Digital Citizenship: Reflecting on the Course

Jessica Casillas

Lamar University

September 27, 2020

      In this class I learned the importance of all 9 elements. Specifically, I felt that cyberbullying the most important because it can end tragically. Knowing what had happened to a student and how he committed suicide was tragic, but knowing that it could’ve been prevented was even more tragic. We need to encourage our students to have be open about their feelings but we as teachers must create an environment where students are comfortable.  I learned about the iCitizens project and how they came up with the definition for digital citizenship but what impacted me the most was that the consensus was that people needed to have empathy and treat others like humans first. That resonated with me. I realized that the majority of students are willing to seek change.

     My biggest accomplishment in this course was being able to decipher the two case studies in cyberbullying.  It was the most complicated for me. Understanding the difference between fair use and copyright was new to me, as well as learning about creative commons and public domain. I learned a lot about what sources were considered public domain and I didn’t know that copyright laws can expire after someone’s death. 

     The most useful thing I learned in this course was about my digital footprint. I had never searched my name before nor did I ever consider that my name was anywhere on the internet other than on my school website. I had kept things private on social media, but even those pictures are available. In order to be prepared professionally, I must make sure that every search on my name looks professional.

       The challenges I faced in this course was finding time to do all the coursework. Specifically, I needed time to read and still had to find time to perform my interviews for my videos for the practicum. This was a trying time due to COVID restrictions and it turned our lives upside down. Our workload as teachers was especially overwhelming and we were having to juggle that and our personal lives. From what I understand some individuals were having to deal with fires and evacuations.

       My favorite aspect of the course was how every was broken down. As an educator, I can appreciate how well things were scaffolded.  I didn’t like the reflections, but I understand why we do them.  I would change the way submissions are set up. I get very confused once we are about to submit and panic, so I would try and select the submission link and see exactly what document is being asked of me.  For example, this reflection and essay were two different things. I almost didn’t catch on to that.

        I would suggest that students look over all the materials that will be submitted and figure out where exactly they will be submitted.  I would also encourage them to organized their assignments and sources so that they are easy to find.  I would suggest that they schedule the whole weekend to work on their work because that is what it takes to complete the coursework.