Digital Citizenship

Digital Access - . Digital Access: full electronic participation in society One of the most important Digital Issues that I think should be addressed in our school and many others is Digital Access. "The digital divide refers to the differing perceptions and/ or accessibility levels to technology amongst various groups of people. It is perhaps the greatest obstacle in the way of full electronic participation in schools." The article by _______ talks of two digital divides. the first one being the divide between student and teacher knowledge about current technology. There is even a difference of perception of technology use in the classroom between students and teachers. Teachers perceiving that they use more technology in the classroom and students perceiving that they use less. The second type of "digital divide" is the amount of accessibility in the classroom among various groups of students. While it can certainly be said that technology accessibility is steadily increasing in schools, the obstacle of students not being able to have digital access at home still exists. Ribble, Bailey and Ross (2004) found that "the disparity of who does and does not have access to technology in America is widening. A 2003 report by the U.S. Department of Education showed that only 41% percent of Blacks and Hispanics were using a computer in the home compared to 77% percent of Whites." Ribble, Bailey and Ross (2004) suggest the following strategies for both students and educators: • Explore Web sites and materials to learn more about accessibility issues. The World Wide Web Consortium, SNOW, and the Special Needs and Technology page are good places to start. • Identify students who have special needs or circumstances and explore ways to accommodate their technology needs (e.g., assistive technology). SERI’s Special Needs and Technology Resources page can help you identify technology tools. • Advocate the creation of Web sites that enable everyone to have equal access both in language and structure. • Advocate for technology access for all students irrespective of disabilities. For example, either adhere to the World Wide Web Consortium’s guidelines for Web site creation or ask that those in your school or district who create Web pages adhere to these guidelines. • Provide time for students to use school technology to work on assignments, rather than assuming that they all have access to technology at home. • Allow students to work together on assignments (i.e., pair students with no or limited access to technology with others who have significantly greater access). TEACHING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP One way in which schools could address digital access would be to allow students to use their own devices. Schools could provide devices to their low income students. With this approach to reduce the gap between groups and their access to technology there is the risk of trust being breached. Should students bring their own devices into the classroom. Should schools find devices for low income students. Should there be trust in the students to use the devices appropriately?

Teachers must have an abundant amount of trust in their students that they are staying on task when using their own devices in the classroom.” And, to some extent, building that trust takes a leap of faith. No teacher will know if mobile technology could work in his classroom if he doesn’t start from the assumption that it might and take a leap of faith.

MINDSHIFT/HOW WE LEARN This next article had such a nice layout for suggestions to narrow the divide, I simply copied it and have also provided the link. HOW TO NARROW THE DIVIDE For educators who want to start chipping away at the divide, Mills listed a number of ways. 1. GIVE STUDENTS ACCESS. Many Title 1 schools — those in low-income communities — receive funds and grants, but don’t always buy what they need. If they have enough funds, Mills said schools should invest in a 1-1 program — a device for every student. 2. GIVE STUDENTS PROMPTS Whether it’s the school that provides the device, or whether students are allowed to use their own, it’s important to give them guidance on how to use those devices for learning. “Students do not generally use their personal technology for learning activities unprompted,” he said. “We have to provide them with prompts.” Educators should also be instrumental in guiding student etiquette with devices. For students who use text-speak and shorthand when handing in assignments, teachers can ask them to proofread and resend until the assignments are up to par. “We can teach them to use mobile literacy to help themselves,” he said. 3. PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES. “We need to think about what we are teaching,” Mills said. “This is not technology — this is Pedagogy 101.” Educators must understand the dotted line between an assigned activity and the instructional objective, which should be tied to learning skills. 4. MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE. Just giving kids a number where they can reach you has “exponential impact,” Mills said. “Just that small gesture tells kids you’re available.” For those who don’t feel comfortable giving students their phone numbers, Mills suggests using a Google voice account, which students can call and leave messages. 5. INVITE OBSERVERS TO YOUR MOBILE ENHANCED CLASS. Parents, other teachers, and administrators will learn a lot from watching how kids can plug into learning by using their devices. During their visits, talk about the upward trajectory of kids you’ve noticed who have benefited from the change. 6. INVENTORY THE DEVICES. Keep track of who owns what kind of device (especially after the holidays when kids receive new ones). This way, you can create flexible, shifting groups to make sure there’s a good variety of devices in every group. Don’t place all the iPhone 5 users in one group — mix them up to promote equity. 7. USE DISCRETION. Be careful not to publicly call out kids who don’t have a device when organizing groups. Use common sense and compassion. 8. USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE. If the school has 10 Kindles, find ways to use them in your class. If it has six iPods or 30 computers, don’t let them collect dust. Even the oldest computers can be fired up for basic research. 9. REFRAME PRODUCTIVITY. Sitting quietly doesn’t exemplify productivity, Mills said. If you have flexible processes, you can give students different ways of understanding. 10. TEACH PROCESS NOT CONTENT. All educators, but especially those who teach low-income students, need to be open to students’ ideas of showing what they’ve learned. If they don’t want to write a blog, but want to create a video, be open to it. 11. VALUE COLLABORATION. Promote group work and project based learning. I'd like to point out that much of the divide I have read about addresses older children and I happen to teach 1st grade. One way our school could help narrow a divide would be to start looking for ways to fund devices such as ipads in our classrooms. Our title 1 tachers have started using them and the kids have really engaged while using them. Blog Part TWO for tomorrow DIGITAL HEALTH http://digiteen.wikispaces.com/Digital+Health+and+Wellness http://www.nisd.net/digitalcitizen/sec_digcit/life_outside_health_6_12.htm http://digitalcitizenship.asb-wiki.wikispaces.net/Dig+Health+%26+Wellness http://www.surfnetkids.com/tech/1355/computer-ergonomics-for-elementary-school-students/