Web Awareness II

7/19/2013

4 Comments

 
The main idea that comes to mind for me with digital citizenship is that it is an interactive, contributing, and critical role. Being a digital citizen goes beyond just retrieving information and ideas from the Internet. As mentioned in Topic 1, such online activity indicates feature seekers and/or apathetic users rather than digital citizens. Digital citizenship involves interacting, sharing, evaluating, creating, and much more in the online world.

 I researched Alberta’s Digital Citizenship Policy Development Guide and found myself in agreement with the views presented. The nature of the word ‘citizenship’ as “the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political or national community [and] carrying both rights and responsibilities” is seen as a strong basis for developing digital citizenship in students. Below is a summary I developed from the information in the document as a personal code on digital citizenship:
1) Work to high moral principles to effectively interact within online, time separated and geographically independent, multi-cultural, global communities

2) Balance personal empowerment and responsibility with the digital community’s well-being by being web aware and treating people, ideas, and information with respect

3) Enable participation so digital communities have value and meaning.

4) Prepare youth to participate in such communities in meaningful, responsible and caring ways.

5) Promote inclusion by fostering equal participation in digital communities

6) Guide and educate students in attaining high moral principles in their interactions in digital communities.

7) Promote ongoing conversation, debate, and inquiry on being a digital citizen in an ever-evolving society

8) Enable media advancement in accordance to community changes and needs

9) Guide students in learning how to meaningfully engage with multi-cultural, global, highly-focused and long tailed digital communities

- Alberta’s Digital Citizenship Policy Development Guide
I would demonstrate the values above in my classroom by first modelling them myself. If I create a power point presentation with images and outside sources for example, I will ensure that I have a references page attached for students to see. An idea I have in mind is to go through each value through weekly lessons and activities. For example, for value #4 on preparing youth to participate in digital communities in meaningful, responsible, and caring ways, we would discuss topics such as cyber bullying and privacy. I also would like students to create our own classroom code on digital citizenship, using what I outlined above as an example or guide. Students can then be better held accountable for their actions since they created their responsibilities themselves.

Aside from generally fostering digital citizenship in higher grades such as senior high school, it would significant to specifically discuss the aspects of authenticating sources, copyright, and plagiarism. Authenticating sources for credibility is definitely a skill students should learn, especially with the rise of social media and networking where information and ideas are easy to share. An example that comes to mind was when an online article claimed that Samsung paid Apple $1 billion in nickels for the fine of mutual patent infringement they received. The article from paperblog.com was a hoax and got many people believing instantly and sharing the news via social media. I myself stumbled across it on my facebook news feed and didn’t bother to evaluate it closely for credibility. It is thus very important to teach students how to critically authenticate their sources otherwise they fall victim to false information. Teaching senior high school students copyright and plagiarism is also significant because it will help them prepare for more complex post-secondary research and papers. Even for students going straight into the world of work, having such critical skills for referencing and sourcing information would set them apart from others. 

I strongly believe educating students on digital citizenship in early grades is vital so they can learn the necessary skills and responsibilities involved. Unfortunately, teaching digital citizenship has not necessarily been a first priority in the past. Nowadays however, it is becoming increasingly important either through education or administering rules and regulations on Internet use in schools. I personally find both tasks equally important- however, administering rules and regulations without proper explanation to students is highly ineffective. Educating them on the reasons for such restrictions will definitely make digital citizenship more meaningful and purposeful. I honestly am not 100% sure on how I will find a balance between these two tasks but for now, I will focus on educating myself as best as I can on digital citizenship so I can in turn educate my students as well.

References:
Alberta Digital Citizenship Policy Development Guide. 2012. Retrieved July 19 2013 from http://education.alberta.ca/media/6735100/digital%20citizenship%20policy%20development%20guide.pdf

Samsung Pays Apple $1 Billion Sending 30 Trucks Full of 5 Cents Coins. Aug 28 2012. Retrieved July 19 2013 from http://en.paperblog.com/samsung-pays-apple-1-billion-sending-30-trucks-full-of-5-cents-coins-294795/

Significant Comments:
http://ed4764muirhead.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/web-awareness-ii-digital-citizenship.html#comments (Laura) 

http://missraychert.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/topic-9-web-awareness-part-2.html#comments (Kristin)
4 Comments

Web Awareness I

7/18/2013

4 Comments

 
Web Awareness is definitely one of the most significant topics to discuss in the realm of the Internet, especially in school with students. I believe it is the role of the school to develop character in students as they engage in both online and offline worlds. Schools should strive to foster good character in students that is consistent when interacting with people face-to-face or behind a computer.

When I did my ED2500 in a kindergarten classroom, my teacher associate emphasized how important it was to teach students manners, respect, and good attitude. She explained how such lessons would be essential building blocks for students’ social skills and perspectives towards learning as they progress through school. I definitely agree with her and took any opportunity in her classroom to encourage and exemplify good character. I remember one student in particular who had a very difficult time sharing toys with her peers. She would upset her friends with her temper and criticism which often left her alone and ignored. One day, she came to me to ask how to approach her problem. She knew she had to apologize and was seeking the courage and humility to do so. I remember as I watched her approach her friends, how vital such lessons beyond the textbook are. I strongly believe building character is at the heart of our role as educators- students can learn all they want in our classrooms, but if they are not shown how to act with personal values and morals, I fear we may not have achieved our role. While fostering character in students may be simpler in face-to-face interactions, it is very challenging in the online world where people can be anonymous and engage in questionable activities that can’t be monitored easily. This is where teaching students digital citizenship and web awareness is critical.

The first way to do this is by having teachers model and exemplify expected behavior in their classrooms. I genuinely believe the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ illuminates how students approach digital citizenship and web awareness. If the school has a no cellphone policy and students see their teacher texting under his/her desk during seatwork time, then they will take to their teacher’s example and start texting themselves. The same goes with teachers checking personal email in school or surfing pages unrelated to work during class. Such behavior only encourages students to be unmindful of the people around them and distracted in learning.

Something that got my interest from the Web awareness interview with Dr. Robin Bright and Dr. Mary Dyck was the concept of multitasking. In a study from Stanford University, research shows that “the skill needed to maximally multitask may have a downside as individuals may not be able to filter irrelevant information or stay on task”. The study showed how heavy multitaskers do not function as effectively as light multitaskers in recalling, storing, and organizing information.

This definitely has implications for the classroom for students who multitask. A source in the article claims that such students “couldn’t help thinking about the task they weren’t doing” and that “high multitaskers are always drawing from all the information in front of them. They can’t keep things separate in their minds.” Here is a video that discusses how multitasking short-circuits important intellectual processes in learning:
Another aspect of web awareness is the filtering of Internet content within the school. I believe that the standards of filtering should differ for each division. For the younger grades (K-3), it is important to remember that students may not have the capability to critically evaluate the information they come across which includes the inappropriate, offensive, and harmful. Therefore, I understand why elementary schools would have Internet restrictions. For higher grade levels, however, I strongly believe schools should focus on the development of ethical digital citizens, otherwise, students will never learn how to be responsible online participants in an increasingly digital world. Developing digital citizenship can be incorporated in classrooms through weekly lessons that can focus on topics such as web awareness, cyber bullying, privacy, digital footprints, etc.  This is something I plan to integrate in my own classroom, especially in higher grades so that students can understand how impactful their online activities truly are. Just as we teach students to be culturally and globally aware of things around them, web awareness is something of equal importance to foster in the classroom as well. 

References:
Grohol, John M. August 27, 2009. Excess Multitasking has Downside. August 27 2009. Retrieved July 18 2013 from http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/08/27/excess-multi-tasking-has-downside/8013.html

Why the Human Brain Can't Multitask. Retrieved July 18 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpD3PxrgICU

Significant Comments:
http://nordleeblog.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/topic-8-web-awareness-i.html#comments (Stephanie)
http://alanasinternetandeducationsite.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/web-awareness-pt-1.html#comments (Alana)
4 Comments

Collaboration 

7/15/2013

17 Comments

 
In the English Language Arts Alberta Program of Studies, one out of the five main general learning outcomes is for students to "respect, support, and collaborate with others" as shown in this image below:

(Click on image for larger version)

Collaboration is definitely not just a method for learning but an outcome to achieve so educators should gain awareness for the tools available.

One of the tools for collaboration and communication that I’ve experienced recently is Google Hangout. Hangout is a free video chat service for both one-on-one and group chats with up to ten people at time. This tool can most definitely be used between students to collaborate and discuss a group assignment outside of classroom time, benefiting students with limited schedules who may be heavily involved in extracurricular activities, sports, or work part-time. I feel using Google Hangout would be most advantageous for students to connect with other people beyond their classroom, rather than between themselves who are already physically together in a space. Hangout can be used by one classroom of students to collaborate with another classroom on a specific topic. An example that comes to mind is the one Jen Dyenberg described with her Social Studies activity. She got her students to connect and collaborate with a class from Hamilton on the topic of urban vs. rural environments in Canada. When I get an opportunity to do such an activity with another teacher from a different area, we would split our classes into groups of 10 students and have them collaborate in small groups by providing them with a list of questions to discuss. This would allow for more conversation between the students and more variety of responses. Afterwards, my class can summarize what they had learned in their small groups with the whole class.

If a Google Hangout is not organized as a private meeting between specific people, it could invite inappropriate or unwanted company. Privacy concerns such as this are the biggest risks I can see with this tool. Also, the credibility of information and ideas from people in Hangouts can be questionable. Despite such considerationshowever, I find Google Hangout highly appropriate for elementary, junior high, and senior high students, provided it is used effectively and parents of students under the age of 13 are informed through a release form that requires their consent. For elementary students, I would use Google Hangout as a means for students to meet and connect with a pen pal they may have been writing/e-mailing to. For junior high students taking French class for example, Google Hangout can be used to meet other French-speaking classrooms from a different country. Senior High students would greatly benefit from Google Hangout by connecting with professionals from different fields to explore career options.

An article I found on Collaborative Learning by Bower & Richards state that “collaborative learning has become recognised as a means of encouraging deep learning and a key technique in problem and experienced based learning”. I was very curious to see how beneficial collaboration is versus independent learning and this article provided great insights. The following list is my summary of the main arguments for collaboration from Bower & Richards’ work:
Collaborative learning allows students to:

Progress beyond what they would have been able to learn alone by sharing mental models and observing the thought processes of others.

Actively participate in problem solving processes by communicating about the conceptual representations relating to the task at hand. 

Interact effectively for rapid and complex concept formation to occur 

Develop a range of generic skills benefits, including the development of general communication abilities, empathy, and social skills. 

Develop teamwork skills demanded by many employers today.
I agree with these points from the article, especially with my experiences of collaborative activities as a student. A particular experience I had was when I took a Senior English university course and had to work with a group of 3 people to develop a 1500 word essay. We used Google Docs and saved so much time posting our essay on a shared server where everyone can access it and edit it at the same time or at their own time with no need to keep track of which version we were working on or who has the latest version.  Using collaboration tools like this can definitely help teachers and administrators working together in their professional development projects and I look forward to discovering other tools for my classroom!

References:
Bower, Matt & Debbie Richards. Collaborative learning: Some possibilities and limitations for students and teachers. 2006. Retrieved July 15 2013 from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney06/proceeding/pdf_papers/p150.pdf

Alberta Program of Studies (English Language Arts Senior High). Retrieved July 15 2013 from http://education.alberta.ca/media/645805/srhelapofs.pdf

Significant Comments:
http://justinbechthold.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/collaboration-outside-of-the-classroom/#comments (Justin) (Note: My comment is under the email address [email protected] I forgot to enter my name... )

http://ed4764blog.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/topic-7-collaboration.html#comments (Mackenzie)
17 Comments