Digital Citizenship - Week one

Photo taken by me of what my desk looked like in college 30 years ago

As a person who did most of my learning some three to four decades ago, I have a very clear picture of what education looks like. We have the instructor at the front of the class and many students crammed into uncomfortable desks with books, rulers, calculators and tablets (the old style that had sheets of paper and you used a pen or pencil to write in) waiting for the knowledge to be shared. This was the way of the educational world for years. There is a general misconception that teachers always teach the way they learn. For me at least I know that this is totally untrue. I struggled to learn as a student in the traditional class room yet flourished as an educator. The truth is that I love to learn and want to be part of each new idea and concept that is introduced to the students. I get energy from their moments of discovery. I so much want to feel the positive energy as it flows in the class room like some magical force. I know this due to some pretty critical reflection on the subject as more and more technology has worked its way into education. On this journey of self discovery around technology and education, it occurred to me that I would not be cut out of the equation for learning but rather be able to utilize the digital world to actually be more involved. To be able to have input on the students moment of reflection through connections made possible by the digital age are fantastic. Technology and the digital age are well past us and it’s about time that we catch up. For me, the first step will be to understand and then become a good Digital Citizen.

Photo taken by me of my desk today

 Some of the aspects of working, learning and teaching in a digital world seem like common sense on the surface but as I engage the text I understand we need to take a much closer look. I had no idea what being a digital citizen meant and yet I interact in that environment daily. While reviewing the nine elements of digital citizenship as laid out by Ribble ( 2011, p.15-44) I had quite a few moments of reflection. As a digital citizen, which I have become simply by e-mailing on a daily basis, I had no idea how I should act and interact with others. 

 Of the nine basic elements there are a couple that jumped out at me. One is the very first element, Access. I do feel very strongly that all people should have equal footing and be given equal opportunities. I do understand though that this is not always the case or always possible. I wonder what I can do to erase these barriers in our school. I know that play it again sports addressed this issue for people struggling with the high cost of equipment. I am wondering if there is some sort of possible solution here for technology. I know that advertisers want you to believe that you must have the best but for that student that has no mobile device would not an older model work just as well?

I also took to heart the concepts on rights and responsibilities as well as etiquette. I had never thought of being able to participate in a type of learning that involved some sort of digital interaction would carry with it certain rights. For instance the right for a person to be involved even if they are concerned about what personal information can be accessed. It then becomes the educational institutions responsibility that the student’s basic right is full filled. At the same time, an educator who is involved with a course or class that has some or all of the learning occurring digitally, there will be a need for close monitoring. It must be ensured that any student is not having their digital rights infringed upon by others. As well, etiquette becomes a responsibility of everyone in the course and educators can never let opportunities to demonstrate good etiquette pass by, even if it is totally unrelated to the topic.

The other six elements are equally as important as the three I mentioned and in fact affect each other. “The nine elements of Digital Citizenship are not stand-alone issues. They relate to each other in a dizzying variety of ways.”(Ribble, 2011, p.43).  After looking at these I can clearly see how my perception of each will change as I study more in depth each new element. It is also very interesting to me that some speak directly to aspects of the class and learning, while others are a more world view. It will be interesting exploring the lines of interconnection and then bringing concepts and ideas to life outside the digital world as I am sure they are bound to alter my physical world as well.

The world has changed and finally education is changing as well. I really found it interesting that under essential questions (2011, p.16) Ribble speaks about what should be done now and then in four years. My observation here is that this book is two years old. Technology and the digital world have changed significantly in those two years and will change even faster over the next two. I think a more realistic question I am going to need to answer is what we should already have done and what are we waiting for. I also hope that somewhere someone is thinking about what we as educators will need to do in order to be able to transition and respond quickly to the changing market place.  It is imperative, and one of our digital responsibilities, that we supply students with exciting new ways to learn that they will then be able to transition into their working world.

Another important aspect of living in a digital world must be remembered by everyone. That is explained in the rules of netiquette that you should remember that they are human. “When you communicate electronically, all you see is a computer screen. You don't have the opportunity to use facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice to communicate your meaning”. I have experienced this and this is one of those things I need to fix. I have made people angry but when I actually speak with them they quickly realize that the tone they thought I was expressing had more to do with how they were reading it and less to do with the message.“When you're holding a conversation online -- whether it's an email exchange or a response to a discussion group posting -- it's easy to misinterpret your correspondent's meaning. And it's frighteningly easy to forget that your correspondent is a person with feelings more or less like your own”. (www.albion.com/netiquette/rule1.html)

Very busy week with way to many things to discuss, the journey has begun and I am hoping will be an enjoyable one.

Jeff