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Before I go to class this week, I can honestly say that I do not really know what “Digital Citizenship” means. From putting what I know about those two words separately and putting them together, I can predict that it has to deal with online etiquette and the “dos” and “don’ts” when it comes to interacting online. It also probably has to do with the concept of respect and how to use technology and the internet “appropriately” and correctly. Without knowing a ton about this topic, I can say that I think this is a great topic to discuss, especially for elementary school children because there are a lot of things to know when it comes to the internet. There are a lot of things to look out for and to be careful of. I am curious to learn about how to teach this in a classroom and also what exactly “Digital Citizenship” entails. I would like to know exactly what “Digital Citizenship” means and see if I learned the information in school before using computers and other pieces of technology to go on the internet. I personally believe that this is a very important lesson for both educators and students to learn about because it really does apply to everyone.
Through preparing for class, I learned what “Digital Citizenship” really means and different ways to teach it. For preparing, our teacher asked us to look at the website Digital Passports for Students, which is an interactive website made for students to use to learn about different aspects about the internet. When I logged in, I played as a 3rd grade student who was learning about texting while walking, narrowing down search engines, cyberbullying, keeping the privacy of others and own information, and plagiarism. Each topic had a video of a student talking about a person story of theirs that applied to the topic at hand. Then there were interactive games about each topic with little explanations here and there throughout the games. This website and activities taught me that “Digital Citizenship” is about what is appropriate and responsible behavior when it comes to the internet and technology that truly does apply to everyone. These games also showed me a way that teachers can use to teach students about what it means to be a citizen with technology with what is okay to do and not to do. From these interactive games, I learned that this way of teaching is very effective because I actually learned a lot from these simulations that I never even thought about. Also, I looked at the webpage The Basics of Open Technology where I learned more about the basics of what should be talked about and considered before using technology and the internet in the classroom as a way of learning. It also talks about different tools that can be used in order to make accessibility not a problem, so all students have the same opportunity to learn. I also read an article called Empowering Student Relationships with Media which discussed the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy that applies to the new uses of technology. I did not even know there was a new version of this, I just know the original that has been around forever! Through preparing for class, I learned a lot about what it means to be a “Digital Citizen” and how to prepare classes of students to take that step in their academic careers.
In class this week, we sat down and talked about “Digital Citizenship” and what it really means. By doing this, it really concreted my understanding of the topic and expanded my learning about how to teach it in the classroom. We went through a slide show explaining the 9 Ps of “Digital Citizenship” and why they are important to know when teaching the material and learning the material. This was great because before class, I did not even know there was such a thing as the 9 Ps of “Digital Citizenship”. We went through and talked about why it is important to be a digital citizen and why it is important that the students of this generation be brought up learning about it. Then we split off into groups discussing different topics that involve being a digital citizen such as Privacy and Security, Self-Image and Identity, Cyberbullying, Relationships and Communication, Digital Footprint and Reputation, Internet Safety, Information Literacy, Creative Credit and Copyright. What we did was divide these into 4 groups and figure out a way to teach them and also do a roleplay that explained the topics. This activity helped explain each of the topics more in-depth and also gave me the opportunity to show what I have learned. My group had the topics of Cyberbullying, Relationships and Communication. We researched about it, decided that a great way to teach this information was through role plays and examples. Also by doing this activity, I heard all of the other groups discuss how they would teach these lessons in their classes, which helped me a lot because originally I was not sure how to do that. Being in class furthered my understanding of this topic and also showed me how to teach this topic if I were teaching in a classroom.
Throughout the process of before knowledge, preparing for class, being in class, and now reflecting, I have actually really learned a ton from this lesson! In the beginning before preparing, I knew pretty much nothing about the topic or what it was about. I could make a guess by looking at the different words that were a part of the name, but overall I did not learn much. While preparing for class, I learned so much information. I learned what “Digital Citizenship” actually was, what it mean to be a citizen of it, some examples of it being taught, and some of the main themes behind it. By doing this before class, I felt fairly confident that I knew the material to share in class. Then when we talked more about in it class, I became more confident about the material and also how to teach it since I had to teach about it in front of the class. So now looking back on it, my learning really changed and I really understand the topic well enough now that I could teach it!
Through preparing for class, I learned what “Digital Citizenship” really means and different ways to teach it. For preparing, our teacher asked us to look at the website Digital Passports for Students, which is an interactive website made for students to use to learn about different aspects about the internet. When I logged in, I played as a 3rd grade student who was learning about texting while walking, narrowing down search engines, cyberbullying, keeping the privacy of others and own information, and plagiarism. Each topic had a video of a student talking about a person story of theirs that applied to the topic at hand. Then there were interactive games about each topic with little explanations here and there throughout the games. This website and activities taught me that “Digital Citizenship” is about what is appropriate and responsible behavior when it comes to the internet and technology that truly does apply to everyone. These games also showed me a way that teachers can use to teach students about what it means to be a citizen with technology with what is okay to do and not to do. From these interactive games, I learned that this way of teaching is very effective because I actually learned a lot from these simulations that I never even thought about. Also, I looked at the webpage The Basics of Open Technology where I learned more about the basics of what should be talked about and considered before using technology and the internet in the classroom as a way of learning. It also talks about different tools that can be used in order to make accessibility not a problem, so all students have the same opportunity to learn. I also read an article called Empowering Student Relationships with Media which discussed the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy that applies to the new uses of technology. I did not even know there was a new version of this, I just know the original that has been around forever! Through preparing for class, I learned a lot about what it means to be a “Digital Citizen” and how to prepare classes of students to take that step in their academic careers.
- “The Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship.” Web. 24 Nov. 2015. This website “The Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship” is a resource the goes through, listing all 9 of the themes and then going through to explain each of them. The nine themes are “Digital Access”, “Digital Commerce”, “Digital Communication”, “Digital Literacy”, “Digital Etiquette”, “Digital Law”, “Digital Rights and Responsibilities”, “Digital Health and Wellness”, and “Digital Security” or self-protection. Each and every one of these themes are extremely important to know for any person who is going onto the internet, no matter their purpose. These themes are important to know, understand, and be able to recognize when online. The overall reason for this website is to give the readers a feel for how to be on the internet safely, what to look for, and how to be responsible/respectful. This is a great resource for teachers for many different reasons. First off, it is a great source to share the information with the students because it has very useful material and advice to help them with using and navigating through the internet. Also, this is a great source for teachers to be able to fall back on when they forget a rule or are not sure what is the correct way to do things on the internet. This source is overall a great informational tool to help those who are just learning about how to use the internet, as well as teachers or adults in general who need it to be there to double check their work or to re-inform themselves.
- “The Definition of Digital Citizenship.” Web. 24 Nov. 2015. The website “The Definition of Digital Citizenship” is a great resource that really explains what “Digital Citizenship” really is and gives some examples of how it has been used. Here you can look at featured or new posts about “Digital Citizenship” and how it is being applied in the community. There is also a newsletter that you can subscribe to in order to get the latest information on the topic with some real-life examples to show that it really is working with young children. This site also explains the new version of Bloom’s Taxonomy very well in detail, so it is easier to assess children based on this new model because it actually applies. There is a blog on this page as well where people can comment, post questions, and interact with each other to share ideas about what they want to do with this topic. Throughout the website, there are sources layered into it where you can click on the live link and it will send you to a different website in order to go more in-depth about the specific topic that is being observed. The last aspect of this website is that it has posters about “Digital Citizenship” that you can print up and hang in the classroom for free, so students can observe them and take in their information, also a reference to look at when lost or in need of help. This website is very useful for teachers because it really goes in-depth about what it really means to be a digital citizen and what that all implies. Also, it is a great place to get ideas about how to teach this to your students because there are examples on this page as well as an area to communicate with other teachers if you need help. This is overall just a really good reference page when you feel like you need a bit more explaining about the topic.
In class this week, we sat down and talked about “Digital Citizenship” and what it really means. By doing this, it really concreted my understanding of the topic and expanded my learning about how to teach it in the classroom. We went through a slide show explaining the 9 Ps of “Digital Citizenship” and why they are important to know when teaching the material and learning the material. This was great because before class, I did not even know there was such a thing as the 9 Ps of “Digital Citizenship”. We went through and talked about why it is important to be a digital citizen and why it is important that the students of this generation be brought up learning about it. Then we split off into groups discussing different topics that involve being a digital citizen such as Privacy and Security, Self-Image and Identity, Cyberbullying, Relationships and Communication, Digital Footprint and Reputation, Internet Safety, Information Literacy, Creative Credit and Copyright. What we did was divide these into 4 groups and figure out a way to teach them and also do a roleplay that explained the topics. This activity helped explain each of the topics more in-depth and also gave me the opportunity to show what I have learned. My group had the topics of Cyberbullying, Relationships and Communication. We researched about it, decided that a great way to teach this information was through role plays and examples. Also by doing this activity, I heard all of the other groups discuss how they would teach these lessons in their classes, which helped me a lot because originally I was not sure how to do that. Being in class furthered my understanding of this topic and also showed me how to teach this topic if I were teaching in a classroom.
Throughout the process of before knowledge, preparing for class, being in class, and now reflecting, I have actually really learned a ton from this lesson! In the beginning before preparing, I knew pretty much nothing about the topic or what it was about. I could make a guess by looking at the different words that were a part of the name, but overall I did not learn much. While preparing for class, I learned so much information. I learned what “Digital Citizenship” actually was, what it mean to be a citizen of it, some examples of it being taught, and some of the main themes behind it. By doing this before class, I felt fairly confident that I knew the material to share in class. Then when we talked more about in it class, I became more confident about the material and also how to teach it since I had to teach about it in front of the class. So now looking back on it, my learning really changed and I really understand the topic well enough now that I could teach it!