Back in my day, yeah I just typed that, certain elements of digital citizenship weren't defined. Its not that they didn't exist because they did, it was more of you knew about it but ignored giving it a name. Not saying I'm an expert on digital citizenship but at the same time I have a really, really good understand of it. Now you good things like the NETS. They come in a variety, students, teachers, CS teachers, and administrators. Oh my! Not really rules like other standards, more like guidelines to help students and staff understand technology and it's place in education and life. Sound familiar good because it's like the elements of a good digital citizen just boiled down to an academic sense. All the NETS help make individuals more efficient and safe when using digital technology. Praise be the Internet, that is a wise crack at the concept of good digital citizenship is like something out of the Bible, I know terrible joke.
Took forever to watch those videos. Watched them back to back, needed to do something in the background to keep me sane. The first video was boring, melodramatic and obviously out dated. It reminded me of the fire and brimstone way of preaching. Technology is bad, watch your children and the old ways are best. The second one is also melodramatic but not all fire and brimstone. The second one presents evidence and arguments better and from different perspectives. I agree with certain facts like multitasking isn't that great for you and that technology is addictive. I enjoyed the old women with a podcast cooking show, thought that was funny and awesome. I disagree with things like the "dumbest generation" It is great to see that some of the perspectives from the first video changed over the years.
My own digital footprint isn't surprising in any way. Again I'm use to this whole digital citizenship concept and virtual world. Over the years I have improve how I interact but like in traditional life there is always ways to make mistakes. Not the end of the world, and if something I said on Facebook two years ago keeps me from having a job then oh well, there are plenty of other ways to make money.
My personal feelings on digital citizenship is that it should be taught whenever you use technology in the classroom or at least some aspect of it. Its one of those things you need to drive into young minds to help them understand just like teaching kids right from wrong. I also think you need to start early. Parents start things off and teachers reinforce just like traditional life, simple enough. How I would do the elements of a digital citizen is like this:
K - 12 ( no matter what you should teach and reinforce these things)
- Etiquette
- Health & Wellness
- Security (self-protection)
These are important things for everyone to know and should always be considered when dealing with technology. Obviously there is a difference in the grade levels when you consider each one, and mostly that difference is just depth. Your not going to teach a child in K - 5 about security on Facebook because hopefully they aren't using Facebook, but you can teach them not to share personal information in a video game of via email or chat service.
6 - 12 grade you will see many different ways level of these:
- Access
- Commerce
- Communication
- Literacy
- Law
- Rights & Responsibilities
Kids start getting cell phones and other tech, more then you can count on one hand maybe even both (don't laugh I have a niece who is 6 years old and has 2 iPods, and iPad, XBox, Playstation 3, a laptop, a desktop, an iPhone, handheld games, and other things that make me jealous). This is where you start getting into talking about the access they have to technology, how it used, how to use it and what is right and wrong when using technology. You don't need to break this things down to a few in one course, you can get them in one course and then some, even better work it into your everyday classes and it won't be an issue. I don't want to be more specific because it depends on the class and the person teaching it, in truth I wouldn't even use any of these terms because you don't need a title for something like this just the understanding.
Thanks for your thoughts, Dan. I too perceived the first Frontline view as outdated and very "fire and brimstone," but I enjoyed the second video more, in part, because the Cooking with Bubbe segment made it more special/personable.
ReplyDeleteAs for your niece with all of her technology, she should start Skyping with some of the Grade 2 students at my school. They'll have lots in common even if they are from different cultures.
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to hear your perspective on digital citizenship. Coming from someone who has more experience with a variety of technology (compared to my limited view) I was interested in reading your point of view. I agree with how you broke up the technology by ages and agree with your suggestions for age appropriateness. It is interesting that you suggest parents should teach some of the citizenship efforts. While I agree with you, my parents, knowing nothing about technology, would not have done a good job. I can only imagine the good job you will do with your own children considering the life experience you have. My only training on digital citizenship has come from professional development opportunities that the district has offered. Most of the time the primary focus has been on being aware of predators and cyber-bullying. This course, and your prezi have taught me how involved it really is. It is more like an interdisciplinary unit that one that should be taught alone in isolation.
Dan - I too enjoy your perspective on technology. It gives me a small glimpse into what the future holds for my children. It also is a nice perspective in that you kind-of say been-there, done-that where like Andrea, I only have book knowledge of technology and digital citizenship.
ReplyDeleteA comment on the videos - You and Byron's comments about the age of the first video also gave me pause that it really wasn't that long ago but the information and tone seemed very outdated. Parents and educators need to stay up on the latest constantly but I guess if the cooking grandma can, the rest of us can too.
Dan, Your post reminds me of conversations I have with my son. As you are, he is a digital native. However, you describe your niece with all of her digital tools, and I think that he may not be as 'native' as I thought. It prompts me to think about how the digital world will look 20 years from now, and what we will think of the digital natives such as your niece. It also reminds me how much I need to work at staying on top of all that is developing if I'm going to stay relevant as an educator.
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