Exploring Learning

I recently became certified as a digital citizenship educator. I wrote an article for The Guardian , which was published yesterday. The Guardian, Wednesday 15 January 2014:  http://gu.com/p/3ypzy

In today’s world, the idea of ‘citizenship’ is in constant and organic flux, just as the notion of what it means to be literate in the 21st century is also evolving. Viewed under the cultural and global lens required for successful international school citizens, the definition is even harder to pin down. We all have notions of what a good ‘citizen’ is, and teachers in international schools bring a myriad of ideologies and cultural understandings which simultaneously present opportunity and dichotomy. Rich and fertile in breadth of experience and belief, the knowledge and cultural understandings can, at times, be at cross-purposes with the culture of the country, which again might be different to the cultures of the classroom and the school community. In international schools, as Ferguson acknowledged in her post, “ What kind of global citizens are teachers creating? ” (25 November 2013), the nature of what global citizenship is is “arbitrary” - individual schools decide how to ad...

An evaluation of Common Sense Media Inc. (2013). Scope and Sequence, Grades 6-8. From Common Sense Media: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence#grades-6-8 Description of the information literacy unit plan The ‘Information Literacy’ unit plan on the Common Sense Media website, is part of a free K-12 curriculum for teaching digital citizenship. Teachers can choose lessons and plans for different grade levels from three units across a variety of topics including ‘Cyberbullying’ and ‘Internet Safety’. The ‘Information Literacy’ unit plan for learners in Grades 6-8 comprises six lessons – two lessons from each of the three units - and intends to allow learners to develop the ability to “identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively”. The unit covers effective search strategies, techniques to evaluate quality, credibility, and validity, and how to cite and provide proper credit for sources used (K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum, 2012, p . 2)...

As mentioned in my recent post, Common Sense Educator: Digital Citizenship Certified , I believe all educators today must address information literacy and teach learners how to operate safely and effectively online. Literacy today is more than reading and writing; as educators we need to teach netiquette,  cybersafety and digital citizenship. I set up Blogs with my learners to showcase their writing and provide authentic audiences. My emphasis is on the need to create a positive online persona, and the Unit leading up to the creation of our blogs, asks learners to think about how they want to present themselves to the world. The 'Snapshots' unit is a comprehensive unit that I teach to Year 7 (Grade 6) learners on entry into secondary school (middle school). The 'big question' underpinning the unit is How do I present who I am to the world? and the final outcome is a reflective learning blog that they use throughout their time in school.  Exampl...

As a school who launched the 1:1 programme  this year, we feel it important to incorporate the teaching of digital citizenship into our work with all our learners. Common Sense Educator Badge With all the benefits the 1:1 programme  brings, there comes also the need to address responsibility in the digital realm. Literacy today is more than reading and writing; as educators we need to teach netiquette, cybersafety  and digital citizenship. Common Sense Media is an organisation  who makes this easy. I have been using their lesson ideas for over a year, and our school is  now using their work for our Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) lessons. As an English teacher, I set up Blogs with my learners to showcase their writing and provide authentic audiences. My emphasis is on the need to create a positive online persona, and the Unit leading up to the creation of our blogs, asks learners to think about how they want to pres...