Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:

  • advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources

    One of the first topics covered in the class I teach is Copyright and other Legal Issues relating to the use of technology.  Students need this information quickly, because they will be using it throughout the class.  Specifically, there are two projects which require them to take these concerns into account, the Podcasting and the iMovie projects. In these projects, they will be creating their own digital media, and the correct use of legal materials is part of their grade.  As an example, I show them my Scientific Inquiry Video which followed all copyright laws by using music and videos that had fallen out of copyright, or were released under a creative commons license.

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  • address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources

    Given that the class I teach requires access to many different types of technology, including iMac computers for video editing and podcast creation, miniDV camcorders for video recording and voice recorders, the lab where I work provides access to all these for free for students.  We provide extended hours so that students can have the access they need to complete their work. 

    A very important part of equitable access to tools and resources is insuring that students have knowledge of those resources. One way that I address this problem is through the Web Application Presentation.  Each student locates a useful online web application, and then teaches the class how to use it.  In a class of 25 people, there's going to be a large number of resources presented throughout the semester, and in this way, students gain knowledge about what's available.

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  • promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

    Digital etiquette is an import part of responsible technology usage.  One place where etiquette is easily forgotten is in digital communication, including e-mail and discussion boards. As such, I incorporate information about digital etiquette as part of the Copyright and Legal sections of the class, and expect students to follow those guidelines throughout the class.  The YouTube Discussion Board provides one example of students following such guidelines.

    I model digital etiquette through my own actions, and this can be demonstrated through the Scientific Inquiry Video, where I paid special care to following legal and copyright considerations, including providing attributions for my sources.  Another example is the Filamentality: The Size of the Universe where I followed etiquette by linking to resources instead of downloading them and copying them to my own servers.

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  • develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools

    One of the great things about technology is how it has enabled a flat earth in terms of communication.  Global communication is now cheap, fast, and ubiquitous.  I require my students to participate in global conversations through assignments like the YouTube Discussion Board, as well as using tools like Skype to talk to people in other countries. 

    I model this participation through my use of tools such as Diigo, a social bookmarking website that connects my bookmarks with educators all around the world, and Twitter, where I can participate in ongoing conversations relating to any topic, but specifically, the latest in educational research from the education researchers I follow, and information about other posted resources.

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NETS text taken from the ISTE Website.