Topic/Focus Point: Best Digital Citizenship Practices in a Digital Learning EnvironmentEducators in a K – 8 School Board

1. What is a Digital Learning Environment and how to design it?

• What is the real context of the digital learning environment?
• How can learning spaces be personalized to learning needs?
• How do you design and manage a digital learning environment?
• What are the basics for setting up a digital learning environment?
  • Digital literacy and information fluency
  • Balance – opportunities and responsibilities, sense of community and wellbeing 
• What are the best organizations globally to support the DLE and digital citizenship?
  • DLE
    • Google
    • Teachers Pay Teachers
    • Boom Cards
• Networks (Wikis, Blogs)
  • Networking (PLN) and collaborating using social media
    • What does ‘networked and connected learning’ mean?
    • How can we effectively and safely harness social media for connected learning?
      • Twitter
      • Pinterest
      • Facebook Groups
  • PLE 
    • Curation
• Communities

2. What is responsible for Digital Citizenship in a Digital Learning Environment?
   
3. Why does Digital Citizenship matter in a DLE?

• Student learning styles and outcomes
  • New literacies (digital text is different)
• 6 C’s
• Validating Online Sources
• Making Community Better
• Filtering

4. Digital Citizenship Teaching Focus in a DLE

• Technology fluency
• Communication/Collaboration
• Research/Information Fluency
• Problem Solving
• ability to practice and advocate online behaviour that demonstrates legal, ethical, safe and responsible uses of information and communication technologies
• Network awareness
• Etiquette & Respect
• Safety, privacy, copyright and legal
• Habits of learning
• Literacy and fluency

5. Best practices for digital learning environments

• What does responsible learning look like using digital tools?
  • What are the best organizations in Ontario to support DLE and digital citizenship?
    • eCommunity
• Student-Centred, Experiential, Holistic, Authentic, Reflective, Expressive, Social, (Kemker, K. (2005). The digital learning environment: What the research tells us. Apple White Paper.)
• Flipped Classroom
• CoP
• What are the best practices for encouraging responsible learning when using technology?
  • Internet safety/cybersafety
  • Creative commons and ethical use of the internet
  • Copyright and plagiarism (Free Use)
  • Personal reputation and digital footprint
• Engage parents in digital citizenship learning expectations
• Use digital textbooks ie. Edwin, Digital Subscriptions vs. photocopying
• Citing images and information used in lessons
• Content curation – Google Drive, Portfolio 

6. Resources to Support Educators learning/practicing Digital Citizenship in a DLE

• Digital Citizenship Resources for Educators in Ontario
  • Ontario VLE
  • Media Smarts
  • Digizen
  • Common Sense Media
  • ConnectED
  • Online Safety Guide

I am thinking that the web guide for elementary school educators, Kindergarten to Grade 8. The guild will promote educator digital citizenship in a digital learning environment. It will outline the components of digital citizenship to consider in the elementary classroom. The web guide will create awareness for educators’ to understand why a software request policy and the procedure need to be implemented and followed. I will be drafting a board-wide policy and procedure and include this as an appendix to the web guide.

The research and content will draw from Ontario Ministry of Education documents as well as Canadian publications. I will explore how each of the criteria listed below through the lens of Ontario and Canadian research, resources and interactive games.  

I am thinking that the artifact will be a video that outlines educator best practices and resources that can serve as a “best practice” sample tour. A virtual walk-through of a DLE that includes all the components and criteria outlined above.