Reflective Post #5: Safe And Healthy Use of Digital Information And Technology

In his article, “Digital Citizenship in Schools”, Mike Ribble explains 9 elements of digital citizenship that teachers and schools need to incorporate into classroom learning.  These elements are organized into 3 categories: Elements that directly affect learning and achievement, elements that affect the school environment and student behaviors, and those elements that affect life outside of school (43).  Ribble believes it is important for school technology coordinators to continually assess technology usage to identify replacement technology as well as any areas of concern regarding usage or education (44).  He emphasizes the importance of educators and schools creating technology policies that define the elements of citizenship clearly.  The 9 elements of digital citizenship are the following: Access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights and responsibilities, health and wellness, and security.  Digital access and digital communication refer to the need for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, physical location, and disability, to be given equal access to tech devices (16).  Students need to be prepared for a future with technology through the opportunity to use 1:1 devices.  Teachers should not assume that students have been instructed on how to use devices for educational purposes (26).  Digital communication and digital etiquette refer to the importance of teaching students to treat people online and in person with respect while they use digital devices.  They need to be aware of the times and places it is appropriate to use their phones and digital devices (29).  Digital commerce, law, rights, and security refer to the importance of teaching students the importance of making informed decisions online.  Teachers need to educate students about ways to protect data, what to do in situations where their work or words have been “stolen” and used against them, how to distinguish the difference between legal and illegal usage of files online, and how to avoid scams (20).  All of these skills will help students become “educated members of society”.  Lastly, students need to be made aware of the physical health concerns and addictive qualities of using technology (38).  It is important to set students up for appropriate and healthy amounts of technology usage.  

Stopybullying.gov explains that bullying is an unwanted, repeated aggressive behavior among children that involves a “power imbalance”.  There are three types of bullying identified: Verbal, social, and physical.  Verbal and social bullying are both possible through cyberbullying.   Cyberbullying occurs through the use of tech devices including phones, computers, and tablets.  Social media, blogs, and text messaging are a few examples of vehicles for harassment.  Bullying online can manifest itself through  rumor spreading, sharing embarassing photos and videos, creating fake profiles, or sending mean emails, posts, or messages.  Victims of cyberbullying are often being bullied in person as well.  Locating the source of harassment online can prove to be difficult because content can go viral easily, being spread 24 hours a day.  It is important to save and print any evidence of online bullying, keeping track of dates and times.  To prevent bullying online, parents and teachers need to teach students appropriate use of devices.  Online activity should be monitored, and students should be made aware of consequences for inappropriate behavior defined by the school (and law enforcement).  Website hosts and authorities can also be contacted in an effort to extinguish cyberbullying.  

In the NPR article/audio file, “When Playing Video Games Means Sitting On The Sidelines,”  a rehabilitation center called reSTART is showcased for treating men with technology addictions.  Most are addicted to video games, and many have mistaken their interactions with people online for socializing. In reality, their physical social life has often depleted as a result of their habits. Hilarie Cash, the founder of ReSTART, has noticed an increase in technology addictions since the center’s opening.  She defines an addiction as a behavior that controls you instead of you controlling it.  Cash explains that addictions often keep people from sleeping, exercising, and spending time with people they care about.  The ReSTART program tries to teach people to relax in new ways, such as cooking, playing soccer, and meditating.  

As I think about the articles I read for this week, Ribble’s nine elements seem repetitive to me.  “Etiquette” and “communication” could be merged.  It also seems that “commerce” and “security” could fall under one element instead of two.  “Law” and “rights and responsibilities” could also be merged.  Condensing the number of elements would make them more memorable and manageable to teach to others.  I feel that Ribble puts a lot of pressure on teachers to convey the information listed in the digital citizenship elements.  There should be more responsibility placed on the superintendents, state government, and voters as well.  The community who helps vote in policies needs to be educated on the importance of technology if teachers are going to educate students on digital citizenship. 

I don’t think our school successfully teaches all nine elements of digital citizenship.  After talking to my educational technology mentor for EDFI585, it does not sound like commerce, health and wellness, or security are topics that students are given information on in school.  I found it interesting that while Ribble’s article does express the importance of online etiquette, it does not directly verbalize concern about cyberbullying.  This is one topic that our school really does a great job of covering.  Our guidance counselors organize lessons for homeroom teachers to cover that correlate with Olweus anti-bullying curriculum to make sure students are aware of cyberbullying and ways to prevent it.  I think we need to place more emphasis on health and wellness.  I can recall many times during conferences where teachers have expressed to parents the need to reinforce “powering down” all tech devices during homework time.  Parents often report that electronic devices including phones and video games get in the way of educational responsibilities.  It would be nice if our school could use positive reinforcement to give students ideas of fun activities that would allow them time away from electronic devices to reduce the risk of related health concerns.  

Rubric Evaluation

Summary Paragraphs: Good, 5 points

There is one well-developed summary paragraph per reading. 

Reflection Paragraph: Good, 5 points

There are two reflection paragraphs that connects the readings to my own experiences at school and in the classroom. 

Quality of Writing: Good, 5 points

Writing is clear and contains no spelling or grammar mistakes.  

Connection To Readings: Good, 5 points

Reflection paragraph make a strong and coherent connection to each reading.