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

Benefits of Social Media

7/11/2013

6 Comments

 
After a year of implementing a pilot social media program in her classroom, a seventh grade teacher found 20% of students school-wide were completing extra assignments for no credit, grades had gone up more than 50%, and chronic absenteeism was reduced by more than a third (Kessler). The role of social media in education is a popular debate as "Advocates point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while critics call for regulation and for removing social media from classrooms" (Lederer). I genuinely believe that social media and networking has much to offer for the following reasons:

Student Engagement 
When I was in my PSII practicum, I got to teach a very unique English Language Arts 10-2 class. Over 50% of the class were ESL students and we had an ESL specialist with us every day. Because there was so much diversity and students were at different learning levels, it was difficult at first to gain a collective enthusiasm for the material I was teaching. I decided I needed an effective learning tool to engage them with so I used the online program 'Fakebook'  during our novel studies unit. The tool mimics Facebook as a social network- students create a character's profile by entering their information, friends, status updates, and comments to demonstrate their understanding of the novel's characters, plots, setting, themes, etc.  When I first introduced this assignment to them, it definitely got them excited! Even though they weren't exactly using Facebook, exploring a tool close enough to it showed how engaging social media is and as Kessler highlights when kids are engaged, they learn better. Below is an example of how the fakebook profiles turned out. For my lesson plan and assignment handouts, click here.

(Click Image for larger version)

Enriched Learning 
A friend of mine shared this article last week about a group of little kids in Brazil learning English by correcting celebrities' horrible grammar on Twitter: 

(Click Image for link to article)

Rather than just being limited to grammar workbooks and vocabulary lists, these students are able to apply their learning in an interactive (and adorable) way through social media and networking. i imagine their teacher would monitor which celebrity tweets to review as some may be inappropriate or offensive. I think it's really important for to remember that social media and networking are learning tools and their value does not lie in their features. Rather, the value of such tools lies in engaging students and achieving learning outcomes which I think this teacher from Brazil does effectively :)

Making Connections 
In Lederer's article on the Pros and Cons of Social Media, she makes an excellent point on how social media and networking can be used to help prepare students for successful employment. Students can explore their career options, develop networking skills, and make professional connections through such tools. Lederer uses LinkedIn as an example where "students can establish a professional web presence, post a resume, research a target company or school, and connect with other job seekers and employers." Many college career centers and alumni associations are using Twitter to broadcast job openings and internships which students should follow to stay updated on new opportunities. Even outside the realm of career education, social media and networking are valuable tools for students to stay connected and updated on current events. An example that comes to mind is the use of Facebook and Twitter as sources of information during the recent Alberta Flooding. People who were evacuated and/or stranded were able to be updated with important news through available social media apps on their phones. Social media and networking sites were definitely valuable during the crisis as it enabled people to receive information, communicate with others, and stay safe. With this example, I believe students can use social media to explore current events for global awareness and digital citizenship.


References:
HappyPlace Post: A group of adorable little kids in Brazil are learning English by correcting celebrities' horrible grammar on Twitter. July 8 2013; Retrieved July 11 2013 from: 
http://www.happyplace.com/24894/brazilian-schoolkids-are-learning-english-by-correcting-grammar-in-celebrity-tweets

Kessler, Sarah. The Case for Social Media in Schools. Retrieved July 11 2013 from http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

Lederer, Karen. The Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom. Retrieved July 11 2013 from http://ht.ly/8GiRd

Significant Comments:
http://jenseducationportfolio.weebly.com/3/post/2013/07/topic-4-communication-ii.html#comments (Jen Marie)
http://eportfoliobecking.weebly.com/2/post/2013/07/journal-entry-4-communication-iii.html#comments (Aaron)
6 Comments