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__Welcome to the Becki Wiens Teacher and Technology Wiki__ Digital Natives and technology integration in the classroom

Summary The Becki Wiens Teacher and Technology Wiki explores the ethics of technology and digital media surrounding Digital Natives. The term Digital Natives is defined. The relevance of ethics for teachers is discussed regarding students and teachers understanding of identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, credibility and participation. Examples of effective technology use in the classroom with regards to the multiple intelligences is looked at including a video example of an assignment. Also included is a lesson plan using different types of technologies and a personal opinion podcast.

flat = Who are the Digital Natives? = In the classroom today, educators face a situation that has been in production for at least the last twenty years, but has just recently been demanding the attention of the educational system. The entire phenomenon of Digital Natives is a relatively new occurrence. The title 'Digital Natives' is most commonly associated with young people born in or after 1985 who possess a certain keen insight into the operations of new technologies. This, however, is not an accurate picture of Digital Natives for a few different reasons. First, anyone, regardless of age, can learn how to take advantage of technologies and acquire the skills and knowledge to use the digital media. Second, not everyone born since 1985 has access to or has the insight to use technology to its full advantage. A Digital Native is better described as any one person, regardless of age or culture, who has access to and has taken advantage of the technological advances and gadgets that have developed in the last few years. These gadgets could include anything such as ipods, cell phones, desktops, laptops, video games, video cameras or the internet. Digital Natives are people who are comfortable with hi-tech devices. They are fast learners, who want answers instantly. They are able to multi-task with a number of different media accesories at any one given time and they seem to have a copious supply of social networks world-wide. One of the main concerns that plague our education system circles around the idea of how to relate to this catchment of cybernated children. Who are these people and how does an individual who is not fluent in this Digital Native langage engage their students in something new, when the student already knows more than the teacher does on the given subject? HOME

= Relevance for Teachers = It is of the utmost importance that educators realize the value of acceptable ethical use of technology in the classroom. This is important because an educator is a role model to students and they need to accurately and credibly teach the students how to properly use the technology itself. Awareness of the ethical implications of online conduct is low and young people generally assume that all onliners share the same ethical code(James 2009). This is not true in the least and thus proves to be a very dangerous point of view. In an article by [|Carrie James](2009), it identifies five major ethical issues with the use of digital media. High school and university educators should take special note of this research article since their students are the ones being largely influenced and targeted. James identifies five core issues within the digital media: Identity, Privacy, Ownership and Authorship, Credibility and, finally, Participation. These are a number of reasons why ethics of the digital medias should not be overlooked by the educational system.

1) Identity
Students entering into high school are at the age where they are just figuring out who they are. It is a tug of war between who they feel they are and who they feel they should be. Sometimes students hide their true identities because they feel that these identities are socially unacceptable. There is a vast need for anonymity among many of these students, while at the same time a massive need to have their voice heard and let their opinions form. To solve this battle of opposites, many students turn to social networking as an escape. Students can create an identity on the internet that is completely their own true self, while still remaining unknown to their surrounding tangible community and society. This is completely freeing and rewarding for students to explore who and what they are or could be, without the reprimand of what is socially acceptable. James (2009) studies how in our fast paced society teens have less time to explore their identities, but media gives them that space. Teachers need to be aware that students are relying on digital media to form identities. While this is not altogether wrong or hazardous, teachers still need to foster an environment that competes with or compliments digital learning. Students go to the internet because they feel it is a safe place to speak their mind. A classroom would do well to fosters that need. Teachers should promote blogging and webpages. They should support online pen-pals and social networking while at the same time, making the classroom a safe place to explore and discuss opinions and personalities as well.

2) Privacy
Privacy online is quite a different concept than privacy in the tangible world. Normally privacy would refer to the concealment of personal information. Online, however, privacy deals with the degree of disclosure and the careful management of ones own personal information. For example, students may use the internet as a journal, by blogging. They have a naive assumption that everyone holds the same standards as they do in regards to personal privacy. James (2009) found that students assumed that teachers and parents would respect thier online privacy and refrain from reading their blogs, even though they are readily available for anyone else to view. Young people seem to think in a very egotistical manner. If they hold certain values, they just assume that others will hold the same values too. This is not the case. While teachers should not be restricted from viewing their students' blogs or personal information online, they do need to respect it. Teachers need to realize that the cyber world is every bit as important and real to their teenagers as the physical world is. Teenagers are every bit affected in cyber world as they are in the actual world. Teachers need to understand that students have to deal with many issues over the internet that may be personal and may affect their school work. Just because a teacher does not witness bullying, for example, in the halls or in their classroom, does not mean it does not exist between two of his or her students.


 * "The great potentials of the Internet will not be realized if basic trust cannot be forged among participants" [|Bok](1979) ||

3) Ownership and Authorship
While offline ownership and authorship have every strict laws and consequences, the ownership and authorship of works online lie somewhere between black and white and are very broad and pure grey. It is quite simple to copy and paste another's work and claim it as one's own from almost anywhere on the internet without reprimand for stealing or plagiarism. With excessive access to massive amounts of information on the web it becomes confusing to students what is free to use and what is not. They have a 'naive belief that if something is downloadable, then everybody can use it without payment'(James 2009). This is not an unfounded assumption with online pieces of work such as wikis and hosted documents collaborative work is encouraged. At the same time the line between author and audience is indistinct (James 2009). It is an educator's job to teach the students how to properly research and utilize the information on the internet. If this does not happen, students will become lying thieves. This is an issue of honesty and respect. If society wants a future where the people can be trusted and where people work together for the betterment of the community, then educators have to foster proper attitudes within their students. This means starting small. When young people can be trusted with the little things, it's easier to believe that they will do right with the larger issues. Teachers have to be aware that plagiarism and cheating in school work is at an all time high. This is partly because students do not realize they are stealing others work. Teachers should work together within the school to create a program that properly teaches students how to effectively and ethically research and think critically about their work and the works of others they read online.

From a recent report from the Josephson institute of Ethics (2006) ||
 * = [|Michael Josephson] (President and founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics)
 * = “The good news is that things aren’t getting any worse -- the 2006 results are almost identical to those reported in 2004. The bad news is that unacceptably high rates of dishonesty have become the norm. It doesn’t bode well for the future that so many kids are entering the workforce to become the next generation of corporate executives and cops, politicians and parents, journalists, teachers, and coaches with the dispositions and skills of liars, cheaters and thieves.” ||

4) Credibility
Credibilty is a major issue with Digital Natives and technology. Credibility (being trustworthy or believable) works two ways on the internet. First, students have to be critical thinkers to assess who and what is a credible source on the web, and second, they have to think about how they represent themselves on the web. According to James (2009), students have to evaluate what they are reading and why an author is saying what they are saying. What is their motive? An example in the James (2009) article illustrates how a doctor who pushes the sale of a certain new drug may not be credible if she holds stocks in the drug company as well. It is essential that as educators are showing students how to respect the interent and its sources, they have to teach the implications of credibility as well. Students need to think critically about what one reads while on the internet. It is just as relavant for students to think critically about how they represent themselves on digital media. Without tangible human contact, information can be quite misleading or easily forged. One of the positive aspects regarding the lack of tangible human contact is that society erases the stereotypical biases. A person is as credible as his contributions (James 2009). If a young adult is an expert on the cause and effects of World War One, they are taken as a credible source on wikipedia, where as they would not be quoted or referenced by any other means if they did not have an article posted about World War One. This is important for teachers to evaluate. They have to determine if contibuting to an online source such as Wikipedia is a valuable educational tool. Does it foster the students voice? Does it give him self-confidence? Does it allow her to explore what else she can do online? If so, then teachers need to utilize technology in a positive healthy way so students can credibly contribute to an online community.

5) Participation
"Participation is the culminating ethical issue in the new digital media, and it arguably subsumes the issues of identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, and credibility. Participation centers on the roles and responsibilities that an individual has in community, society, and the world. It takes various forms, including communication, creation, sharing, and use of knowledge and information in all spheres of life—political, economic, and social" (James 2009). Teachers need to be aware of the participation sphere. Students usually lack the skills and credentials to contribute to large social or political changes in thier tangible communities. It is much easier for them, however, to participate in online communities where identities do not hold as much weight. When a student feels that their voice is mute, it causes a great deal of stress, especially at the high school stage of life. This is the time when teenagers are becoming secure in their opinions and beliefs. Students get excited about their potential, only to have it knocked down by a cruel biased society that does not believe in them. Teachers should strive to create safe online communities where students can exhibit their creative abilities, talents and interests. HOME

= Technology as an Effective Learning Experience =

For any lesson to be effective, an educator has to teach with the students prior knowledge, talents, skills and interests. With a similar idea in mind, [|Howard Gardner]crafted the theory of [|Multiple Intelligences.] Gardner lists 8 different intelligences and believes that every person possesses all of these intelligences in different degrees, which explained a person's different knowledge, talents, skills and interests. Listed below is an adaption from Forrest Parkay's [|Becoming a Teacher]. This table shows the 8 different intelligences and how an educator may start designing a lesson in a certain way to connect to each different intelligence. Describe the rules for a new board game called... || Write a biographical sketch of... || Locate music that sounds like... || Create an advertisement for... || Role-play a person who is... || In a small group, construct a... || Describe how you feel about... || Classify the rocks found in... || It certainly is a tough job teaching one lesson to a classroom filled with children. It is another thing entirely to teach the lesson to each child in their own personal way that will benefit each and every child to their full potential. Educators should not be asked to do that. Instead, educators should increase their creativity when they teach. It is important that they recognize that all students do not learn in the same way and that different students will benefit in different ways with a wide array of teaching styles. Using technology in the classroom can mmedia type="youtube" key="ab9Jlcyox7g?hl=en" height="364" width="475" align="right"ost definitely help an educator teach to the Multiple Intelligences. This is most true in North America high schools where the classrooms are overflowing with Digital Natives. Below is a chart with an array of examples for teaching the Mulitple Intellengences with technology. For example: an Interpersonal learner does best when learning, teaching or discussing topics with other people. An example of a project for this type of learner that includes technology is online pen-pals where the students connect with another student from a different country. They can email and read each other's wikis and send each other vidoes or podcasts of local talent, tourist attractions or anything of shared interest. The youtube vidoe is an example of a University of Manioba student giving her online pen-pal a quick tour of her favorite building on campus. By making a video, the pen-pal can see much more clearly the concept that is trying to be conveyed in a fun, quick and entertaining way. It is important for educators to remember that not all students are Digital Natives. It may take some students a while longer to concretely understand a subject if it is taught with technology.This is fine, learning how to work with technology can be difficult but nessecary in today society. Two things an educator needs to consider while planning his or her lesson is if the technology in the classroom is indeed improving the lesson and, secondly, if the students are engaging with the lesson and the digital media presenting it. If the answer is "Yes", then technology is being used effectively and efficiently. If this is not the case then the teacher needs to re-evaluate the teaching methods, the technology and the different intelligences of the students.
 * ~ Intelligence ||~ Project Example for Type ||
 * < Logical-mathematical ||< Design an experiment on...
 * < Linguistic ||< Write a short story about...
 * < Musical ||< Write song lyrics for...
 * < Spatial ||< Draw, paint or sculpt a...
 * < Bodily-kinesthetic ||< Do a dance that shows...
 * < Interpersonal ||< Show one or more of your classmates how to...
 * < Intrapersonal ||< Assess your ability to...
 * < Naturalist ||< Identify the trees found in...

Write a computer program or enhance an already existing one || Use Skype to conduct an interview with a specialist or professional || Bring in an ipod with a song that talks about a current issue || Create an animated film || Audio tape clues for a scavenger hunt while learning about different communities || Use Google Documents to create a group project || Use the internet to explore different career opportunities || Examine and keep track of daily weather through a local webcam. || HOME
 * ~ Intelligence ||~ Type of Technology Project to use ||
 * < Logical-mathematical || Make an online calander to track a science experiment
 * < Linguistic || Create a class blog to discuss different literature pieces presented in class
 * < Musical || Record an original jingle onto a podcast to learn math facts
 * < Spatial || Create graphs, charts, powerpoints, posters or diagrams on the computer to illustrate a concept
 * < Bodily-kinesthetic || Videotape a dance, speech or skit to demonstrate knowledge of a certain subject
 * < Interpersonal || Create online pen-pals with students from another country.
 * < Intrapersonal || Create a wiki to manage assignments and tests
 * < Naturalist || Make a photo journal of the growth of a plant
 * || Ideas inspired by [|Lesson Plan Ideas for Multiple Intelligences] ||

= Lesson Plan Example = There are many different and practical ways that ethics in technology can be taught in the classroom. Merely by using technology in the classroom a student should be aware of the ethics behind his or her actions. A lesson plan including information and communications technology can be located on the page titled ICT Lesson Plan in the menu on the top left of this page, or by clicking the link directly.

= Personal Opinion =

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= References and Additional Sources =

__Helpful YouTube Videos__ [] [] []

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__ Helpful Texts __  James, C., Davis, K., Flores, A., and Francis, J. Young people, ethics and the new digital media (2009) Retrived Oct 7th 20010 from [] Josephson Institute of Ethics. 2006. 2006 Report Card on American Youth. Press release. Retrieved Oct 10th 2010, from []. Parkay, F., Stanford, B., Vaillancourt, J. and Stephens, H. //Becoming a Teacher// (2006) Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Sissela Bok (1979). //Lying moral choice in public and private life//. New York: Vintage Books. Retrived on Oct 7th from []

__Pictures__ [] [] [] [] [] [] __ Music Used __  Bellamy, L., Wolstenholme, C., & Howard, D. (2006). Super Massive Black Hole [Muse]. On Blackholes and Revelations [CD]. United Kingdom: A&E. (2006)  Gottwald, L., Kelly, C. & Levin, B. (2008). Circus [B. Spears]. On Circus [CD].New York: Jive. (2008)  HOME