There is no social media use without the Internet--it's what connects social media users to each other. The digital divide creates gaps in that connectivity. Now that you've reviewed the material, how has the course content (material I post in the module, the readings and resources provided) extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding around the digital divide as it relates to Canadians in general and Aboriginal peoples in particular? To online learning and the notion of privilege? What implications does this have for social media use in an educational context? Will your knowledge affect your behaviours or expectations when using social media in an educational context? (Cite references as appropriate.) I'm noticing in my current position teaching in a technology based program that the digital divide exists in many ways: those who do not have access to the technology, those who choose not to access the technology and those who have access to technology but do not know how to use it (or do not care to learn how to use it) to enhance learning. The latter two scenarios I find most challenging. Accessing technology can be challenging but not insurmountable: look to India whose government recently provided a subsidy covering half the cost of a $40 tablet to for each student in India. This means that for $20 a student in India can have a tablet of his or her own to use for educational purposes (Segan, 2012). Sugata Mitra has demonstrated that children can drive their own education with access to the web. Ensuring web access to all children in BC would be an enormous yet wise investment. This would be one way to bridge the material divide. As I mentioned earlier, the philosophical divide is more challenging. There are vocal parents who believe that technology is "evil", "dead" and a threat to the creativity to children. While this can be proven otherwise (if one cares to listen) through the use of many online learning tools and social media, it's an attitude and perspective that is difficult to change. It is also one that shuts down options for the children involved and where another digital divide is created yet not often recorded. The third digital divide that I have encountered is when one has access to technology but hasn't learned how to use the tools to enhance learning. This could be from lack of experience with the technology, a lack of mentors/teachers familiar with the use of technology or not being part of a community that uses technology. One way of overcoming this boundary is by providing simple ways to access learning tools: YouTube videos are a great resource for step-by-step problem-solving. I'm thinking back to when my parents were starting to access the internet in meaningful ways and were so overwhelmed they froze and didn't want to have anything to do with it. They each had a phone and laptop (because their daughters told them it would be a good idea) but had no idea how to use them. I remember showing my mom simple tricks: Google a recipe or search a YouTube video on how to repair a bike tire. They went from digitally illiterate to fully literate within weeks - and they are grandparents to the digital natives of generation Y :) There are ways around the digital divide and I think that bridges can be made through motivation, creative budget balancing, open-mindedness and patient mentoring. Segan, S. 2012, Hands on with the $20 indian android tablet. PCMag.Com: News and Opinion. Mitra, Sugata. 2010. The child driven education. TedTalks, TedGlobal 2010. http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html "When you entered this course, a few of you mentioned prior knowledge of FIPPA (or FOIPOP as it was called in the past). Many of you mentioned that privacy was a concern with educational uses of social media. Now that you've read some theoretical and practical pieces on privacy--especially in BC, how has the course content (material I post in the module, the readings and resources provided) extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding around privacy as it relates to social media use in an educational context? Will your knowledge affect your behaviours or expectations when using social media in an educational context? How will your ability to take & use ideas from teachers in other provinces or countries be affected? (Cite references as appropriate.)" I started a new position this year teaching in a blended K-9 Fine Arts Program. Technology is integrated into the design of the program and naturally incorporates social media as both communication and learning tools in meaningful ways. Program start-up packages included consent forms for use of photography and learning samples as well as a digital responsibility contract. Several parents have expressed concern about posting photos of their children online. At the same time, and because it is a blended learning environment, these parents want to participate in school/community-based social media projects in meaningful ways which connect to and celebrate learning. I respect the privacy concerns these parents have and at the same time want to create an online space where students can share work, ideas, photos, etc. in a safe and responsible way. With this in mind, I have started to draft a consent form for use of social media in our learning community which speaks to 3 things:
I feel that one of my roles as a teacher, especially as a teacher in a blending learning program such as the one of which I am currently a part, is to teach digital responsibility. In order to do so, students (and parents) need to participate in learning environments which use social media so they can practice and reflect upon being "digitally responsible". Within a safe, respectful, community-based online learning environment, students can begin develop and experiment with their online identity in healthy ways. The first 3 "rules" of the BCTF Code of Ethics transfer well to our digital responsibility as teachers.
BC Teachers' Federation. (2013). BCTF code of ethics. Retrieved 09/18, 2013, from http://www.bctf.ca/ProfessionalResponsibility.aspx?id=4292 Photo by Mila Solovyeva @ unsplash.com
"When you entered this course, you may have had some prior concepts regarding the professional constraints faced by BC educators using technologies such as social media. How has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding? (Cite references as appropriate.) How do you see any of this content applying to you or your colleagues?" One thing I love about learning is how when I start to think about something, read about it and have conversations about it, I begin to "see" my learning everywhere I go and make connections that I don't believe I'd otherwise make. This is happening as I learn more about social media and the responsibilities I have and constraints I face as an educator when integrating these tools into my teaching and learning practice. A friend recently started a new job as the teaching chef at a high school in BC. We were talking about all the new and exciting challenges she's had with her start-up and a part of her job that includes marketing the food they make and serve for lunch in the cafeteria. One eager, business-minded student suggested a Facebook page which students and teachers could follow to keep up-to-date with the menu, ingredient sourcing and other Culinary Arts news. My initial response was mixed: one side of me excited about this fun and useful way to use a social media tool. My other, more wary, side felt a responsibility to ask about social media policies in place in her district and whether she was aware of the risks associate with social media use in high school. We had a great conversation about the innovative ways social media tools can be used to engage students and the risks that accompany such use. She later did some investigation and learned that the social media policy at her school was simple: "No social media at school". Not only is this policy a show stopper, it entrenches teacher and administrator heads deep into the sand: students can and will use social media in and outside of school - policy or not. The OLTD 506 readings and stories I hear these days have deepened my understanding of the fact that the social media "cart" is well ahead of the social media "horse". This must change if we are to maintain our professional boundaries and a safe and accessible learning environment for our students. We need to learn ways to be in charge of and manage our personal and professional digital footprint (the two of course being inextricably intertwined). This means choosing to be a proactive "eagle" instead of a passive "ostrich" who burrows her head in the sand of ignorance only to leave herself exposed and vulnerable (Hengstler, 2011). It is easy to be an ostrich these days. The last three schools I've worked at in two different districts had consent forms for use of photos of students on social media have been of the negative kind: "If you don't say anything we will assume you are okay with it." The policy then contradicted itself by stating a "no device" for students rule at school. While the policies of school districts and individual schools and departments are constantly evolving, it is not difficult to find "ostrich-like" social networking policies in our BC educational system. These may serve the administrators who lack time and resources or teachers who are new to social media. They are not, however, in the best interests of our learners nor do they make space for opportunities for meaningful - and responsible - use of social media. Think back to the business-minded Culinary Arts student who wants to market the amazing food and talent of his high school cooking program: imagine what he could do within a system that teaches digital responsibility and has policies that reflect responsible, "eagle-like" and consensual social media policies? Hengstler, J. (2011). Managing your digital footprint: Ostriches v. Eagles. In S. Hirtz & K. Kelly (Eds.), Education for a Digital World 2.0 (2nd ed.) (Vol. 1, Part One: Emerging technologies and practices). Open School/Crown Publications: Queen's Printer for British Columbia,Canada. http://www.viu.ca/education/faculty_publications/hengstler/EducationforDigitalWorld2.0_1_jh89.pdf Photo by Jennifer Trovato @ unsplash.com
Reflection 1.1 Instructions Think back to the definition you gave for social media in the prior learning survey. (If you didn't do the prior learning survey, think back to your prior notions of social media.) How has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial understanding? (Cite references as appropriate.) What about educational applications of social media--has the course content (material I post in the module), the readings and resources provided extended, challenged, or deepened your initial ideas? Before starting this course I was under the impression that social media involved connection with others through the sharing of ideas and common interests. My definition has evolved and deepened as I explore literature around social media and social networking. Social networks are about the people involved and the connections between those people. Visually I imagine a social network to be web-like. One can be part of a network when connecting with someone in the staffroom over coffee or through Twitter across the world. Something links the people together...their mutual love for coffee or their interest in evolutionary psychology, for example. Social media is more about the tools people use to interact about their professional and personal interests. What I find exciting about social media is that it enables people to not only consume new content from diverse perspectives but also allows them to create, remix and build-upon the ideas shared through social media. Through the use of social media, social networks become more complex and far-reaching. All of a sudden the coffee connoisseurs can connect from their staff room to coffee lovers around the world. The conversation deepens. Social media also provides tools to discover people in the neighbourhood who share interests and values that you might never know about. With this hyper-connectivity of course comes risk. Who are we connecting with? Who has access to our thoughts and documentation of our lives? What are the risks of social networking through social media? Is no connection the safest way? When does risk outweigh benefit? How does one use social media to make healthy connections? How do we educate our children to be "social-media responsible" aka digitally responsible? I'll explore answers to these questions as I delve into the world of social media. |
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