Digital empowerment through digital citizenship. This will be the main focus of my upcoming professional development training sessions I’ll have the opportunity to conduct at my old school.
Inspired by the idea of providing differentiation in PD, I decided to run one K-2 session and one 3-5 session. Hopefully that will resolve the issue we encountered during last year’s technology PD when teachers of younger students voiced concern over applying more complex resources to their students.
As I reflect on my personal journey with classroom tech application, the good, the bad, and the ugly come back to mind:
- Like that time I required every student in my class to create a Prezi for a unit summative assignment. And then we watched them all.
- Or when I created a diy interactive whiteboard with my students so we could more easily select answers for some gameshow-like software.
- Or when we decided to collaborate on Google Docs by having everyone revise others’ writing pieces and parts kept getting accidentally deleted. (this was before I was aware of the “See Revision History” feature…
- Or when I introduced students to Storybird and they created beautiful digitally illustrated fantasy stories.
- Or when my students started blogging and sharing their work/commenting on peers, including their quadblogging pals in England and China.
The list goes on and on. But now that I have had time away from the classroom to reflect and research, I’ve gained a couple of key perspectives that I believe will make a big impact on how I use technology with future students:
Digital citizenship is about leveraging our opportunities to enhance connections.
I used to think that when it came to technology, I needed to spend a lot of time teaching my students to use it efficiently and effectively (ie, learning to type, navigating interfaces, etc.). While these skills are still important, I now realize that it’s more important to spend time opening my students’ eyes to the possibilities available to them today. I want them to know that they can gather perspectives from around the world, share interests with peers well beyond their classrooms, curate resources that matter to them, and enjoy stories with a global audience. Once they have that spark lit, the other skills will come as they dive in.
Digital citizenship is more about empowerment than caution.
We teach about identity theft, cyberbullying, and password security. And with good reason. But there is much more to the conversation on what it means to be a digital citizen! As George Couros often preaches, we must “find the awesome, create the awesome.” A Twitter exchange with Edna Sackson further illuminated the idea:
Just as in citizenship in general, the opportunities for good are too overwhelming to wallow in excessive hesitation and fear for what might happen. We are empowered when we are encouraged to see what’s possible, to take ownership over our available resources, and to collaborate positively with other learners throughout the world.
I think one of my favorite aspects of our students developing a strong self-identity as digital citizens is that we can’t fathom what they will do with it. With the exponential nature of tech resources and access, if we give them confidence to explore, create, and contribute, the possibilities are truly boundless.
featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto
