4.7 Social Media and Digital Citizenship

I have just begun to understand about social networking and digital citizenship for instructors and students.  There is so much information to try and understand that I have realized the importance of collaborating with other professionals in the field.  I have thought of more questions than I have clarified and plan to connect to a couple of sites so I do not become overwhelmed with information.  I also hope to become well organized as I learn to develop ways of using social media and develop classroom policies.

In the past I did not realize that Facebook and YouTube had programs that could be used by instructors for use by students.  I do feel that there are many sites that have limited use for the educational field and should be scrutinized for applicable use.   Symbaloo was a great site and I would like to pursue and become certified in the use of developing my own webmix for students.  I would also like to see students become certified in digital citizenship. 

It is important for colleagues to understand that there are many collaborative sites to help instructors.  There is no need to start with a blank slate when it comes to technology.  I would also put emphasis on the importance of instructors fully understanding social media and digital citizenship before it is implemented in the classroom.

Instructors need to learn how to align technology and pedagogy into the lesson plan so that it creates motivation, creativity and collaboration among students.  Technology should not be inserted into lessons simply to say they used technology.  Instructors should fully understand 21^st Century Skills for the use of social media. 

Social media and digital citizenship has been a very interesting topic this week and I could have spent many more days researching.  I would have liked to have joined a couple of the sites to test out how well it could be used for the classroom.  I plan to share the limited knowledge I have gained with others at my job.

I would highly recommend that schools spend at least a week with students in regards to “digital citizenship”.  It is equally important for instructors to receive professional development in understanding social media in the classroom and how to develop classroom policies for the use of technology.  Understanding digital literacy is important for administration, staff, instructors and students to become or stay life long learners in this technological world.