Digital Citizenship for Educators
As educators today do we really understand Digital Citizenship? It is very important that we do and that we teach our students of all ages to understand this concept. Our world is changing faster than it ever has, maybe this is just because I am no longer as young as I used to be and I can now say when I was a kid… However technology is evolving at a rapid pace. The following statement used to be true.
This makes sense, when you look at youth and see how they have adapted to new technology, although they really haven’t adapted to it. They have just learned it and have never had any experience other than that. For those of us who see new technology come out and we have a perspective of what older technology was like, we now have new technology. Today this change in technology is happening quicker than a generation changes. In fact I believe it is directly tied to the average person’s cell phone cycle.
We no longer have the luxury of saying I know technology, because what you know now will need to be almost completely relearned in two years. If you are constantly learning and unlearning with technology this change is never a big one. However if you are not constantly evolving with technology then change may seem daunting.
OK so let’s look back at digital citizenship how do we know where to go if it is constantly changing? If we were in the real world we would simply follow a map.
In a digital world, there is no map to follow, so we need to know how to direct what we do. First of all we need to understand what digital citizenship really is. Here is a very basic and fundamental view of digital citizenship.
To understand how we should control or be aware of any use or reference to us with technology we can look at the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship developed by Mike Ribble.
These serve as a great guide to understanding any online or technology based activity. These nine elements have been broken up into three categories that relate to a school. You can see this below.
I however believe these are more like concentric circles that are most important in the centre and every circle includes the one(s) inside it. The most important circle in the middle is Digital Health and Wellness. If this is in balance then all of our other aspects of our digital existence have a chance to be in balance as well.
Our schools can no longer only exist within their walls. As a high school teacher I know the limitations of field trips, you just can’t leave the school and have a meaningful experience in one hour. As well, our world is becoming so much smaller and often the people or places we want to go to are not where we live. So you need to ask yourself this question… IS YOUR SCHOOL GLOBAL, OR SNOW GLOBAL?
As well you need to ask yourself ARE YOU OR YOUR STUDENTS GLOBAL, OR SNOW GLOBAL?
To master existing online we must understand how to create a POSITIVE DIGITAL FOOTPRINT.
As an educator we must be aware of our online actions at all times. We are called to be an example for our students. How do we learn about being a digital citizen and creating a positive digital footprint? How do we use new tools to make meaningful connections and not allow them to become distractions to our daily life?
One way is to take a course. The Innovative Teacher Academy offers a Digital Citizenship for Educators online course where you can earn a certificate in Digital Citizenship. Digital Citizenship is the next crucial task that education needs to master. To start or continue your journey in learning about digital citizenship enroll today. http://www.jasonsand.com/ITAcart/