Through ETL523, I feel I have an improved understanding of digital citizenship (DC). As a result, I have rewritten the existing digital literacy program and used the nine elements of digital citizenship (Ribble, 2023) to inform the various topics I will teach. While I found assessment 1 challenging because I had to create a website; I am excited to use this skill to teach digital well-being next term.
One key lesson from this unit is the importance of shifting my mindset. Instead of focusing solely on the harmful impacts of technology, I need to teach students how to use digital platforms positively. This approach will prepare them to be digitally literate and ethically aware adults (Billingsley, 2024, March 14). If teachers and parents continue to preach only about the dangers online, I fear we risk creating a battleground between adults and children.
Through the final modules, I gained insight into my school’s digital learning environment and envisioned my future contributions. I understand the importance of challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone and find new ways to advocate for a digital learning strategy across the curriculum. I identify with (Dawkins, 2024, April 25) who has similar experiences to myself, observing teachers who are reluctant to use digital tools. My conversations with teachers reveal their exhaustion, and stress over assessments. How can I persuade them to take on another initiative, ultimately burdening them with one more thing to teach our students? As a TL, I believe I am uniquely placed to lead this effort; however, I need to promote my expertise.
Additionally, teachers need to know that I am available to guide their students to use digital platforms effectively. Through my involvement in a school A.I committee, I hope to expand my expertise on incorporating emerging technologies like Generative A.I. Oddone et al., (2023) argues for G.A.I as a critical thinking tool, and teachers need time to become confident with it before adapting it for the classroom. Furze (2023) highlights the troubling aspect of GAI’s “hallucination” component, which is its propensity to provide information that is blatantly false, deceptive, and misleading. This emphasises how important it is to educate students in critical evaluation skills of online material including AI-generated content (Billingsley, 2024, April 9).
In previous blogs I have emphasised the need for students to critically evaluate online content, including AI-generated material (Billingsley, 2024). In response to this, I have collaborated with the careers teacher to run Year 11 workshops on digital security and ethics. Teaching senior students these skills is so valuable before they enter the workforce, and it has been rewarding to witness their engagement.
Learning more about digital citizenship has given me a sense of purpose as a TL; I need to meet the students where they are. Although many students now have access to multiple digital devices, effectively using these for educational purposes is a significant issue. (Hannan, 2024, May 2). Young people require 21st-century skills and as a TL, I am pleased to have recently been invited to share my new DC program, with curriculum leaders and in a whole staff meeting, advocating for its relevance.
References
Furze, L. (2023). Teaching AI Ethics. https://leonfurze.com/2023/01/26/teaching-ai-ethics/
Oddone, K., Garrison, K., & Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2024). Navigating generative AI: The teacher librarian’s role in cultivating ethical and critical practices. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 73(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2289093