What Will Be Our Digital Legacy?

When I was twelve years old, I wrote a note to a friend during math class. The subject of the note was how much I disliked my math teacher and the numerous reasons why. Certainly, I had no intention for anyone other than my friend to read the note. I cannot describe to you my horror and shame when the teacher whom I was criticizing not only took the note, but read it. I apologized profusely after class and she forgave me and it was never discussed again. Not with anyone. This mean act which showed a supreme lack of judgment on my part remained between this teacher and me (she ended up being one of my favorite teachers of all time). I learned a painful lesson: "If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't put it in writing."

I was reminded of this long-forgotten incident during the discussion of Digital Citizenship during this week's class. I wondered: what if I were a twelve-year-old of today and chose to write such a thing on the Internet? The horrible words which I wrote would be linked to my character on the Internet. Forever.

My students will not have the luxury of learning a lesson and simply moving on. Everything they create on the Internet will be forever tied to their name and character. As such, teachers have the responsibility to remind their young students that every time they enter the digital world, they are leaving a print: a digital print. This is a difficult task to accomplish with young minds. Part of growing up is making mistakes and learning from them. Yet, we must teach our students to ask, "Do I want this picture of me to represent me forever?" "Do I want these words I write to represent me forever?"

These digital children will one day be our teachers, doctors, judges and politicians. No doubt, in the very near future, people seeing public positions will be embarrassed, if not scandalized, by youthful lapses of judgement which became part of the permanent digital record and were sleuthfully discovered by someone seeking to destroy their character. As an educator of Generation Net, I have a duty to caution my students to be cognizant of the permanent mark they leave on the Internet.

How will sites such as del.icio.us and Diigo help my teaching career?

Sites such as Delicious and Diigo "shrink" the size of the internet and help the user to organize their information. Through social bookmarking, I will be a part of a larger community of teachers. By expanding my colleague base to include professionals in the digital world, I can utilize their ideas and method in my own classroom. Sites such as these allow me to see what professionals outside of my immediate physical environments are doing in their classroom. Furthermore, a site such as Diigo can help me to organize my internet resources so that they are easily accessible. By adding highlights and sticky notes, I can save the time of re-reading the bookmarked pages. In short, Delicious and Diigo will help me to integrate the information on the web into my classroom.

Technology Standards in Today's Classroom

In reviewing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students, it is apparent that most of these standards are not being addressed in the classroom. Students utilize computers to access information and create products, but they are not receiving a broad education in technology. The two standards which are most thoroughly addressed in today's classroom are:
3. Reasearch and Information Fluency and
5. Technology Operations and Concepts.
However, teachers need to incorporate the remaining standards into their lessons. For example, students need to understand that they are digital citizens just as they are citizens of their physical community. Just as being a citizen of their neighborhood requires certain rules and standards of etiquette, so does being a digital citizen.
In my future practice as a teacher, it will be important that I fulfill my duty to my students to help them become fully-functioning members of the digital community by incorporating all of the ISTE Standards into my curriculum.

1.0 vs. 2.0 Bookmarking

Web 1.0 bookmarking consisted of creating a list on your computer of your favorite sites. If you liked a site and planned on visiting it in the future, you bookmarked it. If you wanted to visit that site later, you went to your list and clicked on the desired site. A simple and useful organizational system.

With the development of Web 2.0 and it's collaborative nature came Web 2.0 bookmarking, or social bookmarking. With Web 2.0 bookmarking, you post your bookmarks on the internet. They are not stored on your computer. This system has several advantages. First, you do not need your own computer to view your bookmarks. If you are using a different computer, you can still retrieve your bookmarks. When bookmarks are shared on the internet on sites such as Delicious, a common bookmark database is created. So, the site keeps track of all the bookmarks that are being created by people. Why is this a good thing? Because if a large quantity of people bookmark a particular site, it has a greater chance of being a useful site. Social bookmarking helps target good sites. In effect, by being a member of a social bookmarking site, members are creating their own search engine. Instead of going to Google and plugging in a search term such as "Web 2.0 Bookmarking" and sorting through the hundreds of sites that come up in order to find a useful site, the searcher can plug in the search term and pull up the bookmarks of others who have searched the same term and found a site useful enough to bookmark. Thus, social bookmarking is a collaborative effort to help save time by creating a database of good sites.

What Digital Means to Me

During last week's online class, Dr. Smirnova asked the class what "digital" means. There were many different answers, none of which were necessarily incorrect. The diversity of answers suggests that "digital" holds different meanings for different people.

This led me to thinking about what digital means to me. When I hear the word "digital," I think, "information." Digital is a means of storing and transporting information.

What about "Digital Literacy?" What does this mean? Digital literacy refers to the ability to locate, access, and utilize this digital information. Why is this important? Why do we want our students to be digitally literate?

I envision a future world where all information is stored in the digital form. In fact, this transformation is occurring right this moment. How many of us have visited a library in the past year? How many of us have written a letter by hand in the last year? How many of us no longer receive a newspaper? How many times a day to we seek out digital information?

So, in order to participate in this digital world, our students need to be fully functioning members of this world. In short, they must be digitally literate. Why is this important?

The foundations of our country are built upon the concept of free exchange of information. The ability to produce, distribute, exchange and access information is not to be controlled by the government. Why is this such a vital right in our American society?

BECAUSE INFORMATION = FREEDOM

So, in order to remain free, our students must be able to access the information on the internet. This principal is so well-understood that there is an initiative to provide the children of developing nations with laptops. If these children are ever to escape the poverty into which they are born, they must have access to education and information. For more information, see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpRRivQgpjc

In previous generations, the library was the most accessible source of free information. As such, students were taught the organizational system of the library (i.e. the Dewey Decimal System), so that they could access and utilize the information. Today, the most accessible source of free information is the internet. Teachers must teach their students how to access, utilize, and exchange the information on the internet. To be able to do so is to be digitally literate.

Some thoughts on Web 2.0

Prior to the start of the Literacy and Technology class, I had never heard the term "Web 2.0," but I had been using it to some degree. Recently, I created a Facebook page and have since become an addict. I was resistant to joining Facebook because I really didn't understand the purpose of it. Now that I have the page, I'm amazed at the way it connects me to my friends, family, and acquaintances. For example, today, I viewed the YouTube Clip on the course website, "Shift Happens." I thought many of the people I know would find it interesting. Prior to my Facebook page, I would have composed a new e-mail and attached the link. Then I would have sent it to the people who I thought would find the clip interesting. The would have had to open the e-mail and click on the link, which would then take them to YouTube. That is the Web 1.0 way of communicating. With Facebook, I simply posted the clip on my page and people can choose to view it right on the page. If they like the clip, they can post it on their site for others to view. This new way of information sharing is Web 2.0. It allows for a method of sharing and organizing the information on the web in a type of collaborative community.

How will Web 2.0 affect the world of education? The possible applications are endless. In my future classroom, I see Web 2.0 being used to link the teacher, parent, student, and administrators in a network of communication. In the past, when the classroom door closed, communication only existed between the students and the teacher. If the parent wanted to know what was going on in the class or how their student was doing, they would have to place a telephone call to the teacher. Who would have to call the parent back. The same scenario exists with the principal or other colleagues who collaborate with the teacher. With Web 2.0, the teacher can create a site which, in effect, allows the door to the classroom to remain open at all times. The parents can monitor what their children are learning about. Classroom happenings can be posted on the site. The teacher can list all assignments and all materials and references needed to do those assignments. In addition, the teacher can list all grades so that the parents can monitor their child's academic progress. In turn, the teacher can use the site to communicate concerns about their child and ask the teacher questions. Web 2.0 will empower all those involved in the education of a child by linking them together through easily accessible information while providing a framework for group communication and feedback.

Two Weeks of Literacy & Technology!

As the third week of Literacy and Technology begins, I find myself reflecting on what I have learned thus far. First, I watched the "Death by Power Point" video and found it to be very informative. Essentially, I've been creating awful Power Points throughout my graduate school career! All incoming MSMC students should be required to watch that video. My next Power Point will be used as a support for my presentation, not as a crutch.

Next, my group engaged in our first online meeting. The meeting was plagued with technical difficulties, which is to be expected. Despite our frustration with the new medium, we all remained calm and patient while we explored the workings of WizIQ. I have a feeling that our next meeting will proceed more smoothly and will result in a productive discussion of the course topics.

Finally, I tend to think of myself as a fairly knowledgeable person when it comes to technology. However, the course has introduced me to several new web applications: the wiki and the podcast. I am looking forward to learning how to utilize these technologies to their full capacity within my classroom. Which leads me to the question: How do I incorporate technology into my classroom? Well, the LoTi PowerPoint lays out a plan for the educational use of technology. As with all curricular planning, the standards must serve as the guide for lessons and the use of technology should assist the students in reaching the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.