Digital impact
The Coetail (Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy) course clarifies a variety of dangers in using, submitting, and reproducing information that is freely available digitally. Students analyze acceptable use policies, copyrights, fair use, special considerations for use in education, and one’s digital footprint.
Every posting of music, voice, blog, picture, tweet, or email leaves a trail back to the one who posted it. Some of these trails are good. It is convention to give credit to the author of a copied picture when using it. Some trails to one’s computer are less than desirable. These trails and the long term consequences of the postings are included in a concept known as one’s “digital footprint”.
Seems to me the use of “footprint” stems from what one leaves behind from one’s presence at a location. If one walks on a beach, another can see the impression left in the sand. When one burns fossil fuels, an increase in atmospheric carbon is part of what ‘one leaves behind’. When one visits the internet, there is a trail, but little impact. But what one ‘leaves behind’ when one submits a post to the Internet is bigger than a footprint; it’s impression is more like stepping into and rippling the water, rather than just marking the sand, at the beach. One’s footprint is still left in the sand below the water, but it’s the ripples or wave made in the water that spread around and impact the world. It might be more appropriate to refer the ‘what one leaves behind’ as one’s digital impact.
It is this digital impact one needs to be aware of before clicking the mouse on ‘Send’ or hitting the ‘Return’ key when interacting digitally. One might want to consider the digital environment and assess the consequences of the action on the digital environment and conduct a quick digital impact assessment before clicking the button.
To ascertain if a digital submission is wise, a digital impact assessment could include the quick answering of a few questions:
1) Will this action be traced back to me at any time in the future? No matter what the digital user thinks, the answer to this should always be considered “Yes”. The security of anonymous surveys, encrypted transactions, and the information we have on our personal computers are already challenged.
2) Is this digital environment safe? Sending an email to a select group of ‘friends’, conducting a financial transaction via the internet, and even viewing internet sites from a cyber café computer are not safe. Your boss can read your emails, credit card information has been stolen from the Internet, and porn sites are traced back to their observers.
3) Would I mind my mother or the reviewer of your next job application seeing this?
4) Am I comfortable leaving this action public for the rest of my life? That’s how long it will be available for viewing by others.
5) Have I given credit to the originator of any images or ideas I am including in my submission?
6) What am I creating? Is this action the monster, lion in waiting, inconsequential blah-g, or seed of a new idea for which it is intended?
7) How could this action come back to bite me? What might be politically correct, convention, acceptable, or the fashion at this time, might be taboo soon. The action should leave a “feel right”-ness about it.
Much of the discussion of the course focuses on the restrictions of internet use. The heart of the real value of the Internet, creating new knowledge and increasing the quality of life, should be a main consideration. Criticism of another’s actions without suggesting improvements and writing one’s train-of-thought have less positive impact for our future than a creating of something new. So the intended impact can be in the answer to:
8) What value am I adding to life?
I hope that this post is a forward movement. I welcome comments and criticisms.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Who did it?
Who's responsibility is it to teach students to be safe online?
The youth of today are more tech savvy and connected than any previous generation. But unlike many other skills they develop, their elders are seldom their mentors or teachers in developing their tech skills. One of the consequences of that is there is seldom the regulation, critique, and guidance that the gardening generation felt is necessary before the youth get behind the keyboard and start driving their computers around the cyberworld. Some of these youth are aware of the dangers, some ignore them, and some are ignorant of the consequences of cyber activity that is not restricted.
The question of “who is responsible” is a very Western question. Why are kids fat? Why are there unwanted pregnancies? Why tooth decay, bad posture, plagiarism, …? Some societies are quick to turn to teachers and request a quick fix to the growing problems. Teachers probably know more about technologies, both parents are probably working and don’t have the time to monitor their children’s activities when domestic chores await, and computer-related activities frequently are associated with education.
Students do need to know how to use technological tools to further their understanding, communication, and education. Their culture also assumes literacy in the variety of tech services that are available. For these teachers rightfully should be knowledgeable and skilled at using the technologies when they are the best avenues for assisting student learning. Teachers help students avoid plagiarism, create tech products as class projects, use tech tools for analysis, and critique information found on the Internet.
While it sounds like a logical progression that teachers are also responsible for teaching students to be safe online, the links of these safety issues related to student learning in the various subjects is not as direct. Some questions arise from the “Who is responsible for teaching students cyber safety?” issue:
1) Where in a school’s curriculum would this be taught?
2) Who would be responsible for developing the curriculum?
3) How would the appropriate staff be trained to prepare and be kept up to speed in the variety of technology safety issues?
4) When would this training occur for resident students in the school and when would new students to the school be given this orientation?
5) Would something that is already a student requirement (of time, energy, stress, and scheduling) be dropped so this curriculum could be included, or would time be taken out of a schedule that is already undersubscribed for classes?
In spite of all of this discussion, schools are responsible to giving students a safe and healthy environment for learning. All teachers are media teachers, so all of us are responsible to learn about cyber safety and use it at teachable moments in our presentations, lessons, and assessment criteria. In addition, schools need to instruct the youth about the school’s acceptable use policy (AUP) and include concepts like cyberbullying, inappropriate sharing of password and personal information, and profile hijacking and pirating.
The “responsibility” task is only completed when parents have taken on their part. They , too, need to be educated, take on their share of monitoring, guiding, and screening of student cyber use, and understand that it is not the school’s responsibility when students access inappropriate sites, become addicted to cyber gaming or social networking, exhibit other behaviors that are not part of a healthy, balanced young adult life. The school provides instruction and opportunities for learning, but is not the scapegoat for the reason students deviate from the information the school provides.
It will be a challenge to determine where the line will be drawn between society and governments restrictions and responsibilities, parent’s responsibilities, and school’s responsibilities for students’ online safety.
The youth of today are more tech savvy and connected than any previous generation. But unlike many other skills they develop, their elders are seldom their mentors or teachers in developing their tech skills. One of the consequences of that is there is seldom the regulation, critique, and guidance that the gardening generation felt is necessary before the youth get behind the keyboard and start driving their computers around the cyberworld. Some of these youth are aware of the dangers, some ignore them, and some are ignorant of the consequences of cyber activity that is not restricted.
The question of “who is responsible” is a very Western question. Why are kids fat? Why are there unwanted pregnancies? Why tooth decay, bad posture, plagiarism, …? Some societies are quick to turn to teachers and request a quick fix to the growing problems. Teachers probably know more about technologies, both parents are probably working and don’t have the time to monitor their children’s activities when domestic chores await, and computer-related activities frequently are associated with education.
Students do need to know how to use technological tools to further their understanding, communication, and education. Their culture also assumes literacy in the variety of tech services that are available. For these teachers rightfully should be knowledgeable and skilled at using the technologies when they are the best avenues for assisting student learning. Teachers help students avoid plagiarism, create tech products as class projects, use tech tools for analysis, and critique information found on the Internet.
While it sounds like a logical progression that teachers are also responsible for teaching students to be safe online, the links of these safety issues related to student learning in the various subjects is not as direct. Some questions arise from the “Who is responsible for teaching students cyber safety?” issue:
1) Where in a school’s curriculum would this be taught?
2) Who would be responsible for developing the curriculum?
3) How would the appropriate staff be trained to prepare and be kept up to speed in the variety of technology safety issues?
4) When would this training occur for resident students in the school and when would new students to the school be given this orientation?
5) Would something that is already a student requirement (of time, energy, stress, and scheduling) be dropped so this curriculum could be included, or would time be taken out of a schedule that is already undersubscribed for classes?
In spite of all of this discussion, schools are responsible to giving students a safe and healthy environment for learning. All teachers are media teachers, so all of us are responsible to learn about cyber safety and use it at teachable moments in our presentations, lessons, and assessment criteria. In addition, schools need to instruct the youth about the school’s acceptable use policy (AUP) and include concepts like cyberbullying, inappropriate sharing of password and personal information, and profile hijacking and pirating.
The “responsibility” task is only completed when parents have taken on their part. They , too, need to be educated, take on their share of monitoring, guiding, and screening of student cyber use, and understand that it is not the school’s responsibility when students access inappropriate sites, become addicted to cyber gaming or social networking, exhibit other behaviors that are not part of a healthy, balanced young adult life. The school provides instruction and opportunities for learning, but is not the scapegoat for the reason students deviate from the information the school provides.
It will be a challenge to determine where the line will be drawn between society and governments restrictions and responsibilities, parent’s responsibilities, and school’s responsibilities for students’ online safety.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
IBO and the fair use policy
Response to the Code of best practices and Fair Use for Media Literacy Education article
My use of Google images and video in class presentations is significant. I used to take the time to place a URL on each slide for each image I used. This article left me feeling I should be doing that, but that it is not necessary.
1) To what extent should every PPT slide have a citation?
2) Whose responsibility is it to shut down BKK trade in copyrighted materials?
3) How do I go about getting permission to use a Gary Larson cartoon?
IBO strongly restricts the use of its materials if they are not individually purchased.
4) Are rules different in UK?
5) Are teachers breaking the law when they photocopy IB exams and pass them out to students:
i) to understand what the exam is like?
ii) to be tested in a mock exam setting?
iii) to practice in preparation for the exam?
iv) to compare their answers with the markschemes to help them learn the material better?
My use of Google images and video in class presentations is significant. I used to take the time to place a URL on each slide for each image I used. This article left me feeling I should be doing that, but that it is not necessary.
1) To what extent should every PPT slide have a citation?
2) Whose responsibility is it to shut down BKK trade in copyrighted materials?
3) How do I go about getting permission to use a Gary Larson cartoon?
IBO strongly restricts the use of its materials if they are not individually purchased.
4) Are rules different in UK?
5) Are teachers breaking the law when they photocopy IB exams and pass them out to students:
i) to understand what the exam is like?
ii) to be tested in a mock exam setting?
iii) to practice in preparation for the exam?
iv) to compare their answers with the markschemes to help them learn the material better?
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