Brent Johnson

November 8, 2015
Research on Issues in Instructional Technology

Article 1
5 Considerations for Digital Age Learners: What Principles and District Administrators Need to
Know about Tech Integration Today
Lotta Larson, Teresa Miller, and Mike Ribble

This article discusses five considerations schools need to make when considering the
environment of a digital classroom and the integration of technology into the classrooms. The
authors suggest that visionary leadership, a digital age learning culture, systemic improvement,
excellence in professional practice, and digital citizenship need to be taken into consideration far
more than any other need.
The article suggests that schools need to accept that teachers are no longer the sole
provider of information. They are simply the enhancers of this information as they are able to
adequately answer questions and help students better understand material that may be covered
electronically. Since there is a stronger focus on high stakes testing in the areas of math and
reading, schools need to have a better grasp on how much technology students have access to
and how often they access it. This could prevent teachers from having to increase the amount of
material that is covered during the instructional day. School administrators need to begin

questioning whether or not it is helpful to limit the amount of time students have access to
computers to focus on testing or building a culture of technology.
Districts need to take a closer look at the technology within their schools to identify gaps
in their tech needs so that it matches their vision. Technology support staff needs to be evaluated
to ensure resources and materials are being used efficiently. Digital age leadership as a whole
must be changed in order to adequately effect and improve the schools use of technology.
Teachers should be given professional growth opportunities that assist in matching the
technological vision of the district. Schools should bring in additional staff outside of the school
as well as district level technology staff, or use pre-packaged training services or materials.
Schools should systematically move students from one skill level to the next during these
training opportunities. They must be offered ongoing technical support to help them improve
their skillsets. They should also be given time during the day to work in their classrooms on
technology.
Finally, the authors suggest that schools ensure that technological resources are being
used appropriately. Educational leaders need to consider how technology can be integrated into
classrooms to best meet students needs. Teachers need to ensure that students arent using the
materials irresponsibly, such as accessing other sites, using materials inappropriately, and not
using a resource to its capacity. It is the responsibility of all educational leaders to lead by
example. All users should follow ethical, social, and legal guidelines and responsibilities as
related to technology. All leaders need to have an open discussion with their faculty and staff
about appropriate use of technology.
This research was conducted in primary schools. Although it was not a research article, it
served as an observation and recommendation of the use of technology in schools. As it relates to

digital technology, the article suggested that schools hold faculty and staff accountable for
appropriate use of technology in schools. The article also noted that schools need to have an
understanding of the ethical, social, and legal issues regarding inappropriate use of technology. It
is suggested that this information is shared with the students so everyone understands the vision
of the district regarding technology. When providing my students with online learning activities,
Ive learned that they need to be monitored. This is largely in part of their misunderstanding of
the use of technology at that moment. I have been asked by my students if they can access video
games with no academic content. This is not helpful or appropriate to classroom use. I fully
agree with this article.

Article 2
Digital Citizenship: Developing an Ethical and Responsible Online Culture
Cathy Oxley
Irresponsible and potentially harmful use of the internet is escalating at an alarming rate. Most
children and teenagers need to be taught ethical and responsible ways to behave when using the
internet, especially since information on the internet stays out there forever. The article also
suggests that young people should be encouraged to create a positive digital profile and to use
the internet for good and worthwhile projects.

This article discusses the need to educate students on safe and responsible use of the
internet. It also talks about ways to avoid the digital disease. Not educating students how to use
the internet safely is compared to allowing unsafe drivers to drive around aimlessly. Students

need to understand the reasons for the rules of using the internet in school so they can make
thoughtful and critical decisions when confronted by opportunities to engage in unsafe behavior
on the internet. Developing a digital citizenship program is critical because young people face
three main problems: 1) their perceived anonymity, 2) their digital portfolio or digital footprint,
and 3) the legal implications of thoughtless or malicious actions.
The article states that students dont know or care about the fact that all of their comments
and images can be viewable by the mass population. These digital snapshots are being retained
so that groups and organizations such as the Library of Congress can look back to see how the
internet was being used in our society. This archival database holds every tweet ever made on
Twitter since 2006, Facebook posts and messages, as well as information from other social media
sites. Students need to know how to protect their digital privacy so they can in essence be
protected. The article reveals the following statistics found on the National Teen Internet survey,
which was funded by Cox Communications in partnership with NCMEC and John Walsh and
was conducted in March 2007 among 1,070 teens age 13 to 17. The research was conducted
online by TRU:

58% of teens dont think that posting photos or other personal information on social

media sites is unsafe.

About 49% are not concerned that posting personal information online may affect their

future.
64% of students post photos or videos of themselves. More than 58% post information

about where they live.

49% of high school students have posted personal information such as name, age, or
address that could assist a stranger in locating them.

Most employers search potential candidates on Google before they offer job interviews. This
shows the impact that a student digital portfolio can have on getting jobs in the future, getting
accepted into college, or other organizations that require admissions through interviews. 1 in 33
children have been aggressively solicited sexually on the internet (National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children, and the University of New Hampshire).

There are several programs that teach digital citizenship to students. The article discusses the
Alannah and Madeline Foundation. The organization operates in Australia. Its main focus is to
increase cyber safety in schools by confronting e-communications such as cyber bullying. It is
also designed to assess the effectiveness of existing cyber safety programs in schools.
This article definitely covers important aspects of digital citizenship. It suggests that it is
important to safeguard youth by educating them about the dangers associated with using the
internet. Students have to learn how to keep their information private and set themselves up for
success by not posting information that could hinder future employment.

Article 3
Digital Citizenship and Web 2.0 Tools
Reshan Richards
This article discusses the importance of web 2.0 tools in educational institutions. It educates
readers on web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and online social networks. It is recommended that

institutions help educators The article also educates readers on digital citizenship and the
responsible and ethical use of technology in schools.

The article discusses digital citizenship in schools. It educates readers on Web 2.0 tools
and how each of them have a certain amount of danger to them that users should be aware of.
According to the article, it is important to know what type of digital citizen you are. The article
notes that there are three types of citizenship: the personally responsible citizen, the participatory
citizen, and the justice oriented citizen. The personally responsible citizen opts out of paper mail
for electronic mailings, communicates respectfully on public forums, and subscribes to blogs and
other social networks. The participatory citizen might use a digital forum to organize a local
clothing drive or an online social networking site to raise money for a local charity. The justice
oriented citizen might start a web 2.0 resource such as a wiki or public discussion forum that
directly deals with a social issue or issues.
Students need to understand that there are more options for internet usage than simply
being a social media engager. They also need to be familiar with the types of web 2.0 tools and
how to properly and appropriately engage in them.

Article 4
Digital Citizenship
Aytekin Isman and Ozlem Canan Gungoren

This article discusses research done by the authors on the nine touchpoints of digital citizenship
and its importance on educating students on digital citizenship in schools.

The population of this study included students from the college of education at Sakarya
University in the 2012-2013 school year. The population consisted of 4,395 students. The
Convenience Sampling Method was used in the study to capture the data. This included 229
students from the elementary teaching, preschool teaching, Turkish teaching, religion, and ethics
education surveys. A program known as SPSS 21 was used to capture the statistics and to
construct the validity and reliability analyses of the data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to
analyze construct validity. Internal consistency coefficients were used for examining the
reliability of the scale.
The scale was used to measure the relationship between digital citizenship levels of
students of a faculty of education. The total variance shows that the scale is successful in
capturing the digital citizenship level in students.
This data is effective in measuring the digital citizenship in students. This is helpful in
determining the safety level of appropriateness in operating technology in schools. The research
in this article provides schools a resource for assessing their students, staff, and administrations
level of digital citizenship. Schools can also use the data to improve on their weaknesses in the
key areas of technology. Although this system may be difficult for schools to interpret, it is
pertinent for them to have a system. It may be worthwhile for schools to invest in outside
resources that can interpret data and provide suggestions for schools to reach the desired
outcome of digital citizenship in their students.

Article 5
Effective Game Based Citizenship Education in the Age of New Media
Yam San Chee, Swati Mehrotra, and Qiang Liu

The purpose of this article was to discuss research that was done by researchers at the Nanyang
Technological University in Singapore. The purpose of the study was to provide students with a
first person experience of governance by providing them to take on the role of governors via a
game called Statecraft X. The goal of this study was to enact meaningful discussions among
students and advance their understanding of governance and citizenship. The study consisted of
42 15 year old students, 21 of which did not use the game to learn about governance.
The empirical study reported in this paper examine the comparative learning outcomes of
students who participated in the Statecraft X curriculum with those from a control class. This
three week study was evaluated using an essay writing task.
The results of the study show that the students who played Staecraft X learned more
about governance and citizenship than the other students. Students who took the Statecraft X
curriculum performed better on the essay writing task than the students in the control group.