5316: Final Reflection

During this course I learned about Mike Ribble’s nine pillars of digital citizenship. Although many of the concepts that he discusses are not new to me, the way Ribble clearly and concisely defines each pillar makes them easy to outline and share with others.
 
The articles and information on cyberbullying was enlightening. It is impressive that now all 50 states have laws against bullying, and most have language inclusive of cyberbullying (Gaggle, 2019). Reading about the cyberbullying of Ryan Halligan and Kylie Kenny was an important reminder of how impactful and powerful words and online acts can be. These powerful stories are examples that can be used to share with teachers so that they can remain vigilant when watching over their students.

I had never before seen the Monica Lewinski TED Talk. It is hard to believe that the Lewinski scandal was over 20 years ago. Watching the talk and considering how the scandal would have broken had it been in modern times led me to think both about the technology and spread of information, and the culture that we live in now.

I was in need of reviewing the copyright information. As I grow into being an instructional leader, I need to be more vigilant about following the copyright guidelines with fidelity. The many fair use exceptions to copyright are important to the work we do as teachers each day. Access to free and low-cost resources online helps keep teachers and students stocked with high-quality resources affordably. This is one reason that net neutrality is an important topic for educators. The readings from this course taught me a lot about the importance surrounding the conversation about net neutrality.

​I feel that my best work in this class was my video on technology’s impact on digital citizenship. I learned about the timeline of when the smart phone exploded on to the market and how that impacted how we conduct our daily lives. Over the last 12 years, access to technology and the capabilities of our devices has dramatically changed how we do everything from driving to work, to grocery shopping, to taking a quiz. The data during that week about access to the internet identified by race, economic grouping, and gender is mostly reflected in what I have seen in the student population where I work.

The lessons that I have learned throughout this class apply to everyday life. Digital citizenship can no longer be separate from our real-world selves. Our digital and physical-world lives are too thoroughly intertwined to separate. Good citizenship practices and behaviors should extend to online interactions. As we secure our physical possessions and homes, we should keep safe our online worlds and digital information.

This course was especially challenging to me because of the amount of writing involved. The amount of writing that was requested was fair, but I have always struggled with the task. My favorite tasks in the course were the case studies. When given real-world examples to respond to, I feel like I am able to explain and provide a rationalization for my course of action. Going through this program with the same group of people provides some comfort in seeing familiar names on the discussion board every week.