"Students as Digital Citizens in Classroom 2.0"

I found this article to be very interesting, in that students can really learn how to be responsible and thoughtful citizens in and out of the classroom. I love the topic in the article on “Communicating with Peers”; the students seem to be learning the value of, and how to act responsibly and respectful to all cultures. The e-pals project is a wonderful platform for students and teachers to immerse themselves into the lives/cultures of other people around the world, in order that they may be inspired by, encouraged to do, and or more knowledgeable about the lives and needs of others in their “Everyday Lives”. I recently experienced one of my many clinical-observations with a fifth-grade class while groups of students in the class were completing one of their science-project tasks. The students were making a power point-presentation for their assigned “Biome” being researched. They uploaded files of data and pictures to ultimately create a PowerPoint-presentation to share on the “Smart-board” in the school’s media-center. The first thing that came to mind for me is that “I had no introduction, nor did learn how to use PowerPoint until I entered college; I was completely overwhelmed with surprise at how easily the students maneuvered through the sites and files, and how efficiently they were able to collaborate in creating their presentations. This article brought to mind the powerful affect that technology can have in people’s lives, for the “Common Good” of course.

Another point in the article that I found to be very interesting is how students are learning to be good Digital-citizens by practicing safe and creative usages when on any website, in or out of the classroom. I think that this social-skill, if learned, can have a very positive effect in the way children behave later on in life as they become Adult Digital-citizens. I think that it’s an excellent idea to teach students at a very young age to be responsible and compassionate given any situation, and or process in life they may find themselves in. I also value this approach because it’s teaching students and teachers “Real World/Life” social-skills that so many people lack in today’s societies. Students are making smart and responsible decisions on how information from their work is being used; preparing them to be good decision-makers later in life, excellent! I strongly feel that it is an excellent experience for students and teachers to be able to connect to others globally. As a child, I often day-dreamed of distant places and what people and life was like in those far away places; My generation did not have the “Gift” of the latest technology, and many of us have suffered in our personal/professional-lives due to the lack of understanding as well as the ability to value other cultures and people; in my opinion, it has created a huge society of social less-people, from all walks of life; people who lack the simple, yet much needed skills of socialism. My generation, and possibly the one before me seem to not respect and or value others, nor are they good-decision makers who take responsibility for the decision they make, whether good or bad, and learn from them. What’s worse, we’ve seemed to reproduce the “Spawn-of-Satan” as it relates to our offspring. Don’t get me wrong, I do not feel that internet-technology is the “cure-all” for our ailing societies, because some technology is useless and very dangerous to our youth and people for that matter. I just think that it’s a good-start helping students to become smart and good “Digital-citizens” through technology and internet usage.

~Ginger~