iSAFE and A 5 Step Plan to Promote Digital Citizenship

iSAFE and A 5 Step Plan to Promote Digital Citizenship

I am new to the term “digital citizenship” so I was intrigued as to what this means and how it relates to education technology. At a glance, the word citizenship implies being a member of society and embedded in that membership in society is an expected set of norms and behaviors. When we pair the implications of citizenship with the word “digital” we begin to ascertain that there is a set of standards and behaviors that must be applied in the virtual realm as well.

Digital citizenship, ethic, and netiquette are important behaviors that educators must adopt in their own day to day interactions with technology so that they can better teach and encourage others to use it. One technology designed to help maintain the integrity of digital citizenship, ethic, and netiquette is iSAFE.org. ISAFE.org is a501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that is committed to helping learners become safe, responsible users of technology.  The organization emphasizes “proactive, preventive, and precautionary” education as a means to help leaners refrain from engaging in inappropriate behaviors and help them to identify potential hazards or inappropriate behaviors by others. These hazards or behaviors include but are not limited to viral threats, fraud, identity theft, cyber-bullying, and other dangers that put users at personal risk. All curriculum is age appropriate to meet the needs of the learner. Click here for a quick glance at a representative lesson plan.

iSAFE provides research based curriculum to children ranging from early childhood to high school and maintains the rights to a unique behavioral database that can gage the internet safety awareness of users before and after participating in the educational programs.    

  

I selected this technology because as an adult learner, I was not aware of what digital citizenship entailed. I think this is a great tool to help empower technology users by educating them on the risks of using technology, what to look out for, and how to protect themselves. In turn, learners have an opportunity to engage in a sense of social responsibility and they gain greater insight into how to keep their digital community healthy and thriving.   

As an educator, I can benefit from subscribing to iSAFE because I will continue to stay abreast of internet safety procedures. This will help me to make sure that adult learners in my class are not partaking in unrelated and inappropriate behaviors such as pornography or bullying. The second way in which I can incorporate this in my class is that I can teach other adult learners about digital citizenship, their responsibility therein, and help to prepare them to teach others about internet safety as well. This is an example of the continuum of education in that what we teach can continue to be passed on to others through those we come into contact with.

The next resource I came to find as a tool to enhance adult learning is a 5 step plan that assists educators and administrators in establishing a digital citizenship program in their school. The plan helps educators to determine whether their technology is being used properly; being misused or abused by encouraging an audit of digital citizenship, an analysis of the results using a provided scoring guide; prompting education technology team to engage in deep discussion regarding audit results to identify issues, extending the discussion to other stakeholders to gain greater perspective, and implores the team to design a plan to meet the needs of learners based  on the discussions and findings (Ribble & Bailey, 2004).

This is a powerful tool that I can use to facilitate a review of the digital citizenship plan implemented at any school I teach. Not only will this 5 step plan help me to think more critically about the use of technology but it also helps to inform my instruction as I teach my learners how to protect themselves in the digital world and at the same time teach them how to audit the digital citizenship plans in their own lives. Many adult learners are also parents and this tool may provide them with great insight on how to manage the technology usage in their households. In turn, they will also be able to teach their children to properly conduct themselves when interacting with technology. Again, we see the continuum of teaching and learning when incorporating these educational technology tools in our education of adult learners.    

Thank you for tuning in this week,

Tech Girl

References:

http://iSAFE.org/wp/

Ribble, M. & Bailey, G. (2004). Monitoring Technology Misuse & Abuse. The Journal Online.
Retrieved fromhttp://digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/T.H.E.JournalArticle.pdf

Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine elements: Nine themes of digital citizenship. Retrieved May 30, 2012, fromhttp://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

Open Source and LMS: What's it all mean?

As educators and users of technology, the need to be able to communicate in the language and format of the profession is critical. For this week’s blog, I have decided to explore Open Source Software and Learning Management Systems as a means to improve my technological vernacular and to become more fluent with this technology.

Open Source:

Open source refers to free software that can be modified by anyone at any time. The “Open Source Way” subscribes to the belief that information should be open and free to anyone to use for their learning purposes (Open Source.org., n.d.). Ideas and information is shared free in this environment as a means to inspire creativity, improve problem solving skills, and build community through collaboration. Open exchange, participation, rapid prototyping, meritocracy, and community are the mainstays of open source. Community development is fueled and change is set into motion when information is open for anyone to access. The marriage between open source software, multimedia technology, and instructional media means that everyone can partake in the dream of higher level education without geographic encumbrance or socioeconomics (Downes, 2011).

The main difference between other types of software and open source is that a lot of software contains code that prevents the content from being modified. It is no surprise then that this type of software is often referred to as “closed source software” or proprietary software (Open Source.org., n.d.). Open source software, on the other hand, can be modified or enhanced by anyone.  

Learning Management Systems (LMS):

LMS is used to deliver e-learning, online, and hybrid learning programs. It is essentially the infrastructure that manages the educational content. Blackboard and Moodle are examples of learning management systems. These are frequently used in educational systems ranging from primary to higher education and by corporations who want to deliver online training and education. LMS allow users to determine, design, and administer learning strategies. Regulation of content delivery and tracking can also be managed in this medium.

Moodle is an open source – free learning management system (LMS) that allows users to shape the learning environment the way they want it. Moodle provides simplification and enhances education delivery in a way that is unique to the needs of the University and its students. Because of its free ware, collaborative environment, Moodle seems to be a more economic approach to offering online or hybrid courses for small colleges and universities (Straumsheim, 2014). 

Blackboard differs from Moodle in that it cannot be manipulated by individuals and is controlled by the administrator. This specific LMS is more expensive but according to Jay Bhatt, CEO of Blackboard, Blackboard offers cutting edge delivery of education and content that cannot be met by community based open source ware like Moodle. Nevertheless the mass proliferation in Moodle use caught the attention of Blackboard who in 2012 invested in Moodlerooms, a site that helps users to design instructional enviroments using moodle (Straumsheim, 2014).

Thanks for tuning in!

Tech Girl

References:

Ellis, R. (2009). A field guide to learning management systems. Learning  Circuits. Retrieved from http://www.astd.org/~/media/Files/Publications/LMS_fieldguide_20091

Downes, S. (2011). Free learning: Essays on open educational resources and copyright. Retrieved fromhttp://www.downes.ca/files/books/FreeLearning.pdf

Open Source.Org (n.d.). Open source is changing the world. Retrieved from https://opensource.com/open-source-way

Open Source.Org (n.d.). What is open source? Retrieved from http://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source

Straumshiem, C (2014). Moodle for the masses. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/13/moodle-tops-blackboard-among-small-colleges-analysis-says

Media

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/what-s-the-future-of-education-technology-tHo75SZYS_C8AFsdZuGeZg.html

Virtual Gaming

Greetings!

This week we looked at ways that collaborative virtual gaming worlds can improve learning. Information travels rapidly in this hyper-engaged, information driven environment in which we live and so it is no surprise that game based-learning is yet another pathway to get the training and education one needs at possibly faster rate than one might in an instructor led class. Research shows that playing video games can actually help adults learn faster and improve cognitive processes such as problem solving and the ability to problem solve (Freeman, 2010). It was further discovered that “video game players perform 10 to 20 percent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability than normal people that are non-game players” (Freeman, 2010). This is exciting news for those of us who thought playing video games was a waste of time!

I explored SIMS – a virtual environment where players have the opportunity to experience life through simulated characters. In sum, SIMS helps players to develop interpersonal skills and manage personal wellness.  Sims explores how situations impact emotions. Developers have included meter bars to enable users to manage their characters need for fun, energy, social interaction and personal wellness. For social engagement, characters can attend night clubs, go to the movies and even fish.  

In addition, players can undergo a myriad of real life scenarios such as robberies, working, having a child, raising a family, budgeting, and even death. These life-based scenarios require users to apply critical and analytical thinking skills to help them devise a plan to overcome the situation.

Sims users also have the opportunity to cultivate an idea of what it will take to be successful in the work place. In the simulation, raises are given based on work performance and social interaction.

This would be a great tool to use with individuals who may have struggle socially and want to develop more social competence. Because the SIMS focuses so much on social interaction, this can attune to the needs of affiliation for players who can take the skills they are learning and transfer them to their real life interactions. If played in a class room setting, the instructor may encourage players to partake in SIMS for 30 minutes in class and then role play the skills with one another in class to aid in transference of the learning experience. Finally, the instructor will ask participants to discuss the activity and its impact on them out loud in the group or suggest that they journal about their experience. This activity can be replicated until a time that desirable results are achieved.

In my research I also stumbled upon Immune attack and Visible Body two amazing 3D simulator games that allow users to take their passion for learning biology to a virtual level.  

Immune attack is a visual and interactive game that requires players to use a  nanobot  as they travel through the human body in an attempt to build up the immune defenses by fighting off potential dangers. Players are exposed to biological processes including white blood cells and microorganisms.  

Visible Body provides users the ability to explore the brain and nervous system, anatomy and function, the heart and circulatory system in 3D video and simulations.

Both of these games can be used in a setting where biology, physiology, or kinesiology is being taught.

 

Thanks for tuning in!

Tech Girl

 

References:

Freeman, B. (2010). Researchers examine video gaming’s benefits. Department of Defense. Retrieved from http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57695

 http://www.thesimsgames.net/

http://www.visiblebody.com/index.html