As I have progressed through this subject, I have been enlightened to the concept of digital citizenship in the realm of education. I was quite oblivious to just how important it was even though I work in a school that is predominantly online based and hardly any face to face sessions. In that environment, it was something that was not really thought about and, for me, did not hold a high place in the teaching practice. It is as if my eyes have been opened and I am looking at my role at the school in a more critical light. Even though digital citizenship is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of issues, the guidelines that it provides for responsible, approachable behaviour when using technology. In my classes I do set up lesson etiquette for the online lessons, however, it stopped there. By having this space to discover and evolve my understanding of how to better engage students in a digital space.
As a teacher librarian, there is a need to make students aware of the footprint that they make in a digital environment. They think that it might not be that significant, but we need to inform them that is has major effects later on in life. As the teaching at my school mainly takes place via video conferencing, there is a need for the students to know that how they act in those lessons can affect the rest of the class and there is no way to see if it is in a negative or a positive way. With the first assessment task involving group work, it gave me an idea of what it is like for my students. There is a need for the environment to feel safe and supportive and for there to be effective communication amongst all members.
The library for many students is seen as a safe space but it is much more than that, it is a place where they can access the world and the teacher librarian is the facilitator of that. As students are global learners, there is a need for them to be fully aware of their role as a global citizen. Through the creation and facilitation of a Personal Learning Network, as set up by the teacher librarian, the students will be able to work in a collaborative nature with other students that are not only in their suburb but in a different state or country. One of the many benefits of the school that I work at is that the students are already in that mindset and are sometimes in awe of the places that the other students have come from or where they currently are.
Even though there isn’t a defined leader of eLearning, as the whole school is based on eLearning, all the staff members are aware of the needs of the students in terms of their learning and how to adjust things to best suit their needs. As opposed to one leader, the whole teaching staff takes on that role and help out each other when we need it.
This unit has made me aware of what I need to do in my own practice to help my students become better digital citizens and how that can translate from the school setting into the rest of their lives and what sort of impact that will have in the future.