Today's class was rather exciting! And enlightening! Examining ideas revolving around "digital citizenship," we learned about the ways in which you could ethically interact with the worldwide web. This creates a variety of interesting situations involving teaching in the 21st century--as we are becoming increasingly more connected through digital means.
Students need to be aware of how the internet works. It's easy to assume that because many students these days grew up surrounded by technology, they know how to use an interact with it in a conscious way. In fact, many don't. Myself included! There are many things such as the nuances of copyright laws and fair use that I was completely unaware of. I found learning about these things very interesting--specifically just how easy it is to infringe on copyright. I really had no clue. Luckily, creative commons licensure exists to provide people with a means to use and share work on the internet.
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Eugène Delacroix derivative work: Ju gatsu mikka (^o^) appelez moi Ju (^o^) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons#/media/File:CC_guidant_les_contributeurs.jpg
For example, the picture above has a creative commons license--as well as conveniently and creatively advertising the practice. Following the license, I simply had to attribute the photo to its creator and viola! I can use it in this blog post.
Using tools like this in the classroom sounded difficult at first, but the more I mess around with it, the easier it seems. Online and other tech-savvy assignments are pretty much absolutely necessary these days. Technological instruction is now apart of schooling standards. I think the most important thing is simply letting your students know about some of the tiny details. Many probably know how to navigate today's tech--I've already stated that they've presumably grown up with it--but helpful things like creative commons licensing and other copyright tools, like the ability to do an advanced google search that filters usable material for you, can be very helpful.
Blogs like these can be extremely helpful and useful in classrooms--as it allows students to communicate with one another in the same way that they might share with the teacher. |
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Kevin Limhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/278659657 |
As a teacher, I think this could be a fantastic way to stimulate discussion--or allow discussion to continue beyond the classroom. It's a format that is becoming very popular and it can make assignments feel more "real" for students.
Overall, all of this is very interesting and I think it will be good to play around with. The classroom is always changing, and I think that this could provide a step in a good direction--one that can be relatable and enjoyable.
