Global Digital Citizen Post Three

Global Awareness and Digital-Age Communication 

Global awareness is understanding that different events and ideas impact the world from a cultural, social, and political standpoint.  Many of us find these "news" stories on the Internet.  People can get up to date information immediately just by searching for it on Google.  Global awareness connects itself to the digital-age communication.  I feel that less and less people are communicating with others to find out information and simply talk to each other.  Everyone is always on their phones, tablets, and computers either talking to others or finding out information through news websites or social media.

Since technology is all around us and used in everyday more and more by people it of course needs to be included within the classroom.  I want my future students to be aware of what is happening around the world and to do that with technology is the easiest way.  My students can look up current events happening around the world and research that topic.  They are able to have more sources if they can use the Internet as opposed looking up article in a newspaper.  Children should be aware of events happening around them.  This can lead to a better understanding of how our world works and what types of events happen daily around the world.

Global Digital Citizen Post Two

Digital Etiquette and Responsible Social Interactions

Having responsible social interactions means not cyberbullying.  Many young people, including some of my future students, will be guilty of bullying someone over the Internet.  Although to some it may not seem like a big deal, a lot of children and teenagers take their own life because of what others say to them over the Internet and social media.  Nowadays, younger and younger children are getting involved in social media and I feel that they do not necessarily belong on this type of communication yet.  In my future classroom, I will be sure to teach my students about being responsible on the Internet.  I think that this could fall under hidden curriculum because it is not something that needs to be taught in school but should be taught to the younger generations since it is apart of their everyday life and will be forever.  I think that teaching older grades about children and teenagers who have taken their own lives because of cyberbullying would be a great way to get the message across.  Bullying in person or online is not acceptable.

Digital etiquette is basic rules that everyone should follow.  It is basically treating others with respect and yourself with respect while online.  You should respect others online as you would treat them in person.  As a future teacher, this is a very important to teach your students while they use computers.  This connects to having responsible social interactions and cyberbullying.  If you do not have appropriate digital etiquette, this can hurt others and potentially hurt others in the long run.  Below I have attached a link that describes what digital etiquette is and how you should treat others while online.  It is a better visual than what I can type here for you!

See video at this link:

http://www.brainpop.com/technology/computersandinternet/digitaletiquette/

Global Digital Citizen Post One

Teaching Safe, Legal, and Ethical use of Digital Information and Technology In the Classroom

Teaching safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology is extremely important in the classroom.  Firstly, computers in the classroom should only be used as another tool and resource to continue learning on a subject that is already being taught in other methods, such as, activities, discussions, and hands-on learning.  Before using computers in the classroom, teachers need to teach their students what they are allowed and are not allowed to do on the Internet.  Students needs to have rules on what they are allowed to search and what programs they are allowed to use on the computer. Sometimes giving students no guidelines can lead to them being off task and not completing the given assignment.  Another important idea to teach children about using the Internet is to cite their sources.  If children are taught at a young age to cite others ideas when they are not their own, it will become routine for them, as it has for me (http://www.slideshare.net/Mrs.Faust/teaching-ethical-and-legal-use-of-technology-in-the-classroom).

When I have my own classroom, I want to integrate technology into the my lessons.  Technology is all around us now and it is basically unavoidable.  I remember being in elementary school and it being a rare occasion that I was allowed to use a computer for work, other than taking reading tests.  Now, students are using iPads, tablets, SmartBoards, computers, and many other devices that I know I am not even aware of.  I will be sure to teach my students to be safe while using the Internet.  Especially for younger grades, which is what I am interested in teaching, I will most likely have a safety block on the Internet so they cannot get into trouble when they are not sure what they are doing.  I feel that giving young students full access to everything on a computer can sometimes cause conflicts because some students know more or less about what capabilities the Internet has.