Digital Ethics
Technology moves at an aggressive rate because the demand for it exists. “Television didn’t transform education. Neither will the internet. But it will be another tool for teachers to use in their efforts to reach students in the classroom. It will also be a means by which students learn outside of the classroom.” Technology has the ability to give even the quietest, most unassuming student a voice. It is up to us as educators to teach and guide students on how to harness and use the power of technology to their benefit.
Figure 1: Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives
As technology is an integral part of almost every aspect of life today, our comprehension ability will always be an essential skill - ntegrating vocabulary and technology will definitely enhance students ability in Reading. Many researchers have been investigating the effectiveness of integrating literature circles with digital technology. This was supported by Dalie (2001) as literature circles give students ample opportunities to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers. Peralta-Nash & Dutch (2000) quote that the literature circle provides a “low-risk learning environment for children who are learning English as a second language.” I truly believe that using digital literature circles will empower students to communicate, collaborate, be more creative and become critical thinkers.
4 C’s of 21st Century Learning ( 4.bp.blogspot.com )
Despite the advantages of digital literature circles, we may still encounter issues of using technology with this innovation.
Ethical Issue:
What is the ethical issue in using technology through digital literature circles in my innovation?
We all benefit from the advancement of technology and it being integrated into the education system. Although technology has many advantages such as promoting independent learning, preparing students for the 21st century, encouraging both students and teachers’ creativity and many more, we also need to understand the challenges that it comes with, such as ethical issues of technology in the classrooms. Knowing how to educate our students to become ethical citizens in a digital world is vital. Preparing our students for cyberbullying and copyright issues was brought to the forefront prior to the implementation of my innovation. According to Mattison (2018) understanding the biggest ethical issues affecting our classrooms will help us better understand how to address them. Therefore, educating our students to be cybersmart will help them to confidently handle real-life situations and they will always make good choices when working online. Manaiakalani has an awesome cybersmart curriculum, which teaches learners to be smart about what they do online and as Leonhard (2018) says, “do the right thing with technology. Understanding ethical issues of technology in the classroom helps students become ethical citizens in a digital world” (McGilvery, 2018).
Social Issues:
Alhumaid (2019) draws attention to the social issue of “isolation and loneliness [which] seem to be the ultimate repercussion of students’ use of technology as, being totally immersed in manipulating the classroom digital gadgets, they often forget there are classmates they can rely on and interact with.” I hope that by using digital literature circles collaboratively, students are able to chat, to confidently navigate the site to access learning, confidently navigate and harness their devices and learning applications, ask questions, comment on each other's work, learn with and from each other.
There is also the fear or danger that students could access inappropriate sites. This is prevented by filters which screen out inappropriate content and blocks access to inappropriate sites. A headline in the NZ Herald, 14 October 2019 screamed out, “Schools block 2.2 billion attempts to access gaming and other blocked sites. This showed that students were trying to access websites that were not allowed but it also clearly demonstrates that the filters and restrictions placed on students by the school admin is effective.
In many BYOD schools a child’s device is a marker of their economic standing. In Manaiakalani schools, all students are provided with a chromebook at minimal cost to the whanau (around $4 per week). This allows all pupils to have devices without placing a major strain on the whanau’s finances and without the device becoming a social or economic indicator.
Cultural Issues
The cultural issues in the planned innovation was acknowledging my students’ culture, traditions and language. As Baker (2006) says children come to school with a wealth of knowledge and expertise from their backgrounds. Gay (2001, p.106) states that culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. I address this cultural issue by making sure the stories used in our reading lessons reflect the diversity of our students. I also ensure there are multiple opportunities to tap into our students’ cultural capital/ expertise so they see its value. The Education Hub (2019) mentioned that “Culturally responsive teaching is about making school learning relevant and effective for learners by drawing on students’ cultural knowledge, life experiences, frames of reference, languages, and performance and communication styles.” (p.5) The Ministry of Education (2007) affirms that all students should be supported and empowered to learn and achieve personal excellence regardless of their individual circumstances but we strongly believe that teachers have to be the agent of change in order for every child to reach their full potential. According to Cummins (2001), students who are empowered by their school experiences develop the ability, confidence and motivation to succeed academically.
References:
Baker, C. (2006). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (4th ed.).
Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. (2001). Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention. In
C. Baker, & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.). An introductory reader to the writings of
Jim Cummins (pp. 175-194). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Leonhard, G. (2018). Why Digital Ethics is #1 topic in technology in 2019: keynote excerpt Gerd Leonhard. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0w1nRvgYU
Larson, L. (2009). Reader response meets the new literacies: Empowering readers in online learning communities. The Reading Teacher, 62(8), 638–648.
Mattison, L. (2018). Ethical Issues with Using Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from:
https://study.com/blog/ethical-issues-with-using-technology-in-the-classroom.html
McGilvery, C. (2018). Ethics For Technology Use In The Classroom. Retrieved from: https://online.nwmissouri.edu/articles/education/ethics-technology-use-classroom.aspx
Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning
Media Limited.
Peralta-Nash, C., & Dutch, J.A. (2000). Literature circles: Creating an environment for choice.
Primary Voices K-6, 8(4), 29-37. [EJ 604 621]
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