Acronyms:
GIDF: Guided Inquiry Design Framework
DLE: Digital Learning Environment
TL: Teacher Librarian
GAI: Generative Artificial Intelligence
This subject has opened my mind to important aspects of digital citizenship I had not thought previously to be within the purview of the School Library.
Working as a TL in a well-resourced school library, I have noticed how ineffective it is when teachers simply give students a research task and tell students to go and research using the internet, with little or no guidance on how to navigate the tsunami of information they encounter on any given topic. Therefore, I decided to focus on the GIDF as I wish to embed this framework into the DLE to optimise opportunities for deep learning (Al Mamun, Lawrie & Wright, 2022). Without guidance and scaffolding from teachers through the phases of the inquiry process, I regularly see students implement shallow learning approaches. Teachers can feel inundated by the volume of content they must cover, so TLs must make the implementation of GIDF easy through using the DLE as a platform to create learning artifacts for instruction, research and communicating new understandings.
Oddone , Garrison & Gagen-Spriggs explore the challenges of academic integrity in a DLE that uses GAI. Their article describes how it has already proven difficult to identify student work, so we must work with the technology. An aspect that must be explored in class when students are constructing texts, is that it is crucial that students check the “accuracy, reliability and quality of information generated” (2023) by GAI. Anecdotally, we have seen that students do not know that these are essential elements to check through. The TL with the backing of school leadership must ensure that students are given the tools to be able to evaluate generated texts, as this has not been addressed in our school. Attempting to ban GAI use is simply “impractical and short-sighted” (ditto).
I also agree that there is a “need for more expansive, holistic and responsive global citizenship” (2022) education, as social media content and algorithms are shaping our society, and there are possibly sinister agendas behind the biases that are being perpetuated. The digital citizenship education must evolve rapidly to keep pace with the everyday digital spaces in which students interact. It is clear that social media content is contributing to the tearing at the fabric of our society through disseminating misinformation and polarising public debate around hot-topic issues. There are many online highly regarded resources and platforms that can assist teachers and school leadership implement digital citizenship education, it only involves a time commitment. A list of these resources were provided through this subject and I have kept this list to add to over time. Teaching digital citizenship of course is intertwined with the teaching of embodying the school values including compassion and integrity, so that students are not, for example falling prey to—or perpetuating—online abuse, joining extremist groups, or disseminating misinformation that undermines our democracy (Pollizzi & Harrison, 2022).
TLs must be digital leaders in their schools, as a major part of the role is to curate digital resources. We must ensure that digital citizenship is front and centre of learning across all subjects, which involves upskilling teachers. TLs must be creative and savvy to reach time-poor teachers, such as creating engaging bite-sized digital artifacts to keep educators abreast of relevant changes in the digital landscape. Being a digital leader means that TLs must be constantly upskilling to be able to demonstrate skills to protect personal safety, privacy, copyright and understanding the legal ramifications of our behaviour (Wine, 2016).
References:
Al Mamun, M. A., Lawrie, G., & Wright, T. (2022). Exploration of learner-content interactions and learning approaches: The role of guided inquiry in the self-directed online environments. Computers and Education, 178, 104398-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104398
Harris, A., Walton, J., Johns, A., & Caluya, G. (2022). Toward global digital citizenship: “Everyday” practices of young Australians in a connected world. In P. K. Kubow, N. Webster, K. Strong, & D. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003197881-9/toward-global-digital-citizenship-anita-harris-jessica-walton-amelia-johns-gilbert-caluya
Oddone, K., Garrison, K., & Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2023) Navigating Generative AI: The teacher librarian’s role in cultivating ethical and critical practices. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, https://doi-org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2289093
Polizzi, G., & Harrison, T. (2022). Wisdom in the digital age: A conceptual and practical framework for understanding and cultivating cyber-wisdom. Ethics and Information Technology., 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-022-09640-3
Wine, L. D. (2016). School Librarians as Technology Leaders: An Evolution in Practice. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 57(2), 207–220. https://primo.csu.edu.au/permalink/61CSU_INST/15aovd3/cdi_proquest_journals_1796677328