Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Blog week 6
I choose 1 blog from the 50 blog that is Online Learning Update it is really interesting blog to write about.
2. Discuss the author of the blog, who are they? What do they tend to write about in their blog postings? Who is the blog audience? Do they have a lot of followers based upon comments left?
Will Oremus is a Slate staff writer (Slate is an online magazine for news, politics and culture).
Will writes articles on technology and politics. Some of his articles are originally from other blogs. He edits them to suit his followers on the slate site. In his writings will mainly quotes other authors directly meaning he spends most of his time reading what others are saying about a subject before he can personally venture into writing
Will writes articles on technology and politics. Some of his articles are originally from other blogs. He edits them to suit his followers on the slate site. In his writings will mainly quotes other authors directly meaning he spends most of his time reading what others are saying about a subject before he can personally venture into writing
He enjoys audience from a myriad of personalities ranging from engineers and fellow bloggers but since most of his blogs are on technology he has developers, designers and technology geeks as his followers.
Will commands a large following in twitter. The author appears on twitter as @willOremus and has 1949 followers. His posts also enjoy likes from Facebook.
3. How does the blog help with your learning in this class as well as prepare you for a future in education? Why should you read this blog or why should others read it? Would you add this to your google reader to follow for the future as professional development? Why or Why not?
Online learning cannot be ignored anymore. In fact integration of technology into learning ought to be considered with a lot of seriousness. Having knowledge of new trends in online learning is important because it helps the student prepare for new ways of learning which would virtually replace the existing one.
In this technological age we would practically prefer having our classes online. Traditional methods of teaching are slowly facing off because of the technological progress in the world today. We cannot however underscore the fact that learning in class is more interactive and naturally sociable for us as human beings. For this reason we appreciate whatever happens in our real classes to what happens online. We must however be prepared for a future where learning can turn bizarre.
Questions on the quality of online education provided, competition and efficiency come to mind whenever we think of online learning. If we become critical about these we would not understand the fact that online learning is in the path of establishment and mistakes are a part of the process.
Yes, I would add this blog to my Google reader because it would help us look with optimism and embrace the challenges that online learning has come with. I believe that for online learning to take the desired proper shape it must be must encounter many challenges and all of us have to be aware of these challenges so that we endeavor to make it better.
4. What was one of your favorite posts by the blog author that you found interesting? Explain why you were interested in the post in a short paragraph. Link to that post please.
Google's Grammys Ad Shows How Smartphones AreGetting Smarter. Mobile companies’ competition has become beneficial to consumers because they produce devices that are of great quality and efficiency to the consumers. Google smart phone (Google Now) competing against Apple’s Siri smart phone based on artificial intelligence will eventually lead to more intelligent devices that will revolutionize the world.
Google Now is able to link your appointment timing with other environmental issues like delay in the train and then advice you on the best time to leave for the appointment.
This is an additional feature over the Apple’s Siri smart phone. Currently Apple is working on their own Apple Maps that is target to outdo Google Map. i like this post because, i believe this competition is generally healthy for consumers because they will have better service that will make their life easier and comfortable.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Digital Citizenship
A digital citizen is anyone who uses technology in his or her life. Digital citizens use the internet regularly to facilitate their daily affairs such as society, politics, and communication. According to Watters (2010), teaching about digital citizenship should not only be for admitted students only but it should also include students who are yet to join educational institutions. The article also reiterates that digital literacy involves the use of computers as a competent and responsible member of the society. A video on YouTube entitled Digital Dossier, shows that everyone has a digital dossier from the day of birth and it is therefore important to teach about digital citizenship.
Successful educators do some things differently. An article by DeNeen (2013)
shows these issues are vital in the teaching of students in the classroom. Some of these issues are a positive attitude, having clear objectives, a sense of purpose and risk taking among others. An issue like digital citizenship is very delicate and requires an educator who takes risk to tackle the issue without reservations. Some of the activities that happen online such as cyber bullying affect a student’s morale and this are an impediment that an educator should get rid of as soon as he/she discovers it.
An article by Nestico (2011), shows that some of the various ways in which one can be a good digital citizen include being always in the know, reporting any problems to authorities, keeping track of one’s digital footprints and being forgiving. Other ways are learning from their mistakes and using technology to protect themselves..
shows these issues are vital in the teaching of students in the classroom. Some of these issues are a positive attitude, having clear objectives, a sense of purpose and risk taking among others. An issue like digital citizenship is very delicate and requires an educator who takes risk to tackle the issue without reservations. Some of the activities that happen online such as cyber bullying affect a student’s morale and this are an impediment that an educator should get rid of as soon as he/she discovers it.
An article by Nestico (2011), shows that some of the various ways in which one can be a good digital citizen include being always in the know, reporting any problems to authorities, keeping track of one’s digital footprints and being forgiving. Other ways are learning from their mistakes and using technology to protect themselves..
Social
and mobile tools are an integral part of our society. Banning of these tools
therefore is out of question as remarked by Nagel (2012) in his article posted
in the journal. Cyber bullying has
been of concern to teachers but though it occurs, the occurrences are sporadic
and media usually exaggerate these claims. It is of importance therefore
important for all stakeholders involved in online communication to have joint
efforts that aim at obliterating the negative effects of internet use and
amplifying the role they play in improving education.
Digital citizenship is important since it cannot be separated from the real world. I would use digital media such as PowerPoint presentations to explain these important topics to school administrators, school board and parents. I would encompass vivid examples of good digital citizenship to convince them about the significance of digital citizenship classes to students at various levels. Vital topics such as copyright laws, digital footprints, and social media would be interactive for the students and also help them to be safe when interacting in the digital world.
Digital citizenship has 9 elements according to Ribble (2011) in his article Digital Citizenship in Schools. These elements are:
1. Digital Access
2. Digital Commerce
3. Digital Communication
4. Digital literacy
5. Digital etiquette
6. Digital law
7. Digital rights and responsibilities
8. Digital health and wellness
9. Digital security
All these elements ensure that people in the digital world are safe and take responsibility for their actions while in the digital space.
Digital citizenship can be taught either as a subject or unit of its own or it can be incorporated in the existing lessons. For instance, in a music lesson, students may be taught about copyright laws and how to obtain permission to use other peoples’ music. The teaching of digital citizenship for K5 students will vary from that of K6-8 and 9-12. The age differences of the students call for different approaches in the teaching of the topic. The younger students will be exposed to basic skills and knowledge on digital citizenship using simple language while the older students will be taught more complex issues that may arise in digital spaces.
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