As we move ever closer to a fully digitized society the way that students learn is evolving to reflect the larger society. Just as literacy and math procedure are important aspects of a students formation, digital literacy and citizenship are topics that teachers must consider addressing across all content areas, at every stage of a students development.
Researching ways that I could integrate digital citizenship in my classes, keeping in mind that I teach high school Math and AVID, it became apparent that there are many ways I am already incorporating digital citizenship into my courses. Through our current learning management system, ECHO, I have students access my daily agendas which link them directly to trusted sources for math content. I spend a lot of time talking to students about using the internet (google, khan academy, etc) to find help when I am not available. Students often forget that they are able to find reliable tutorials on problems very similar to those we cover in class scattered among their favorite conspiracy VLOGS. The Common Sense education resources highlight that creating responsible digital citizens protects the digital community we must interact with just as responsible citizens protect the communities we live in. As my school moves closer to 1-1 student and device ratios, students could easily find themselves distracted by the proliferation of technological distraction. I think that most educators shy away from the use of technology because they don't think that students can learn to adjust to such distraction. Also, a lot of my peers refuse to engage in online activities because they do not trust the students be appropriate. With resources from Common Sense students will learn to act more responsibly in a digital space. In the high school section of resources there are topics from learning respect for others online privacy to creating online spaces free of hate speech. I think its necessary for any teacher engaging in any collaboration or communication activity with students in an online space to review these procedures with them. The resources cultivated by the Stanford History Education Group encourage teachers to work with students on developing a critical eye when it comes to evaluating sources of information they find on the internet. These resources are especially important for my AVID students who will be going to college next year and who will be expected to gather, synthesize and evaluate information gathered from multiple sources. Most of my students think that the first hit on google is the most reliable course of information and will cite this information to teachers, unchecked. I will absolutely be using the resources from SHEG to review with my AVID students the importance of checking sources, finding reliable content online and determining if a source is trustworthy. Digital citizenship is important because students need to understand that the personality they cultivate online is a reflection of the personality they carry with them in the non virtual world. How many recent stories have we heard about celebrities and politicians haunted by their digital activities from years ago? The digital footprint that our students leave is easily traceable and if they are not careful they can be forever linked to a toxic online presence that restricts them from becoming everything they truly want to be.
4 Comments
Scott Marsden
2/10/2019 04:49:06 pm
Brandon,
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Brandon DeJesus
2/10/2019 08:21:43 pm
Thank you for the resource. So many clear examples of how to build digital citizenship in mathematics. I was reminded of the conversation I had to have with some students early this semester when they used PhotoMath to do an assignment on solving systems but completely ignored the directions of the assignment. The students were asked to solve by Elimination but the PhotoMath app instructed them to use another method. Not understanding the difference the students copied directly from the app and did not earn a passing grade on the assignment.
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Julie Lovie
2/10/2019 08:48:00 pm
Brandon don't you find the use of photo and other answer giving programs frustrating . I see how they can help to a degree but it is their first instinct to not try and use that, I had a teacher on campus show it to my students and I was like wow thanks for making my job more complicated. ECHO is great the agenda are a great place for us to link site we find helpful to our students. I love many of the Khan academy videos which can support the individual learning experience and support for those who need that. Technology can help but it also comes with new challenges that are like entering uncharted territories. These resources will be very helpful in developing a safer learning environment. I love what you said about Google searches as well the students want immediate answers to research so yes the first thing that pops up must be the best. We must incorporate teaching digital citizenship right along side our regular curriculum it is part of our learning environment. Thoughtful post.
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Tess Giner
2/10/2019 10:24:46 pm
I am one of those teachers who is exhausted from hovering over kids because they might be on Youtube instead of System 44. They quickly learned ow to toggle between sites. I think it is extremely important that we begin early--kindergarten--in teaching our students how to be respectful, responsible online citizens. Chromebooks and iPads will soon be in every hand. We need to teach them that it is not a toy, something to kill time until recess, or the next class. I am so glad that AVID exists. I've seen it in action. There is talk of bringing it to the younger grades. Good.
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