continuity or discontinuity with prior established ways of understanding or doing things

Possible initial inquiry question: How might past events, patterns or trends help us to forecast future developments?

Expression is the act, process or instance of representing ideas, emotions and/or experiences using different modes and media

Possible initial inquiry question: In what ways do digital systems influence how we express ourselves?

Expression serves many functions, including storytelling, world‑building, artistic innovation and political activism

Possible initial inquiry question: What different kinds of stories are possible through digital media?

Expression brings people and communities together while also introducing significant dilemmas

Possible initial inquiry question: Are there forms of digital expression that should be limited? Who decides and how?

Identity is not static but changes over time and according to context and the perspectives of others

Possible initial inquiry questions: How do online identities change over time? How do digital systems and technologies influence or construct identity?

Identities are intersectional and may include aspects related to age, nationality, religion, culture, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity as well as social and economic class

Possible initial inquiry question: To what extent do different aspects of our identity intersect on digital platforms?

Power is a feature of all social relations that involves a person’s or group’s capacity to influence or control the actions of others

Possible initial inquiry question: How is power embedded or exercised through a specific digital system, technology or platform?

Power is structural and embedded within institutions, organizations and governments

Possible initial inquiry question: Do digital systems and technologies enable or constrain the exercise of power?

Possible initial inquiry questions: Is it inevitable that power in digital society is unequally distributed? How might digital systems and technologies influence the distribution of power?

Humans organize, construct and represent space based on physical, geographic, cultural and/or social features (for example, into locations, regions, borders, zones)

Possible initial inquiry questions: How do digital systems and technologies affect how we experience specific spaces and locations? Do physical or political borders still have meaning in a digital society?

Different spaces often serve distinct functions for people and communities

Possible initial inquiry questions: In what kinds of spaces do digital divides exist? How does online space differ from physical space? How are they similar?

Access, movement and flows are significant considerations involving space

Possible initial inquiry question: How does media circulate and move through digital society?

Space can be understood using multiple scales and dimensions, including local, regional, national and global as well as virtual

Possible initial inquiry question: To what extent does physical space influence virtual space (and vice versa)?

Systems provide one way to think about structure and order in human, natural and built environments

Possible inquiry question: Are digital systems distinct from social systems?

Systems involve sets of interacting, interdependent and/or interconnected elements

Possible inquiry question: What are the human elements involved in the design or use of a specific digital system?

Changes within a system of interdependent connections may generate intended and unintended consequences

Possible inquiry question: How might a new technology result in unintended consequences in digital society?

Models, maps and visualizations can help us understand connections within and between systems

Possible inquiry question: What do models and maps reveal about a digital system or technology?

Values and ethics guide human action in the world, including individual and group conduct, and decision‑making

Possible inquiry question: Do robots have ethics? Should they?

Values and ethics are expressed through frameworks, codes, rules, policies and laws

Possible inquiry question: What happens when different ethical frameworks are applied to the same issue in digital society?

Values and ethics influence and shape ideas, objects, practices, systems and spaces

Possible inquiry question: Do the designers of digital technologies have an ethical obligation to their users?