The chapter begins to discuss the unlimited potential of the internet. There is so much information readily available in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. There are four main questions that the chapter dives into, which are what does it mean to be someone who is digitally literate, what can be helpful for students to know pertain to online search engines, how can we evaluate credible online databases, and how can students learn about the weaknesses of the internet? There are many ways, to access information, maybe back in the day, the only source of information was a library. Today, there are many convenient avenues to gather knowledge about anything. Since the times are always changing, it is imperative for teachers to stay digitally literate. Furthermore, students at young ages are always looking for the easiest source of information, meaning when they see something that can be remotely true, they see it as 100% valid. Whether it is through laziness or ignorance, this can be proven costly. Same goes with ignoring privacy policies on certain devices. The chapter dives into search engines and how to effectively and efficiently find information. As a student, my knowledge about how Google and other search engines grew substantially. I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy too naive with these tools for research projects, as information was very basic and probably could've helped draw my points a bit clearer. The chapter also mentions Wikipedia, and I do appreciate the way the issue is broken down inside of the chapter. Again, as a young adolescent, I was told to never look at Wikipedia! However, now I realize that it can be a great starting point for any strange, unknown, obstacle in the way of one's learning. According to the text, one should compare an article with another online encyclopedia source. If there is something on Encyclopedia Brittanica, that doesn't parallel Wikipedia, then they can be notified to resolve the discrepancy. Students can fast-check any entry and I do like the idea of having students create their own encyclopedia pages to see how much work is ACTUALLY put into them.
Chapter 5 also ends with digital citizenship inside of the classroom and schools. In order to teach all the components to students, schools follow
Acceptable-Use Policies (AUP), which are rules for technology use and some consequences. I would describe it as ethics similar to those followed in reality, where you need to watch what you say and how you act, along with setting great examples for your community and your peers.
For Chapter 6, I'll promise to keep this blurb a bit shorter. The main purpose for this chapter is to depict how students and teachers manage online information. This is a part of information management, which is how companies keep track of data for decision making. Furthermore, it is important for teachers to take advantage of the internet when storing lessons, notes, and materials. Technology makes this a lot simpler and neater. Cloud computing is something I use as a student, I'm not sure if any of you all have/had used this tech before. Furthermore, I don't believe I've used WebQuests before, but I like the fact that not only do students learn the content, but they need to fulfill different roles to work with one another. The chapter ends with different online learning tools, and I do have experience with one, NLVM (pictured), for mathematics. I had used this as a kid and its an application that simulates virtual settings with scenarios tailored towards mathematical subjects. It helped keep students engaged as they were seeing applications of the topics, along with hands-on activity as well. The digital citizenship can act as a prerequisite to helping teachers with having their material settled, which they can move on towards web-based activities. No confusion from the teacher would occur, and everything should run smoothly.
To Discuss:
1. Do you believe it is easy or difficult to stay digitally literate? How can we all stay up-to-date with the latest technology without breaking the bank?
2. What other digital resources are accessible? In what ways does it deviate from the traditional idea of a classroom?
Hello Roberto,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog, great insight. I think that as teachers we need to be role models for digital citizenship; we can teach our students how to use social media properly. We must explain the consequences of posting inappropriate images, and comments on the internet. Another big issue is safe guarding our students, some of our students don’t realize when they are attracting unwanted attention from strangers, or jeopardizing their future careers. It’s our duty to also explain how privacy settings on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can improve internet safety. This is where a good digital citizenship program comes in. You can teach students about the importance of cyber-security and the steps they can take to protect themselves by using passwords (different one for each account), don't download email attachments, etc. This information is particularly beneficial to younger students who are using the internet for the first time, or has unsupervised access.