4.7.4 Reflection: Digital Citizenship

After looking for information and reading a lot about collaborative projects I have come to the conclusion that collaborative projects have many advantages and just a few of disadvantages. I must confess that the most I know about them the more advantages I can see on using them.

If you are interested in knowing what the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative projects are here you can read my opinion:

Advantages

• I think that the most important plus when we get our students involved in a collaborative project is that they are motivated and active in the learning process because they learn to achieve a goal and they usually feel attracted towards this kind of task. On the other hand we, as teachers, feel self-satisfaction when we see our students learning and enjoying, don’t you?. It’s a good chance to escape from school routines
• Next advantage is the development of key competences: learning to learn because they manage their own learning and learn from others. Social and civic awareness when they negotiate and interact constructively with their mates. Personal autonomy and initiative, pupil-led rather than teacher-led. Cultural and artistic when they use their own experiences and knowledge of the world and share their work with students from different countries and cultures. Digital competence, every time they use ICT and the most important aspect about this is that they use them in a real context with a real goal. And of course, working together provides the students with the opportunity to communicate with each other to share suggestions, comments, hypothesis, feedback, successes and failures.
• The third one is that collaborative projects encourage team work. In this way they develop social and negotiating skills. All students can contribute different skills, both knowledge and negotiating skills. They have to be able to work in groups and learn to help one another. Everybody must work taking into account each one’s abilities and share their contributions and provide new ideas.

• Besides, and not less important, effective communication, even if it is speaking or writing becomes familiar to them and implies thinking about a good plan to show their new pals interesting things about their country. Collaborative work is a reason to communicate, so generate genuine communication.
• When our students meet pupils like them from other countries they learn the importance of being connected to the rest of the world.

• ICT tools enable creativity and development of an entrepreneurial spirit, which will be a very important skill for them in the future. Pupils can use a wide range of resources available to them online or that can be easily created by them. In this way they’ll feel memorable, meaningful and innovative learning experiences which engage them.
• Through ICT, the final product of the project can be shared with other members of the school and parents who can comment and contribute. I think it’s very important to get involved the whole school community. It can be very helpful and motivating.

• All students can have access to the work of other students and can comment them and make suggestions quickly and directly. Immediate feedback is gratifying and encouraging. I think we all feel this way when we read the comments that others leave in our blogs, don’t we?
• Last but not least, there are no limitations of time and space and students don’t need to meet up after school.

Disadvantages

• Students with learning difficulties (special educative needs) need a lot of reinforcement from the teacher and also having good students around them in order not to get lost. When we plan the activities we must have in mind these students and try to involve them and catch their attention.
• Collaborative work can be a handicap if it is not well guided. Before working with this type of class management our pupils should learn how to make groups. They must be introduced to pair and group work gradually. We can have difficulties to engage students if they are not used to work in groups  
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• Investigation and preparation of the classes is complex. Searching for interesting topics and inventing new and motivating activities is something that needs a lot of time and imagination
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CONCLUSION: It is really hard work but it’s worthy!

WHY MEDIA LITERACY IS SO IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS TODAY

Have you sent a text, used a social media site, talked on a cell phone, watched television, or used a tablet today? Could you go 24 hours without the internet or your cell phone? Media and communication technologies play an important role in our daily lives;

1. Meets the needs of students to be wise consumers of media, managers of information and responsible producers of their ideas using the powerful multimedia tools of a global media culture.

2. Engages a student bringing the world of media into the classroom connects learning with "real life" and validates their media culture as a rich environment for learning.

3. Gives students and teachers alike a common approach to critical thinking that, when internalized, becomes second nature for life.

4. Provides an opportunity for integrating all subject areas and creating a common vocabulary that applies across all disciplines.

5. Helps meet state standards while; at the same time using fresh contemporary media content which students love.

6. Increases the ability and proficiency of students to communicate (express) and disseminate their thoughts and ideas in a wide (and growing) range of print and electronic media forms - and even international venues.

7. Media literacy's "inquiry process" transforms teaching and frees the teacher to learn along with students -- becoming a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage."

8. By focusing on process skills rather than content knowledge, students gain the ability to analyze any message in any media and thus are empowered for living all their lives in a media-saturated culture.

9.By using a replicable model for implementation, such as CML's Media-lit Kit™ with its Five Key Questions, media literacy avoids becoming a "fad" and, instead, becomes sustainable over time because students are able to build a platform with a consistent framework that goes with them from school to school, grade to grade, teacher to teacher and class to class. With repetition and reinforcement over time, students are able to internalize a checklist of skills for effectively negotiating the global media culture in which they will live all of their lives.

10. Not only benefits individual students but benefits society by providing tools and methods that encourage respectful discourse that leads to mutual understanding and builds the citizenship skills needed to participate in and contribute to the public debate.

4.4.4 BRINGING DIGITAL LITERACY TO THE CLASSROOM:Visual presentation

 Whether you are new to computing or have some experience, Digital Literacy will help you develop a fundamental understanding of computers. The courses help you learn the essential skills to begin computing with confidence, be more productive at home and at work, stay safe online, use technology to complement your lifestyle, and consider careers where you can put your skills to work.

The ability to locate, organizes, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills.
Research around digital literacy is concerned with wider aspects associated with learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies, not just being literate at using a computer.
Digital literacy encompasses computer hardware, software (particularly those used most frequently by businesses), the Internet, cell phones, PDAs, and other digital devices. A person using these skills to interact with society may be called a digital citizen.
If students are “glued” 24/7 to their mobile devices, why is it necessary for schools to teach digital literacy? Who should teach it? And wait … what does it even mean to be “digitally literate”?
 Many educators struggle to understand their evolving role in teaching and using technology in their classrooms. Most importantly, many of us wrestle with how technology is shifting the way kids learn  digital literacy can be definrd as “having the knowledge and ability to use a range of technology tools for varied purposes.” Digitally literate people are those who “can use technology strategically to find and evaluate information, connect and collaborate with others, produce and share original content, and use the Internet and technology tools to achiBringing Digital Literacy to the Classroom.
My journey to embedding digital literacy in my classroom has been one of small steps, starts and stops, and lessons learned. I am passionate about helping my students understand powerful and trans formative learning, but I am also hesitant to introduce a new tool or device before understanding how it will enhance learning.
Here are some ways I’ve incorporated technology to help my students understand their devices and the importance of digital literacy:
Search Literacy

• I've used Google A Day challenges to teach my students advanced search strategies. I’ve also printed out infographic to remind students of the various strategies available when searching online.
• In my freshman research unit, students are required to evaluate digital resources for bias. To demonstrate their understanding of different types of bias, they collaboratively create a classroom presentation.
• To promote visual literacy and critical reading, I ask my students to read this article about debunking fake images online and watch this TED Talk: “How to Separate Fact from Fiction Online.” We then discuss strategies for evaluating information online before using it in our   own writing.

Using Digital Tools

• I ask students to evaluate this info graphic on note-taking strategies, practice using various tools, and reflect on which strategies they believe work best for them.
• To create powerful presentations using digital platforms, I ask students to watch funny video clips about PowerPoint fails and view  how to avoid “Death by PowerPoint.” We also discuss strategies for using visual images and text to impact an audience.
• Students in my Media Studies class analyzed their own demographics and associated stereotypes to understand targeted advertising and subconscious biases. To demonstrate their analysis, they they created a mindmap  using digital tools.

Social Media For Learning
As a prolific social media user, I’ve been thinking for more than a year about how to use social       media tools with students to expand their learning opportunities. Below is my visual image about digital literacy;
below is my visual presentation;

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

why is it important to evaluate the source and validity of the information found on a Web site?


STUDENT STANDARD AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Technology Research Tools

• Students use technology to locate, evaluate and collect information from a variety of sources.
• Research and evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic information sources concerning real world problems.

MATERIALS (all files available at the bottom of the page)

• Inspiration® or online brainstorming tool, computer,  and projection device
• Critical evaluation tool for each student
• Internet access or hard copy of Web page for each student
• 5W's handout for each student
• The Important Book summarizer sheet

PROCEDURE

1. Using Inspiration® or an online brainstorming tool and the computer and/or the IWB, have the students brainstorm a list of criteria which make a Web page useful for research. Answers should include title, author, date of creation, date of update, source of the information, contact e-mail address, layout of page, ease of use, fast to load, etc.
2. Pass out the 5 W's handout and the critical evaluation tool and go over both. Be sure to emphasize the importance of the credibility of the author and the source of the information on the page. Talk about ways to determine if information is correct (e.g. finding the information in a print source, on another Web page, via an expert)
3. Surf to the Ban Dehydrogenate Monoxide page (http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/dhmo.html) or hand out the PDF version (below) and have students, on their own or in small groups, evaluate the information on the page using the critical evaluation tool.
4. Have the class come back as a group and discuss the pros and cons of this page. Did anyone know the information was bogus? How could this be determined? Emphasize the fact, with little knowledge of a topic, it is almost impossible to know if the information located is correct.
5. In small groups, have students visit some of the other bogus Web sites listed at the bottom of this page.

ASSESSMENT

1. Have the students fill out The Important Book summarizing sheet.
2. Have the students write a paragraph explaining why it is important to evaluate the information found on a Web page. Have them include the ways to find out more about the author, the sponsoring agency, or the information itself.
3. Have the students create a list of 10 questions to ask themselves when critically evaluating the information they have found.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

1. Have students compose a one-page instruction sheet or a Voice thread to explain the Web page evaluation process to younger students.
2. Have students identify other Web sites dealing with critical evaluation of Web information or additional bogus sites and have them create a Web page, Diigo list, or Glogster page with links and descriptions. Some of these bogus sites can be found below.