To be
honest, I feel like this inquiry process has been rushed. My topic of Digital Citizenship is so large
in scope and there is so much information to read that I feel like I haven’t
really done the topic justice. I’ve really only scratched the surface to become
a part of the conversation. Additionally,
it’s a topic that will continue to change as we progress with technology so
much of my research will become outdated. Even the resources and literature
that I found on the topic had contradictions!
It’s made
me realize that as a teacher-librarian and someone who wants to help implement
Digital Citizenship skills in my school that I will need to continually keep
myself apprised of new literature and ideas relevant to this topic. I guess that was to be expected as no one
wants someone stagnant in their learning in an Education position, much like we
don’t want a Doctor who stops learning after Medical School. But, my research
really confirmed the fluctuating and perhaps frustrating nature of this topic. That’s definitely take away number one.
I have
enjoyed learning through the inquiry process as it’s given me a model for how
to use it in the classroom. It’s
something that a colleague of mine piloted last year in his class and that I
followed to see how it unfolded. I’m
quite a structured person and I definitely provide a lot of structure for my students
in the classroom, so offering an inquiry project like this really goes against
every bone in my body! It’s one of the reasons I always hated being a TOC in a
P.E. classroom. Too much chaos for me! But, after experiencing it first hand, I think
I could use this idea and modify it a bit to meet my needs. That’s take away number two.
Now, onto
the resources and the purpose of this particular assignment; I found A LOT of
articles and resources in my research. More than I have listed on my blog and
more than I could possibly read in the time that I have. I bookmarked and downloaded resources the
seemed particularly interesting; but honestly, I just ran out of time and
couldn’t read them all. I’d really like
to devote some more time to this topic, and think that it will likely end up as
part of what I focus on in my Vision for the Future Assignments.
But, if I
were to focus on the resources I did read and review there are certainly some
that I would suggest to other teachers or teacher-librarians with an interest in
this topic. And, I definitely offer the
sources with the caution that this is a topic with wide spread ideas and that
anyone hoping to learn a bit about Digital Citizenship really ought to invest a
solid amount of time into reading the literature before trying to implement
anything in the classroom.
I think
that’s probably been the failure of the past. We are so keen to get students
learning about Digital Citizenship that there wasn’t any real road map planned
out about how to move forward. And as a result, we are now seeing great changes
and back peddling to accommodate what we now know. But, I digress; let’s focus on the resources.
The first resource I would send a teacher in B.C. to would be the Digital LiteracyFramework created by the Government of B.C. It’s a comprehensive document and one that scaffolds the skills from k-12. Someone unfamiliar with Digital Citizenship could use this as a great starting point to learn about terminology and skills related to this topic. In addition, since it’s a document created by our Provincial Government, it’s one that teachers cross-province will not doubt be familiar with. In addition to this resource, I would recommend that any English teachers look at the new Curriculum documents for New Media 10 and New Media 11 as they contain learning outcomes related to this topic.
Secondly, I
would suggest to teachers that visiting both the ISTE website and the CommonSense Media website would be a great second and third resource. The Digital Literacy Framework actually
references both of these sites are sources, so the information will be similar. Both ISTE and Common Sense Media are leaders
in technology education and continue to update their sources as we progress
forward with technology. Their websites have information about Digital Citizenship,
but also look beyond the scope of this topic.
The ISTE Standards for Students would be a great place for someone to start looking
as it outlines the current set of skills that ISTE recommends for Digital Citizenship
and other related topics. I would also
suggest that teachers visit the ISTE Blog where I found the article on how "Digital citizenship is the new citizenship". This particular article looks at the changing nature of Digital Citizenship in schools. The ISTE Blog has current conversation on related topics and keeps you informed on
changes in the narrative.
Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship pages are a great resource as well because not
only do they offer standards related to Digital Citizenship, but also actual lessons
which you can implement in the classroom.
You simply need to join and become a member. There is a lot of useful information on the
website and it is very easy to navigate.
Fourthly, I would suggest that if teachers really wanted to
dig deeper into the topic that they start to look at more academic
sources. The article "The Critical Role of the School Librarian in Digital Citizenship Education" (The Critical Role of the School Librarian in Digital Citizenship Education: EBSCOhost) from Knowledge Quest
by the Journal of the American Association of Librarians is an easy place to
start. It outlines some of the problems
with the topic, such as the fact that that it is such a broad term, but also provides
some suggestions on how a teacher-librarian can utilize their role to incorporate
Digital Citizenship into their school. It addresses the need to scaffold the skills
amongst grades and courses and also addresses the changing nature of the topic
as technology progresses.
Lastly, I would suggest that teachers look at the article "Defining and measuring youth digital citizenship" from New Media and Society (a SAGE Journal) (Defining and measuring youth digital citizenshipNew Media & Society - Lisa M Jones, Kimberly J Mitchell, 2016). I found this academic
article to be the most interesting source that I read and the one that
challenged my thinking the most. The
authors challenge the conventional definition and understanding of the topic of
Digital Citizenship, suggest that as it is currently viewed it is too complex
and large in scope, and propose a more simplistic option. In addition, they use data to back up their
claims. The nature of the discussion presented in this article is one that is very important for teachers to consider as we move forward with this topic. In particular, since Digital Citizenship is now listed as a learning outcome in our new curriculum.
There are more articles in the vein which I did not get the
time to read fully, but which also would add to this conversation. I hope to read more with my Vision for the
Future Assignment to fully learn about the academic conversation on this topic.
Image 4
Ultimately, I’d say that all the sources I looked at were relevant and added to my understanding of the topic. The conversation itself is one that is diverse and contradictory. The narrative continues to change as our understanding of the impact of technology shifts and will be ever thus (I think). I'm happy with my developing understanding of the topic at this point, but look forward to deepening my learning as we move forward.
All images are taken from Pixabay.com and are used under the CCO Creative Commons.
Bibliography
Digital Citizenship. (2017). Retrieved September 16, 2017,
Digital Literacy Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2017,
from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy
ISTE Standards for Students. (2017). Retrieved October 1, 2017,
from
Jones, L. M., & Mitchell, K..J. (2016) Defining and measuring youth
digital citizenship, New
Media
and Society, 18(9), 2063-2079. Doi: 10.1177/1461444815577797
Kreuger, N. (2017, September 14). Digital citizenship is the new
citizenship [Web log post].
Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
New Media 10. (2016, June). Retrieved September 16, 2017,
from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/10-12/english-language-arts/en_ela_10_nwm.pdf
New Media 11. (2016, June). Retrieved September 16, 2017,
From https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/10-12/english-language-arts/en_ela_11_nwm.pdf
Preddy, L. (2016). The Critical Role of the School Librarian in Digital
Citizenship Education.
Knowledge Quest, 44(4), 4-5.4
Well done on an honest and authentic reflection on this process, what you've learned and what you will take away from this in your march forward. A good attitude of ongoing professional development, progressive exploration that is goal-orientated and a helpful mindset to share your new learning and understanding with others. A good annotated list of final works cited and some excellent finds!
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