Digital Citizenship
1. Of the nine digital citizenship topics presented which do your students struggle with?
Which are they strong in?
Looking at the digital citizenship topics presented I believe that my students struggle the
most with number six. Digital Health and Welfare refers to the physical and
psychological well-being in a digital world. In today's world technology is everywhere.
Students often spend much of their down time on their phone, on a tablet playing games,
watching tv or another streaming device, or playing video games on a game console. This
use of technology is ok for students to engage in but should be limited to support the
health and welfare of students. Especially with the current situation in education where
most if not all students are receiving education online, students must work to limit the
amount of their free time they spend on electronics. Students should still have the
opportunity to have screen time for enjoyment but the amount of leisure time on
technology should be greatly reduced to ensure students are not spending too much time
on technology. The topics of digital citizenship that students are strong in are digital
etiquette and digital access. Students have been engaging in 100% of online learning. The
normal classroom rules introduced at the beginning of the school year were this year
focused on online rules. Students have adapted very well to online learning and are
following the online learning rules every day. These rules include using technology
appropriately to make sure they are respecting themselves and their peers. Digital access
is another topic that students are strong in. I teach in Baltimore County and every student
in the county received a device to support them in distance learning. The county and
schools did an excellent job at checking who did or did not have access to a device as
well as access to the internet. Students especially in Title 1 schools were given access to a
device and hotspot for internet access if needed. This experience gave all students digital
access.
2. Based upon your role as an educator, in what ways might you engage different
stakeholders in digital citizenship (S3).
As an educator, I know the importance of keeping parents involved in their child’s
education. With distance learning, parents are supporting students now more than ever.
One theme of digital citizenship, digital communication is a key way to engage different
stakeholders. My school uses class dojo which is an online communication app for
parents and teachers. The app supports digital communication by allowing me to track
attendance and student’s behavior in my class. This information can be shared directly
with parents to keep them informed about their students' progress. The app can be used
by students, parents, teachers, and administration to stay up to date on classroom and
school news as well. In this time of distance learning, class dojo has supported my and
my families now more than ever with an easy way to share updates. I also have used
Screencastify, which is an online screen recording program to support students and
parents in understanding how to use different technologies. Screencastify allows me the
opportunity to teach parents how to use and find new things on the computer in the
distance learning world. Schoology is another way that I engage different stakeholders.
Schoology is an online learning platform that provides me with an opportunity to share
activities, grades, and updates with students and parents. Schoology gives me the
opportunity to collaborate with students through assignments and different learning
activities that previously were done in paper and pencil.
Kindergarten Lesson: Media Balance Is Important
1. Share a synopsis of the lesson you chose to review.
The lesson that I chose to review is called Media Balance Is Important and is for
kindergarten students. In this lesson students consider the feelings of themselves and
others when making decisions about when, where, and how much to use technology. The
objective of this lesson is students will be able to know when and why to take breaks
from devices and to consider the feelings of people around them, even when engaged in
fun online activities.
2. Which the 9 elements you believe this lesson meets.
I believe that this lesson meets many of the elements of Digital Citizenship. The lesson
meets Digital Access by providing take home resources such as a family activity and
family engagement resources. This lesson meets Digital Communication and
Collaboration by giving students the opportunity to watch a video about media balance.
The lesson also includes lesson slides to support the teacher in communicating the idea of
ways to balance tech use in a digital format.The lesson meets Digital Etiquette because it
teaches students how to treat others when using their devices. For example, the lesson has
students discuss why they should take a break from a device when someone says “Hi”.
The lesson meets Digital Health and Welfare by teaching students all about how to keep
their online and offline activities in balance. Digital rights and responsibilities are met in
this lesson by having students discuss the importance of asking permission before taking
someone’s phone.
3. What do you see as the lesson's strengths and weaknesses?
Overall I think this is a very good lesson but there are always areas of improvement. The
lesson starts off engaging students in a video which supports visual and auditory learning.
The lesson also creates an opportunity for students to collaborate with their peers as well
as complete independent assignments to demonstrate their understanding. Many
kindergarten students need opportunities for movement and this lesson incorporates
movement in a song that also teaches the students about media balance. This movement
during the song provides an opportunity for students to move but in a meaningful way.
The lesson also teaches a skill that is very relevant right now for students as they are
engaging in online learning and must find a balance between online and offline activities.
The main weakness of this lesson is differentiation. Students are very diverse in their
interests and the way that they learn. This lesson could provide differentiation in the way
students respond to questions from the teacher. The student handout could also be
differentiated and offer choice in response.
4. How might the lesson work in your instructional setting (or hypothetical class)
This lesson could really work in my instructional setting. My students are engaging in
100% virtual learning and they need to learn how to balance their online and offline
learning. I plan to share this lesson with my kindergarten team and suggest that we teach
this lesson during our content block. This lesson can support students' social emotional
well being during online learning and beyond.
5. What changes would you make to address the issues you present?
As a result of teaching 100% virtually any of the paper handouts would have to be turned
into digital resources. I would turn the paper handouts into online activities on Wixie
which is a BCPS learning platform that allows students to engage with assignments using
drawing tools, typing, audio recording, video recording etc. By using a project created in
Wixie as the independent assignment, I would be able to differentiate the activity and
provide students with choice in their response.
6. What technology might you integrate into this lesson to make it stronger and more
impactful to your learners?
Wixie would be the technology that I would integrate into this lesson to make it stronger
and more impactful for my students. I would create the independent assignment as a
project in Wixie because it would give the students choice in how they respond to the
independent assignment. Students could draw, type, audio or video record their
responses. I would also integrate ActivInspire into the lesson to create a visually
appealing presentation that supported all students in engaging in the lesson. Schoology
could also be used to make the lesson stronger. Schoology is the online learning tool
through BCPS. I could create an assessment on Schoology that again offered students
with choice when sharing how they will create balance between online and offline
activities. Students could type, audio or video record ways that they will balance their
time.
