Teaching Digital Citizenship

I am on the fringe.  I use twitter.  I try to stay current on new technology.  I blog--sometimes.

So when I start talking to any one of my colleagues I realize that I am on the fringe when it comes to technology and the effect it has on education.  However, just as much as a school should be helping students become good physical citizens I am more convinced more than ever  that schools should also encourage students to be better digital citizens (and I'm not the only one) . . .

After a solid 10 minutes of brainstorming I think being a good digital citizen has at least these three elements:

• The Safety Element: The most important world application of digital citizenship is keeping yourself and others safe both online and offline.  Teaching students when, how, and why to express themselves safely online is imperative.  It's an easy sell too in light of the recent online bullying stories.
• The Information Element: The internet is a wide and diverse place and the answer to practically any question can be found online.  However, without the skills to determine what information is valid and verifiable and which information is likely false students have no skills to quickly find the information they need.
• The Collaboration Element: As the world grows in population it shrinks in size.  As more people learn how to use tools online to share their world the world itself shrinks.  Teaching our students to use these tools effectively will put them on much stronger footing in a future we cannot predict.

Of course many of the same character elements we would teach about digital citizens would clearly be characteristics we want in every student that leaves our classroom--respect for peers and viewpoints, initiative, and a deep thirst for knowledge.  

As a classroom teacher I don't have access to one-to-one computers so my students cannot practice these skills in my classroom.  However, anytime I am online I am sure to show them anything I can to help make them safer and more knowledgeable about online skills and citizenship.

What element would you add?  What elements would you teach?

Getting in on the Conversation

I'm not consistent with my posts.  I'm debating why.  It's not that I don't read blogs or have thoughts to contribute . . .

• Perhaps I'm afraid of putting IT out there.  
• Perhaps I don't think I have anything new to add that hasn't been said.
• Perhaps I don't think I have the time.
• Perhaps I'm too lazy.

Of those choices I'm pretty sure it's the fourth.  I sit and browse articles for hours or I flip through google/reader/play 3 times a day.  I have the time.  So now it's a matter of discipline.  I should easily maintain  two posts a week for the next month.

As a corollary I should also start commenting on the blogs I read.  All conversation takes both hearing and responding I need to do more responding.

So here's to joining the conversation . . . we'll see how this goes.

I really need an eReader

I know that Apple products are cool.  I get it.  I just don't know why schools will jump on a 500 dollar product before they would try a 150 dollar product.  It seems to me, one of the cheaper "steps" into technology, and the most logical for that matter, would be to first get the textbook companies to start publishing and licensing textbooks for eReaders.  My plan would work something like this:

A fictional school has 75 kids in 8th grade.  Each student is given or purchases an eReader.  The school buys a license for for 75 copies of Glencoe's 8th grade science textbooks.  These digital copies have DRM of some sort and this DRM keeps the digital textbooks valid for 5 years (5 years keep the textbook companies in business--many times schools may only buy new text books when the old one's are too worn to reissue.)  The school is able to issue these digital copies to students on whichever eReader hops on board and would have the ability to limit the digital textbook to a reasonable time-frame on the eReader (such as 1 year--allowing the same student to keep the same eReader from year to year if desired).  The students are then allowed to take their eReaders wherever they wish.

This would require more flexiblity with eReaders.  eReaders, such as the Kindle or the Nook, currently have very restrictive DRM and this sort of pricing structure seems to be unheard of.

The implications and applications, though, are wonderful.  What if a student could quote, high-lite, and save text from a textbook on their personal amazon.com account where they could comment and share ideas and thoughts about texts?  This technology is more than just moving text from a hardcopy to a digital one.  It will allow collaboration and discussion much easier--not to mention create a searchable and archived library of information for each student.  (and we won't even go deep into the fact that textbooks are getting bigger and bigger and students are staying the same size)

I realize the iPad has a much greater feature set and is capable of so much more than just reading.  But that, as an educator, is one of the draws of the eReader.  First, it limits the in class distraction of using the device as something other than a textbook and second, the eReader is a device with a single purpose--to facilitate reading and reading is a skill that will not go away, no matter how great technology may become.

Thoughts?

Web 2.0

Recently I've been thinking about all that the internet can do now. And as a teacher I am both amazed and overwhelmed. How do you keep up with it all? How do you organize it all? There are so many tools, so many websites, so many ways to use and locate information that even as a teacher that is very comfortable with technology I feel like there's no way to use it all efficiently.

That is all. Not sure if this counts as a post.

Fear or Fiddle? (standing in the gap)

People who know more than I do have divided teachers and students into two catagories. They say that students today are growing up in a world where technology, computers, and the information age has always existed. they call students in school today "digital natives." These people have also labeled teachers. They ponder, since teachers have not grown up with this digital world that teachers must be digital immigrants--newcomers to this digital world. I, personally feel that this diagram leaves me homeless. I am not a native, according to the experts because I can remember a time when the internet did not exist. However, I am not an immigrant, as I feel no fear or even the mildest trepidation toward new technologies. I would like to suggest a different diagram. But before I do, consider the following:

In education there is a distinct divide. There are teachers, generally younger, that openly embrace and have no problem exploring and using new technologies in their classrooms and there are teachers, generally more experienced, that are not opposed to new ideas or technology but are fearful and completely confounded by technology.

The younger teacher tends to dive right in when faced with a new technology or website. They have an almost innate ability to tinker and fiddle with a new technology in a way that their more experienced counterparts only stare at in a puzzled way. The younger teacher has grown up around technology, sees nothing to fear, and plays with technology in a fearless and natural way. These technologies may simply be Power Point or a projector or they may even be "cutting edge," "web 2.0+" applications. Whatever the technology is, these individuals show no fear in playing with and incorporating technology into their lesson plans. In fact, they may even think of new ways to teach and new ways to engage their students.

More experienced teachers, on the other hand, tend to look on these technologies with a wary eye. They are not sure if 1) the technology is appropriate, 2)the technology is useful or 3)if they are going to break it. The third contemplation seems to be the largest concern. All teachers could easily debate the appropriateness or usefulness of a technology but in order to do either they both must use the technology. This is where the experienced teacher becomes very uneasy. It is far easier to assail the value or usefulness of a new strategy than to learn to use it. To the experienced teacher fiddling with a new website or technology is scary. Indeed, many teachers seem to be more concerned with breaking a computer or doing something wrong than playing or exploring new technology.

It seems, though there is a distinct difference in the technological savvy of teachers and students, one set of teachers has more in common with digital natives than digital immigrants. What if the dichotomous diagram is incorrect? What if we've entered a new type of world. The immigrants were in fact immigrants to a new world, they ushered us into this new paradigm, but they didn't find natives. What they found was a world that required a new language to deal with new problems. Younger teachers seem to be the first generation in this new world. They have easily learned the new language and they easily assimilate to the new world. But they were not born here. Students seem to be the main beneficiaries of the new world. They don't have to assimilate they fit right in. They don't have to relearn or add the language as it's the only language they know. They are third generation immigrants.

This three level diagram gives special significance to all parties. The immigrants, though still trying to learn the new language, still have important details about the world they immigrated from. They have important tools that second and third generations will need to know. The second generation needs to help bridge the gap between those that are afraid and those who plow headlong into all things digital. Finally, the third generation needs to collaborate and explore in new ways and plow ahead into new worlds and new paradigms of education and learning.