· What did you learn about digital citizenship?
I learned that there are nine elements to digital citizenship. I learned that practicing good digital citizenship requires being and an advocate for yourself and an advocate for others in the digital space. I learned valuable information about copyright laws and how it relates to my profession, lessons, and graduate schoolwork. · What was your biggest accomplishment in the course? My biggest accomplishment in this course was completing the leading video. I was not sure if I would be able to get participants in time. To my surprise, each of the participants were willing and eager to contribute to my presentation on diversity and social issues. · What challenges did you face in completing this course? The challenges I faced in this course were understanding digital laws and coming up with five resources each week for the journal entries. I was also pretty sick when editing and recording the first and final part of my video, so getting through it was definitely a challenge. · What was your best work for the course and explain why it was your best. What did you learn by creating it? My best work in this course was my reflective essay because I was able to outline and apply everything I learned throughout the course. I learned that digital citizenship applies to the multi-faceted ways in which we live. · How does what you learned through completing this course connect to your outside the classroom experiences? In my essay I was able to expand on this, and I feel that outside of the classroom and outside of work, we are still digital citizens. We have to adhere to the same responsibilities online and in a digital realm as we would in the classroom. · What was the one most useful or meaningful thing you learned in this course? One of the most meaningful things I learned in this course is to listen, pay attention, and take action when it comes to students who say they are being harassed online. · What have you learned in this course that will help you continue to grow as an educational leader? I will continue to grow as leader by continuing to execute leading presentations. My first leading presentation was within the leading video in this course. I feel that I can learn and improve with more opportunities and more practice. · What was your favorite aspect of this course? Why? My favorite part of this course was watching the web conferences. It is always nice to hear insightful and useful information from your professor. I also enjoyed taking part in the weekly discussions. Getting feedback and seeing others’ perspectives on assigned topics is interesting and helpful. · What suggestions would you give other students on ways to get the most out this course? I would suggest planning and organizing. I think it’s always important to plan ahead of time when you will complete assignments. I also think it is a good idea to organize your notes and thoughts when planning to complete lengthy assignments and time consuming projects. · If you could change any one of the activities you did for this course, which one would it be? What would you change about it? If I could change one of the activities I did for this course I would change my PowToon video on digital health and wellness. I would have spent more time on it, changed the aesthetic of the video and added more useful information. What will you say, if you have a chance to speak to your friends, about this course? If I had the chance to speak to my friends about this course, I would say that it is a lot of work. I would say that I spent a lot of time completing the assignments and projects in a five-week span. I would say that the professor shared important and useful information and did not waste the students’ time. I would also say that the course was interesting and I would share how each of the nine elements of digital can be applied to our lives. Polgar, D. R., & Curran, M. B.F.X. (2015). We shouldn't assume people know what digital citizenship is.Retreived from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/we-shouldnt-assume-people-know-what-digital-citizenship-is/ Ohler, J. (2011). Character education for the digital age. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 187-205. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Character-Education-for-the-Digital-Age.aspx Copyright in the Digital Age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmDeBYosaJU Cyberbullying Statistics. (2014). Retrieved from http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-statistics-2014/ To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4
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The topic this week was difficult in terms of emotions and hard truths. The fact that so many young people have taken their lives from bullying and cyberbullying is a hard pill to swallow. It is true that adolescents can be mean, but there has to be some sort of solution to end the horrible trend causing youth and people in general inflict harm on themselves and others. Honestly, I think learning how to behave in social situations and how to treat others with kindness and respect starts at home. Unfortunately, in schools students can deviate from kind behavior.
A pivotal part of our lives is when we are very young children who are unimpressionable, naïve, and oblivious. If I had unlimited resources I would promote kindness by investing in nurturing and developing social skills of children. Parents and teachers would play a major role in modeling, practicing, and educating students on kindness and empathy. As adults, I think it would be important to prioritize wellness programs through work. I read that in Sweden people are generally happier and more productive because they have shorter works days. I would use my unlimited resources to create work conditions that improve well-being rather than hinder it. Cyberbullying is bullying that transpires across digital mediums. With the use of devices such as cellphones, computer, and tablets, cyberbullying can happen through texts messaging, email, social media, and various other web forums. It often occurs by sending or sharing negative, harmful, false, and malicious information about someone else. The effects of cyberbullying can be devastating. Too often people have harmed themselves or committed suicide as a result of cyberbullying. It is a major responsibility of all humans to educate themselves and act against the destructive nature of bullying. Cyberbullying is a phenomenon that tends to largely affect school aged kids. We live in an era where the use of social media apps like Twitter, SnapChat, and Instagram are very popular and predominantly used by a younger generation. As an educator, I feel that I have a responsibility to model effective use of the apps and educate students on the serious repercussions that cyberbullying can cause. I would make students more aware of the issues and consequences of cyberbullying by showing or sharing real life situations of cyberbullying that ended in tragedy. I would also encourage students to make a habit out of making their first post of the day a positive one. Whether it is complementing a peer, sharing a helpful tip, or posting a positive image. In addition, I would also teach my students to celebrate diversity. It’s important for student to understand that it’s okay to have differences in opinion, culture, and customs. Lastly, students should be taught empathy and compassion. It’s important for teachers to model this behavior and talk about why it is crucial to behave in this manner. All in all, schools need to focus a large part of the curriculum not just on core subjects but also on social issues including mental health and social skills. Resources: Brewer, G., & Kerslake, J. (2015). Cyberbullying, self-esteem, empathy and loneliness. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 255-260. Brewer_Cyberbullying_Self-esteem_Empathy_Loneliness.pdf Essex, N. L. (2016). School law and the public school: A practical guide for educational leaders. (6th ed.) (pp. 107-110). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Essex_Bullying.pdf Essex, N. L. (2016). School law and the public school: A practical guide for educational leaders. (6th ed.) (pp.111-114). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Essex_Cyberbullying.pdf Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J.W. (2015). Developing a positive school climate: Top ten tips to prevent bullying and cyberbullying. Cyberbullying Research Center. Hinduja_Patchin_School-Climate-Top-Ten-Tips-To-Prevent-Cyberbullying.pdf Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Cyberbullying legislation and case law: Implications for school policy and practice. Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying Legislation and Case Law.pdf This week in Digital Citizenship we covered the topic Copyrights and “Copywrongs”. This topic is a bit challenging to understand but is also very interesting. I learned about laws pertaining rights to different types of tangible works. More specifically I learned what copyright is. Copyrighted materials are tangible works that are protected by U.S. law for original authors and creators. Tangible works include original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works. Tangible means something that has been reproduced in copies or phonorecords. This week it was noteworthy to learn that copyright infringement and plagiarism are not the same. I did not know that works have an expiration date and once expired it enters public domain.
The case studies in this week’s assignments were challenging to decipher based on my knowledge of fair use and the TEACH Act, but they where beneficial in helping me reflect on my teaching and how I use certain copyrighted materials in my classroom. Fair Use and the TEACH Act are statutes that grant usage to copyrighted works through certain stipulations. According to Brigham Young University, the fair use exemption exists so that there is balance between copyright owners and the general public who may benefit from using copyrighted materials without permission. This is a limitation on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner. When used properly, fair use can be beneficial in educational instances for teaching and research. The TEACH Act is a bit more complicated but provides educators with a distinct set of rights to use additionally to fair use. Under the TEACH ACT educators may display and perform others' copyrighted works in a classroom setting. I would say a major realization that I gained this week is that copyrighted material does not necessarily have to be true, honest, correct, effective, appropriate, or positive in nature. I think for teachers, discernment of choosing the right materials plays a major part in enhancing the teaching and learning process. For instance, there has been a great debate regarding the information in history textbooks. Some textbooks have neglected to include all aspects of what lead to the Civil War and other periods in history that may not shed the best light on the U.S. As a teacher, I would say that using copyrighted material such as textbooks, videos, and works that promote effective strategies for a successful classroom have positively enhanced the teaching and learning process. Many times these materials have been accompanied with professional development from the authors to help validate the efficiency of teachings and strategies including in the works. I also think that educating students on what copyrighted materials are is a great responsibility. Ethics wise, they should also be taught how to properly cite and attribute works that are not their own. In addition, students should be challenged to create their own original works and use knowledge and inquiry to form ideas. The goal is for students to effectively contribute to society and utilize the right to take ownership of the work they produce. Resources: https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3340414-dt-content-rid-53823145_1/courses/12780.201890/Copyright%20Basics%281%29.pdf https://copyright.byu.edu/section/knowledgebase https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/10/07/difference-copyright-infringement-plagiarism/ ttps://guides.lib.utexas.edu/copyright/teachact https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3340414-dt-content-rid-53823147_1/courses/12780.201890/Copyright%20Term%20and%20Public%20Domain%281%29.pdf This week in Digital Citizenship, I was able to reflect upon and learn details about net neutrality and investigate my personal digital footprint or tattoo. I also revisited the element of digital health and wellness as I created a short animated video that addressed the topic.
This summer I heard a lot of reports about net neutrality and how legislation may change to where net neutrality would no longer be available in the United States. At the time, I was not exactly sure what net neutrality was and how it would effect me. I now know that as a student, educator, and someone who would eventually like to be a creator and business owner in the future, the loss of net neutrality would greatly effect me, my students and many others. I am also someone who enjoys seeing and learning from the creative content of others and therefore podcasts, YouTube channels, and educational blogs that I follow might not be available to with such ease of access. Like I said in the assignment, I feel that losing net neutrality would revert our society in a regressive direction, which in my opinion is the opposite of the essence of education. I also took the time to Google my name to examine my digital footprint. As a millennial, I grew up in a critical era where social media and digital communication began to make an impact (AOL instant messenger, MySpace, Facebook) so I have used many platforms as well as see them come and go. With that, I can proudly say that there was no damaging information concerning me, which I expected anyways. None of my social media came up through the Google search but work and academic information did. However, I was not too found to find out that personal information such as my home telephone number and address is available for anyone to look up. I would definitely like to keep it this way. I am looking into finding out how to get my ePortfolio to come up whenever my name is searched as that link was not produced in my name search. Lastly, I was able to create a PowToon addressing the digital citizenship element of health and wellness. I naturally gravitate towards this element because in my spare time I enjoy researching, learning and participating in improving my own health and wellness whether it’s digital or not. Through my findings, I’ve come across apps such as Forest rewards you with planting actual trees for productivity. I’ve also learned that there are therapy options available where you can communicate with real licensed therapists through video or text with the use of an app. I think it’s pretty innovative and convenient to allow apps to aid in mental health and wellness. In the following weeks I would like to delve into other elements, as they are very important too. I’m not too savvy when it comes to digital law or digital literacy so I plan to read up and pay more attention to these topics. Resources: https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2018/01/4-ways-net-neutrality-repeal-could-impact-k-12-education Forest App forestapp.cc How to Have a Healthy Relationship with Social Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLbKaftiDfo http://neatoday.org/2015/03/11/net-neutrality-means-students-educators/ Online/ App Based Therapy www.talkspace.com What Is Digital Citizenship? The term Digital Citizenship has been defined and understood in many different ways. On his website, Mike Ribble defines digital citizenship as the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use. Another definition by Terry Heick is, the quality of habits, actions, and consumption patterns that impact the ecology of digital content and communities. In a video presented by CyberWise, digital citizenship is defined as the essential first step to becoming media literate in the 21stcentury. The word citizenship can be pretty vague. I believe that just because you’re a citizen doesn’t mean you interact with others in a safe and responsible way. I feel that when we are addressed as “fellow American citizens” we have been conditioned to lean toward a positive connotation of the word. I think the word citizenship alone is neutral. It’s up to our decisions and behaviors, respectfully, that determine what adjective fits best in front of the word. The 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship According to Mike Ribble there are nine essential elements to digital citizenship.
One of the elements that is particularly important to me is Digital health and wellness. Health and wellness in general has always been important to me. Unfortunately, when it comes to being a digital citizen, many people including myself may not have realized the toll social media and the constant need to be in the know can take on your health and well being. It’s easy to fall in a trap and lose hours of time by becoming engulfed in the rabbit hole of endless information, whether it is useful or superficial information. I have learned to take care of myself by limiting the time spent on social media and Google. This has helped to ease my mind and promote interactions with people and nature in real life. iCitizens Dr. Marialice Curran created a seminar where students were asked the question: Are You a Socially Responsible Digital Citizen? Within the seminar students defined an iCitizen as someone who is loyal to the human race and human experience globally, regardless of nationality. They emphasized the importance of respect and empathy to others in order to create and exist in a harmonious world. I agree with the students’ definitions and perspective on what an iCitizen is. I feel like currently, we as humans focus a lot on our differences and the boundaries (whether it be nationality, race, socioeconomic status) that separate us. No matter how cliché it may sound, what I got as an underlying message from the students’ definitions is the need for world peace. World peace is necessary for our communities to co-exist and function in ways that are helpful and not harmful to one another. Conclusion This week’s studies and findings have helped me understand that in order to be a good digital citizen or iCitizen, continuous education and collaboration are essential. As an educator and student of education, a frequently used buzz word/phrase is lifelong learner. I demonstrate to my students that I am continuously learning whether it be coincidental or purposeful. I share with them that I am continuing my education and how much I value education. I think it is important for students to realize that teachers may not have all the answers and that learning is a collaborative process. I try to create a classroom atmosphere where we can explore new ideas and learn from each other. References Curran, M. (2012, June). iCitizen: Are you a socially responsible digital citizen. Paper presented at the International Society for Technology Education Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX. Retrieved from (PDF: icitizen_paper_M_Curran.pdf) Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know(3rded.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education Cyberwise YouTube URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH6869bD8iU |
Aundrea
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September 2018
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