In the current climate, a DLE is enable students to be able to learn from anywhere they can. At my site, students use Google Classroom to be able to access work provided by the teacher. Google Docs also enables students to collaborate with each other in real time. Some changes include the incorporation of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. in our social sphere. This is because our students are living in an ever increasing digital world. Our students spend most of their time on their phones and on social media. As teachers we need to be aware of this in order to understand the world our students live in. This has meant that students spend more time on their phones and are more easily distracted and disengaged in class. As teachers, we need to change our teaching methodology and how we approach the curriculum and content.
Digital Citizenship, to me, is being responsible and understanding the responsibility that a person has when online. Digital Citizenship is something that all students should be aware of from the moment they get their first digital device and then it be continually reinforced. A digital citizen should be someone who can show how responsible they are online and help teach others skills to be the same.
We should be remembering that the digital sphere is a new environment, one that many are still learning. Many of our colleagues were not raised with the environments that we have. Many new teachers are aware of the technology and how to use it so it is a great opportunity to learn from them.
More and more, we as teachers are expected to use more digital technologies and practices. Implementing these technologies and practices can be difficult because of the divide between staff knowledge and the technologies as well as between students and what we choose to use.
My personal digital footprint is interesting. I have a few social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram are my most commonly used sites. I occasionally use Snapchat and Twitter is reserved for comments about Masterchef) and a YouTube account which is reserved for posting the videos I make for topics.
Digital Citizenship is something that can be implemented throughout the curriculum and that can be something as simple as protocols for computer use in the classroom.