Final Blog Post 12

Krissy@venspired.com (CC). 2013

So this is it the end of the journey. I have explored digital citizenship for 12 weeks now and I must say I have learned A LOT. The digital world is far more complicated than I originally thought. The three main points I have learned about are my digital footprint, digital citizenship and how to use digital tools.

Digital Citizenship

This topic seems easy at first but I find it gets much more intricate the more you look into it. Within this umbrella term there are many little sub-topics that are all equally important as the next. I personally found for myself communication

to be important. I think that many people today don’t seem to understand that communication online should be no different than if it were to be in person. This means communicating with respect and clarity. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen two people get into fights on Twitter or Facebook. The younger generation especially need to realize that in person your character is shown through your demeanor, appearance the way you talk and expressions. That is a lot of information to use; it provides people with a lot of chances to determine how they want to communicate with you. However, online there is only one way. What people see? Your tone is hard to express over written language unless clearly specified, this means sarcasm can backfire. If you only post photos of partying then you just look like someone who is not very serious about their future. If you write hateful comments…well no one is really going to want to associate with that. Because digital communication is more vague then face to face we need to make sure we are clear and respectful when we do so, in order to have the world see us how we actually want to be seen.

Digital Tools

This was the fun part of the course we used tons of tools some that were new to me but many that I have been using for years! I want to focus on the tools I already knew about. I learned so many different features and ways to use these tools that I would have never known about. I think this is important to take away as digital citizens. When we start using a new tool we need to really explore it and even go to outside sources to learn more about it to better use that tool.

Digital Footprint

This was probably my favorite topic because I find it incorporates everything we learned in this course. Your digital footprint is basically a log of everything that you do online. In this generation that is pretty much your whole life. In my blog post #1 I talk about how I think a positive digital footprint is the key point. I think if we execute my above points properly then we can really clean up our digital footprints to make them positive. It is never too later to change your footprint for the better. Although, we cannot erase our past we can make our current footprint positive. Everyone changes and grows up we want our footprint to show that over time I have learned to be a proper digital citizen.

I would like to thank my classmates and facilitator for this fun experience and I hope you all the best with improving your digital footprint.

Blog post 11

SoundCloud (CC). 2015

This week we learned about using webcasting tools. I specifically used Podcasts (SoundCloud). A podcast is described and carried out similar to a song. CNN did a short video about it and this wasn't their description.

The show was recorded and then uploaded to the Internet and becomes a podcast, an audio file playable on any iPod or portable music device. It's just like a song, it's no different.  

I have used these tools a lot but always on the receiving end. I have never created something using these tools. I found it really interesting to compare the two experiences. It was really quite nerve wracking to create something, I kept worrying about how others would see this. I think I did gain a better appreciation for the audio and visual tools and people who use them though. Since it was so difficult for me I really started thinking about all the podcasts or soundclouds I listen to. This made me think more about copyright. In my Copyright post I said:

Copyright is not there to make our lives difficult it is in place to protect the creators work. It is a way to try to protect the creator when issues of copying may arise.

When people create things with webcasting tools I feel they are putting a lot more of their selves into it then with writing. Simply because their voice or face is in it. Suddenly creating is not just about the content but everything is being judged by the online public.

Personally I like to use these tools to learn but I really don’t like creating with webcasting tools. I found it caused me too much stress. I stopped focusing on the content and more so on my delivery. The quality of my voice, tone, pitch and just over sound of my voice was almost all I focused on.  I prefer to have my written work online than having audio or visual online.

I think for some people this may be a helpful tool if they have a hard time expressing thoughts on paper. Academically I think teachers could benefit from this, on day they are away or to allow students a way to learn outside of the classroom.

Feedly

This week I found a site on my Feedly that really caught my eye. TESOL 2015, in this post Navnish describes 3 of her favorite ideas from the 2015 TESOL conference. This caught my eye first because I am a TESOL major and second because my professor spoke there as well.

Before I get into what her post said I want to point out something she said that I think relates to all conferences and all fields of work.

Every year, educators from around the world approach the TESOL convention with one single mission in mind: to learn. Some come to learn the trends of the ESL world, some come for the research, and still some others for the strategies and techniques they can implement in their classrooms.

This is interesting I think because she shows that you don’t have to be a professor to attend these conferences. People go ultimately to learn about their profession or even just an interest. I think more people should start doing this.

As for her actual post she looks at three ideas presented at the conference: mobile technology, student-led discussion and vocabulary teaching. As a future EFL teacher myself I think the last point is the most important. In order for a student to read and understand a text they need to know 95-98% of the vocabulary within it. That is a HUGE number, one that surprised me when I learned it. Which point catches your eye?

Podcast - SoundCloud

This week we did a podcast. Something I was dreading to be quite honest. I don’t really like recording my voice but it was much simpler for me than using Screencast. We have explored the digital world over these last 10 weeks and over this time I have seen how complex it really is. I feel that common though about the digital world is that it is simple. There is no face to face interaction, we can be free to do and say whatever we want. However, this is not the case. There are so many areas within the digital world, but I have chosen to focus on two. To me these two are the most important.

The first is digital citizenship, with this I include netiquette. I think how you use digital tools is how you portray yourself online. We need to be efficient and effective with our technology uses. This means being aware of what we post online and knowing HOW to communicate with others online. This leads right into my next focus which is your digital footprint. This is a topic that we explored within the first week of this course, but has stuck with me ever since. Since we learned about this I have been very aware of mine. I make sure I only post things I wouldn't mind a future employer to see and I try to practice the golden rule. “treat others the way you want to be treated”. Before I post something I think about how I would react to a post like this. If I think it is not hurting anyone and is respectful then I will post it.

To me these are the most important parts of digital communication.