We learned so many things with the course Digital Citizenship. Every week was very interesting and brought lots of knowledge. The first week was about Digital Citizenship, the second was about the Digital Footprint, the third was about Copyright, and the fourth was about Cyberbullying. Each week was full of surprising aspects about each topic.
It was surprising for me to learn that digital citizenship has nine elements (Ribble, 2015). The nine elements are Digital Access, Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights and Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness, and Digital Security. I always thought that Digital Citizenship was only being nice when using technology but now I know that it involves a lot of pieces. When using technology you need to have in mind that everyone should have access to it, you need to be careful when purchasing and selling, to think before posting anything, to be aware of the non-stopping world of technology, to follow the etiquette, to learn about the laws when using resources, to know how to stay healthy when using technology, and how to protect your information. In conclusion, digital citizenship is a big puzzle that needs to be put together to be protected and have the best experience when using technology.
I would say my biggest accomplishment in this course was to learn about very important topics. If I want to have access to a leadership position, I think is pertinent that I can lead with knowledge of legal, moral, and even life and death subjects.
The challenge I faced in completing this course was time. I can’t say that challenge has only been with this course, it has been with all the courses. I work a full-time job, plus I have a family, so finding a balance has been challenging. I love learning though, so it has been a matter of planning and chunking what needs to be done.
My best work for the course was the animated video for week 2 we created (Diaz, 2019). I love to learn how to use new tools and I did this video using Powtoon. It was interesting how Powtoon provides you with a lot of pieces that you can use to create videos. For this video, I researched about the evolution of social media, too. It was crazy to see the timeline of how different apps have appeared, grown, or disappeared with the years. It was a great experience to have the opportunity to create something using the knowledge from research.
What we learned through completing this course connects to my everyday life. Using technology is something that happens at almost every second in our lives. Every time you post something on your social media, you purchase something, you create something using technology, or you send a text, you need to have in mind your digital presence. It is important that you maintain a positive image because that’s how your world sees you and it can open or close doors for you.
I can’t choose one meaningful thing that I learned in this course; there have been several. The one thing I liked the most was the copyright laws. Learning about laws is fascinating. Next, I liked how we had to reflect on our digital footprint, too. Finally, learning about cyberbullying was heartbreaking. I think everyone should learn about cyberbullying and read about different cases. Everyone should be aware of the consequences that our words can have.
I would say everything I learned in this course will help me continue to grow as an educational leader. As I mentioned before, it is necessary to be informed and to be able to transmit the information of the nine elements of digital citizenship, digital footprint, copyrights, and cyberbullying. All those topics are very important because they help you to be safe, think of others, and learn (mantra).
My favorite aspect of this course was all of the learning about the laws with copyright an fair use. I think lawyers have a lot of power because of the knowledge they have. If you can use resources for the benefit of your students without breaking the laws, it can open a world of possibilities to give your students better and real-life learning experiences.
I would suggest to other students to read the readings to get the most out this course, watch the videos and use all of the resources provided. All of the resources are very useful and you learn a lot from them. Even the quizzes help you absorb a lot because you have to reflect on the learning and find the correct answer according to what you studied.
If I could change one of the activities I did for this course, it would be the journals. I would require one of the formats, blog or document, not both. That takes extra time and I don’t see the learning gained from copying and pasting the same work.
If I had the chance to speak to my friends about this course, I would tell them that this will be one of the most useful courses they will have. This course has legal and other knowledge that will help them be good technology leaders.
References:
Diaz, P. (2019, December 1). Social media timeline [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mdTk5mBbgA&rel=0
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools – 3rd ed. Eugene, Oregon: ISTE.
