In our text by Solomon and Schrum (2014), it reiterated my personal belief that when used properly, the

web is an amazing resource for collaboration, communication, and learning different perspectives in real
time. As a Social Studies teacher for over twenty-five years, it has been amazing to see the
transformation and advancements made in regard to access to information through technology. This
real-time access has enabled my students to be able to go more in-depth and access information while
at school or at home. The web, and especially social media, have helped bring about change even within
various countries and governments, as it did with protesters during the Arab Spring when utilized by
candidates on their quest to become president (2014). However, this can also be a tool that can have
lasting negative effects on people if not used appropriately and wisely. All of which makes the concept
and importance of promoting positive and safe digital citizenship so very important.

I am amazed at how many of my students still do not understand the importance of making their social
media accounts private. I do feel this comes with maturity, and many students at the middle school level
in which I teach happen to feel quite invincible. When I do have discussions in my classes regarding on-
line security, I have noticed a couple of trends. One such trend, which is also mentioned in the article by
Sarah Muthler (2015), is that students really do not understand how outside companies can access your
information and without your knowing, as we are also now finding out about more and more with
Facebook. They do not understand how it is not just limited to only one or two sites, and includes their
very much used Snapchat.

As an educator using technology in my 1:1 classroom, it is my responsibility to promote digital

citizenship on a regular basis. This includes modeling and enforcing positive behaviors. There are several
educational websites that are my go-to resources for accessing information and promoting safe and
healthy use of the internet. These include Common Sense Education, BrainPOP, and ISTE's 9 Resources
for Teaching Digital Citizenship.

In order to keep my students safe while working and exploring on line, I need not only integrate positive
digital citizenship strategies in to my every day plans but also model appropriate digital citizenship
myself. Through my research into supporting these standards within my own classroom, I found that
ISTE's 9 Resources for Teaching Digital Citizenship (2018) was an excellent resource for gathering
strategies to interweave and implement within my classroom. Some strategies this site suggests are to
promote discussions on fair use and copyright when students are creating on-line products, have
students create historical figures social media pages to show how this figure may exemplify positive
digital citizenship as a famous role model, and explaining to students how to determine credible sites
when conducting research assignments (2018).

Within BrainPOP are several videos specifically geared towards teaching and making students aware of
digital citizenship. BrainPOP, which is a wonderful
site for resources on every subject matter, offers
several free videos you can access without opening
an account. One such video is on digital etiquette
and teaching students how the internet has affected
communication and what we put out there can be
take in many ways. BrainPOP offers additional
resources with their videos, including quizzes,
games and challenges, and NEWSELA links. I also use
the closed caption for students who may need additional support. I am including the free video on
digital citizenship as it touches upon several important points, including what we write can be taken
differently from what we mean. This is an important concept for students to understand in this digital
age. Words matter and how we state them is important. Students love this site because they can play
games on the topic we were just exploring, which reinforces and supports the learning process.
Teachers can even access relevant NEWSELA articles to use and promote more in-depth discussion on
the topic studied. Furthermore, with BrainPOP, students just need a school logon and password to
access the resources, no personal information ever has to be provided.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx1fRMAwsIQ

As a school, we have our students at HBMS utilize the Digital Compass app provided through Common
Sense Education. This is specifically geared towards students in grades 6-8. Students are allowed to
choose from a set of games to play. We require our students at HBMS to reach a certain percentage in
order to show mastery. Therefore, they may continue playing their chosen games until they have
reached that specified percentage. A link to their informational video on Digital Compass can be
accessed here Digital Compass.

This site also has wonderful resources for teachers including strategies for keeping students’ safe and
protecting their privacy. One article I read that was very informative was Protecting Student Privacy on
Social Media: Do's and Don'ts for Teachers by Tanner Higgin, (2017). I found this article informative in
that it provides educators with specific strategies to use right away with social media. For example,
teachers should set-up separate accounts for professional use and not tie them in with your personal
ones. Teachers should utilize the photo cropping tools on their phone to take away any specific personal
or student information that should not be put on the web, and to make sure that any students who do
not have signed permission should not have their image posted on-line (2017).
 The tool I chose to explore this week was Piktochart. I
signed up for the free version and found that it had
enough resources for me to be able to create a sample
my students may be able to use to see what this tool is
capable of and how they can use this to create
products in Georgia Studies. Here is the link to the
artifact I created, Civil Rights Piktochart Sample. I liked
how students can create infographics that can include web images and even QR codes to additional
links. Backgrounds in the free version give students enough options to test out their creativity. There
were also stickers for students to add in and personalize. This is a wonderful resource for my ELL
students who rely more on images than text. It can easily be accessed on any device. While researching
this site I actually utilized the applications review section from Common Sense Education Review. This
gave me a great insight in to how
other teachers thought of Piktochart
and what it offered for classroom use.
I had not even realized, at first, that
this information was available and
definitely plan on utilizing it when considering any future applications. I do like that students can save up
to 5 infographics in their account. Although, it did take me a little longer to figure out how to use the
various features, I do understand the learning curve may be a little shorter for my very tech savvy
students. This is a great option for students to use when wanting to create a presentation, infographic or
flyer and wanting to create a visual that is in a different format from Keynote or PowerPoint. Another
benefit to this tool is that infographics created by students can be downloaded and shared on to wikis
and other types of blogs. This application allows my students to present their information in another
format that may be more visually appealing and easier for them to maneuver.

Web 2.0 tools have definitely turned my role as a teacher in to more of a facilitator. These amazing
resources, when used appropriately, have allowed my students to go more in-depth with what they are
learning. Furthermore, my students have been able to create products that reflect more on what they
have learned and in a more personalized format. The future with technology tools looks even more
promising and especially in regard to how they may be useful with certain learning groups, like ELL and
LD students. According to the blog posting What is Web 3.0 and How Might it Affect Education (2018),
Web 3.0 tools will eventually allow users to access resources and data on a more personalized way. For
ELL and LD students, this will allow them have a more productive access to the resources they need and
in a more personalized format. Digital equity will be something that will be promoted through greater
availability and access, allowing for more collaborative and meaningful learning in schools and greater
collaboration and productivity within the workforce (2018).

Schools, however, are going to face several challenges with future technologies. This includes, but not
limited to, being able to keep up with new tools and resources to utilize with all the different learning
styles and needs. Furthermore, finding time to continuously access new tools and create plans for using
them with students who could benefit the most from using them will require a workforce that
understands how to use these tools and how to access the information needed. 3.0 tools should provide
a more personalized use through increased access of data and innovative browsing features (Ed4Online,
2018). Another challenge will be that as technology evolves, certain hardware will become obsolete. Will
new advances mean additional funding needs or will adaptations to what we have be able to be made
easily and cost-effectively?

Yet, I found it very interesting how it is believed there may be a shift in how the future workforce will be
evaluated and judged. According to Tim O’Reilly, in the on-line article What is Web 3.0, Really, and What
Does it Mean for Education (2012), I found his comment interesting regarding what is on your resume
will not be as important as your internet footprint and the portfolios you have put together. This, he
states, will be supported by a more flipped classroom setting and a greater concentration towards
project-based learning (2012). Teachers are going to need, to a greater extent, access to professional
learning that is geared towards supporting project-based learning as well as blended and flipped
classrooms to support technological changes within the classroom setting.

However, the advantages I see with increased technology integration and updates is a true benefit for
the education field. Students, teachers, coaches and administration will soon be collaborating more
together and on a more even playing field. Access to more personalized and continual access to
information and learning opportunities will help make this more manageable. Karen Cater, in What is
Web 3.0, Really, and What Does it Mean for Education (2012), also states that better data and more
engaging activities will be all the more possible through this next phase in technology. Teachers will be
able to access real-time data in a more reliable and in-depth way. Karen Cater continues to add, this
new environment will also be more relevant as it will “enable and engage” students to more authentic
and valuable learning opportunities (2012).

Brainpop (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.brainpop.com/search/?keyword=Digital

Citizenship

Delaney, M., & CDW. (2012, October 26). What Is Web 3.0, Really, and What Does It Mean for
Education? Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2012/10/what-
web-30-really-and-what-does-it-mean-education

Digital Citizenship. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from

https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

What is Web 3.0 and How Might it Affect Education? (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from
https://ed4online.com/blog/what-web-30-and-how-might-it-affect-education

Filucci, S. (2018, February 01). Control Your Phone. Don't Let It Control You. Retrieved March 23, 2018,
from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/control-your-phone-dont-let-it-control-you

Protecting Student Privacy on Social Media: Do's and Don'ts for Teachers. (2017, September 06).
Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/protecting-student-
privacy-on-social-media-dos-and-donts-for-teachers

9 resources for teaching digital citizenship. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from
https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=242