Digital Citizens in an increasingly Globalized Century

Notice...

For my last blog, I have opted out of a summative, reflective post, as I hope that this will continue beyond the classroom requirements!

Digital Citizens in an increasingly Globalized Century

The advent of the internet has undoubtedly changed the course of the world in many ways. As a university student majoring in History, when I think of the fact that past undergrads had to write their papers without access to thousands of scholarly articles at the tips of their fingers, it really allows me to appreciate the decade I was born in.
The internet is such an integral part of society. It has provided us with a space of self-expression, has allowed us keep up to date with events around the world, and provides entertainment. Some of the biggest stars in the music industry, such as Justin Bieber, were 'discovered' through the internet.

I am a part of the 'digital' generation. I have heard many older people give their sympathy to younger generations, claiming that they missed out on 'true' childhood. Others present frustration and anger towards youth, claiming that they are consciously wasting their lives - not realizing that childhood is reflective of the society it resides in. While many adults have much to criticize, fearful that society is becoming more self absorbed and unable to socialize 'properly', there are (thankfully) those who accept daily technology use as something that has a lot of potential for the better. 

For myself, I argue that how adults describe youth currently are similar anxieties that took place fifteen, fifty, and even five hundred years ago. Society is constantly changing, and with change brings resistance against traditional forces. Working my way towards my goal of being a part of the education system, I would hope that I would not be joining another traditionalist force.

Photos like these are popular portrayals of teens and technology...
courtesy of pinterest.com

but it's these that need to spread: winners of the Future8 awards, celebrating talented programmers, animators, filmmakers, and musicians between the ages of seven to seventeen.courtesy of the guardian.com

One of the greatest philosophies for education, dating back to ancient Greece, is "Know Thyself". As teachers, curriculum developers, and researchers we are constantly assessing the ways in which we can provide students the opportunity to develop themselves and gain senses of identity within their work. I think that part of the 'New Story' needs to leave space for an examination of the digital self, in helping students to understand how they represent themselves not only in a classroom, but in the world wide web.

courtesy of thewiredhomeschool.com

In a day and age where everything you write/create/post/share leaves a digital footprint, it is essential for teachers and students to collaborate in an awareness of their digital citizenship. 

Teachers can use digital platforms to reach their students and create lessons based on digital citizenship. "Miss. W" is a teacher whose classroom actively blogs as self-reflection assessment, but also as a space to provide lessons/activities. One of the lessons directly death with students learning to create their own digital footprint, and its implications. Other organizations have also attempted to educate students about social media and digital citizenship.

An effective video to show students would be the following work created by Flocabulary Productions, who create an interesting and creative take on educating social media awareness.

Others have also commented on what should be included in digital literacy. Entrepreneur Matt Ivester, in his book  lol…OMG! What every student needs to know about online reputation management, digital citizenship and cyberbullying, shows how students can navigate through grey areas in being an online citizen of a global community. Within his book he provides ten considerations to take when taking part of this realm.

1. The Golden Rule: Are you treating others the way that you would want to be treated? Would you want to be tagged in that photo? Would you want someone saying those things about you online?

2. The Golden Rule 2.0: Are you treating others the way that they would want to be treated? Is it possible that they might interpret what you are doing as cyberbullying? What assumptions are you making about their comfort level with the sharing of their personal information? How are you affecting their online reputation? How well do they handle teasing? How easily do they brush off a insults and let go of hurt feelings? The fact that people differ so widely can lead to reactions that you don’t anticipate.

3. The Laws and Policies Test: Does what you are doing violate a law? Perhaps harassment, invasion of privacy, defamation, or cyberbullying? Does it violate your compus’ honor code, or fundamental standard? You you be comfortable doing this in front of a police officer or school administrator? These rules are put in place to protect people. If you are violating them, there is a good chance that what you are doing is unethical.

4. The Everybody Test: What if everybody is doing the same thing that you are? Would that change your mind? It may seem as though you are doing just a little bit of harm, but it’s hard to know whether other people are also doing the same thing. Together, you might be doing a lot of harm, and the consequences might be much more drastic than you expected or intended. You probably don’t want to be a contributor to that.

5. The Offline Test: What is the real-world equivalent of what you are doing? Would you be willing to do that real-world activity? Would you be willing to make that same comment to the person’s face?

6. The Real Name Test: This test applies only to behavior that you engage in anonymously. How would you change your behavior if you knew that your real name would be associated with it? Would you still do it? Would you say it differently, perhaps more thoughtfully?

7. The Emotion Test: Are you doing something to someone because you are angry, jealous, or otherwise emotionally charged? Is the recipient of your actions becoming or likely to become highly emotional as a result of those actions?

8. The Whole World Test: Would you be comfortable with the whole world knowing what you are doing? Your family, friends, professors and professional contacts? What would the story be on the cover of The New York TImes? Are you okay with that?

9. The “Get It?” Test: Is what you are trying to say hard to convey online? Is it likely to be misinterpreted? Do you have certain context that others reading it don’t? If it were misinterpreted, might it be hurtful?

10. The final test is Your Test. This is the test that matters most. Consider how what you are doing reflects on you as a person. What does it say about you? Do you like what it says about you? Is the action in line with your personal values? Does it reinforce the notion of the person that you want to be?

I think these are great considerations to take and enforce when students activate themselves as online members. Overall, we need to convince to both resisting cultures and youth that there is a place for technology and social media in fostering productive and engaged members of society. While there have certainly been recent advancements in curriculum incorporation, the education world needs to further increase the attention paid to developing digital literacy.

Recently, teachers are increasing their incorporation of real world issues such as environmental disasters or political incidents into their lesson plans as a way of fostering deeper learning and critical inquiry. However, I would argue that digital literacy - while increasingly relevant in current affairs - as been relatively untouched by teachers as 'teachable moments'. An example being the recent iCloud hacks of celebrities' nude photos. Due to the racy nature of the subject, events that are heavily discussed and plastered over students' social media news feeds and favourite websites carry as non-existent in the class room. With current adaptations to the provincial sexual education (refer to my Genius Hour Presentation video below for more information!) I think it's time to start the conversation. I am devastated to hear news about increasing numbers of young students (such as Canadian students Amanda Todd, Raetah Parsons, and others) ending their lives because of leaked nude photos/videos, cyberbullying, etc. Instead of ignoring the issue, let's address it in the classroom, where students can educate one another about not only the potential dangers of the internet, but also its endless opportunities.

Genius Hour Video

Gamification: Experiencing the DO of technology in the classroom

One of the most thrilling parts of my elementary school life was the computer lab. While it contained more "out of order" and blue screens of death than working computers, this place was like a royal palace growing up. While I had a computer at home, my parents established strict guidelines that the family computer was to be used only for homework, emails, and educational games. The computer lab periods were few and far in between, but it was really the only exposure I had until I reached about grade six. Playing games like Math Circus or Reader Rabbit didn't seem like work or learning, it was just downright fun!

courtesy of www.mentis.co.nz

Gamification (the inclusion of video games in lessons) is one of the buzzwords in education right now. It is empowering, exciting, and under the right circumstances can be the disruptive innovator many teachers desperately need in order to change the dynamics between knowledge and the learner.
Many online forums note the explosion of tools destined to gamify the classroom, most of which are web-based, while others come in the form of an app. Understandably, a teacher might wonder what is the best way to navigate through this sea of new, and subsequently, not thoroughly tested activities and tools.

The following is a guide to the benefits of this "Gamification" craze, created by Edudemic.com, a website promoting the connection of education and technology.

During my placement at an older school in Thorold in second year, the teacher used a math program purchased by the school to help with multiplication tables in a fun and interactive way. The program was essentially an arcade style format where students could gain points and unlock games/prizes/objects by completing different math mini games. My teacher showed me how each student was responsible for their learning, but the program allowed him to log on as a facilitator and monitor their progress. The school's math scores had been low for many years and administration had been trying to implement programs to put the fun back in mathematics for several years. However, the area in which the school is located has a very low SES level and many of the school's resources were going into making repairs on the building and providing essential needs for the students first (eg. breakfast programs, school supplies, etc). Therefore, implementing more technology in the classroom has been a slow and costly transition for this school.

My question of the day: There must be some way of finding educational games/platforms to incorporate with lesson plans for little or no cost, right? 

After some online research, I found three highly recommended game-based platforms for teachers that are all completely free.

SOCRATIVE 

The first (and one of the most popularly recommended) game-based classroom platform is Socrative. A prominent member of the “audience response systems” family, Socrative is a powerful tool that offers many options to teachers. It is also one of the most diverse and adaptive of all platforms, as it offers three different highly customizable modes: the typical question-based game mode, a mode called “space race” which is a mode that aims to combine accuracy and speed, and a third mode called “Exit Ticket”, which can best be used at the end of a lesson as a means of taking the pulse of the classroom.

Socrative supports multiple choice, true/false, and open response items. It also allows the user to import images to the question items, and it features live results, immediate feedback, and effortless data analysis. It can work equally well as a web-based tool as well as a mobile app. Socrative is by far one of the most user-friendly, most customizable, most comprehensive free pieces of software, with some functions and abilities matched only by expensive EdTech platforms.

Here is a short introductory tutorial on Socrative I found:

PLAYING HISTORY

Playing History is a resource-based search engine that provides links to hundreds of educational historical games, aggregating information on these resources in a simple, searchable database making it easy to find, rate, and review historical games. The database connects to educational websites, museums, foundations, and more. Students and teachers can search for the best suited game for their classroom based on subject. The following is the database's explanation for their program.

ABOUT

A flurry of interest has arisen around the potential of digital games, simulations and interactives to promote humanities learning, spurred in part by a growing body of research on the value of educational games. Foundations and universities have invested millions of dollars into developing these games, yet many are built, tested, and promptly shelved, played by only a handful of students during the pilot testing phase. There is no comprehensive directory to connect teachers with these resources. If high quality educational games, grounded in current academic knowledge and at the forefront of the digital technologies, are to reach teachers and their students, there is a clear need to build a collaborative directory for reviewing and sharing information. Playing History is the beginning of just such a directory (retrieved from http://playinghistory.org/about).

GEN I REVOLUTION

Gen i Revolution is an interactive/strategic game that was developed for middle school and high school students in the United States by the Council for Economic Education. The game gives students a chance to compete against each other while learning important personal finance skills, including fifteen rescue missions. Within each mission, students are introduced to a character who is facing a particular financial crisis. As a part of the Gen i Revolution, the student learns about the crisis, strategically selects "Operatives" and then completes activities to solve the mission. Students learn about important financial literacies such as; building wealth over a long term, choosing occupations, education, budgeting, credit, risk and return, alternative financial institutions, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, research, and financial planning.