Amberly Austin Instructional Media

Digital Citizenship is an interesting concept when it is considered from a teaching perspective.  In some of my research on this I found a video on the ISTE website by LeeAnn Lindsey that highlights the three most difficult challenges when it comes to technology. The first was that mistakes made online have greater impact.  Essentially once something is online it is harder to take back.  Another challenge is technology is changing faster than we can figure it out, and the last is that adults are not on the same page when it comes to the proper use of technology and having good digital citizenship. The last one really stuck out to me because I see it in day to day life.  Growing up my aunt and uncle lived across the street from my house.  My parents were always accepting of technology and taught my siblings and I how to use it, we always had access to a computer and printer at home and because of that homework was never an issue.  This is not true for my aunt and uncle.  They fought t

Learning about what is out there for teachers to create a PLN was really fun and educational for me.  As a future teacher I often feel overwhelmed when I think about all that will be asked of me, it was comforting to see that there is an entire network of teachers who will be in the same boat as me and can offer support and help.  An article written by Caitlin Tucker lists five reasons why teachers need PLN's they include: Connecting, Learning, Embracing Change, Expanding Scope, and Getting Inspired.  All of these were great reasons to me. Much of this activity reminded me of an opportunity I had last semester to attend NCTE (National Conference for Teachers of English).  I was able to attend many academic sessions where I gathered teaching ideas but I also got the opportunity to meet people in my content area from all over the country.  I left excited and ready to get to the teaching field.  That excitement has since wore off a little bit but I felt a little bit of it come back

What does the research say about this? How can this be effectively integrated into your teaching? How will this help your students? What are your goals with regard to this topic? How does this shape your vision for empowered learning for your students? Learning about UDL and equity along with what is called the Digital Divide has been very interesting and eye opening.  It is no secret that everyone learns differently using UDL to help students access their niche and find what they are good at seems like a no brainer. As I researched and read about this along with how to bridge the digital divide I was amazed at how they worked together.  I chose to watch a TED Talk by Navarrow Wright titled The New Digital Divide: The Perception Problem to learn a bit more about the issues .   He talks about how this digital divide affects all of us and how anything can change when we change a child's perception of his learning.  He talks about how he tries to create light-bulb moments to

1. What is digital literacy and why is it important?  Digital literacy is ones ability to navigate the digital world.  What I mean by that is being able to use technology as a tool in day to day life whether that be searching for desired information, using the digital world to create things, or even being able to use technology for entertainment honestly the list could go on and on.  In addition to being able to use technology as a tool it is important to know how to be courteous to others online.  Digital literacy is important because human beings now use technology on a day to day basis.  We use it in the workplace, at school, at home, almost every where we go.  Because we use it so much it is important that we know how to use it correctly in order to take advantage of the opportunities technology provides. 2. What should students be able to do with technology? Personally, I believe students should be able to use technology to achieve their goals, whatever they may be.  It is