• What do you feel was the most impactful learning experience for you in this course?

The most impactful learning experience for me in this course was the Digital Citizenship Activity because I had never deeply analyzed and processed how to apply digital citizenship to my 8th grade English classes’ curriculum and instruction at Baker MS. Now, I will never assume that my students understand digital citizenship and I will prepare them at the beginning of the year, so that they know the expectations for using technology in my classroom and in their other classes that use technology, too.

I became aware of the strengths and flaws of digital use in my classroom. For example, I was reassured that digital access is a strength that has been a staple in my classrooms for the last 4 years, so much of the instruction and activities are connected to online activities and tools. So, I have become more aware and observant when it comes to Digital Security and Privacy, since I now notice that was a flaw in my teaching. A flaw in my student’s learning lays in Digital law, because they become easily distracted by unauthorized websites. But, they excel in Digital Rights and Responsibilities because they tend to report when students are not on the assignments and misusing the tools and resources. Students also tend to help one another learn how to navigate and use the resources and tools. Another strength in the classroom is revealed when I model digital citizenship in the classroom by explaining the MCPS digital guidelines. Plus, I go through resources and tools, showing students how I use them, so that they can apply this when using them. To provide a specific example, I model Britannica and Proquest before students utilize them in the research unit. The Digital Citizenship activity was also valuable learning experience because I was able to practice planning a lesson.

The Digital Citizenship lesson is definitely a lesson I plan to assign at the beginning of next year, so that students learn to stay safe on the internet and protect their login information, which falls under Digital Security and Privacy. The rules are well explained and the importance is noted, so that students are more likely to become aware of the dangers of the internet and make plans to avoid them. I hope to also figure out how to bring in a hands on part of the lesson, such as matching dangers to a pile and safety precautions to a pile, so that students really categorize them and are ready for the technology assignments and computer use to come. This lesson really creates a foundation for the routines throughout the year. Now that I am, as a teacher, more aware of the Digital Citizenship guidelines, I can implement them into the classroom without assuming that students know and understand them, fully.