reflect on your own digital footprint and personal thoughts on digital citizenship, as well as the necessity of teaching students about digital citizenship in school. Also, discuss your thoughts on an appropriate age of introduction to digital citizenship.
My digital footprint is not a large one by any means. I participate in social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram, and I have a class webpage through my school's website. Of course these contain photos of me, family, and friends. Outside of that, there is little else I've done to leave a digital footprint.
As for digital citizenship, I think this is an important aspect of teaching and using technology in the classroom. Students do not always know or completely understand (specifically the younger ones) the ramifications of doing certain things on the internet (like posting a full shot photo, posting something negative about someone or someone doing that to them). Students need to have an understanding of the expectations of using the internet and the appropriate way to act while using the internet. Digital citizenship should be introduced whenever students are being allowed to access the internet. If they are old enough to access the internet then they should be old enough to understand the importance of digital citizenship.
My digital footprint looks very similar to yours. I participate in very few social media sites and most of my social media sites are very private. As far as teaching students about their digital footprint and about digital citizenship, I also think that it is very important to teach them when they start using the internet. If not, before.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly my footprint is the same. I always say that I am not the most tech savvy, but the few things I do use, I use well. I limit myself to a couple social media sites and I am really learning how to use Google and Office 365 as tools for collaborative work. Not having a classroom of my own, I haven't don't much to extend my use of technology. I have been enjoying the tools I have been learning about throughout my courses and try to play around with them, but currently I don't have a true purpose for using them. I'm getting my sister to use Prezi if that counts!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the classroom is the prime location for teaching kids about digital citizenship. So many young kids are on social media sites these days and it can be a dangerous thing. Sometimes parents have no idea what they are doing on there. I know personally I have seen kids put out their phone number or address thinking that just their friends are seeing it. And kids think nothing of it. Through these courses, I am learning about how to engage students in social media use with a purpose (like Twitter for book discussion) and because social media is a huge part of their lives, I think that's where a teacher can get the biggest bang for their buck in teaching digital citizenship. When it comes to the internet and searching and using content, a whole new standard of learning comes into play from an ethical perspective. Teaching students how to be safe producers is the most important and when you have kindergarteners posting from their parents' cell phone or own personal device, those lessons need to start early!
Love your last sentence. If they are old to be online, they are old enough for a primer on digital citizenship. :)
ReplyDelete