LOL...OMG Discussion Continued

Just an fyi, I noticed on the dinner sign up that I signed up twice so I removed myself for week 6, just in case anyone is looking to sign up.

As I work my way through LOL...OMG I think that this book is very complementary to the Digital Citizenship book I previously read. This book seems to be a guide to the 'do nots' of technology use. I really like how the examples Ivester uses helps to bring the issues of not practicing appropriate digital citizenship to life. It is crazy when you stop and think about it that online communications offer no take backs. Many of the students Ivester presents have had their lives greatly impacted by what might be a careless, insensitive, poor attempt at humor. The speed at which a student can have their live changed by an ill fated post really shocked me. I enjoyed how Ivester pulled in some psychology to help explain why people continue to get themselves in trouble with their online communications. I think Ivester made a good point when he said most people believe they will not make the same mistakes as others, but yet many of these same people end up regretting something they post. Being overconfident that you will not make a harmful mistake online is clearly not the same as being aware and practicing appropriate digital citizenship.     

I like the logic Ivester presents in Ch 6 about responsible posting when he says that people need to ask themselves "why am I posting this" before they hit send. I think just about every example Ivester presents in his book could have been avoided if this question was asked. It seems all to often that just because people can, they do. How many crazy senseless videos exist on youtube? How many ranting blogs exist with no purpose behind them? My guess would be quite a few. I think part of digital citizenship is knowing when to post content and making the content meaningful. Another thing that I do not completely understand is why some people want to make themselves so public to complete strangers. It seems that some people do not think twice about laying it all on the line to everyone and anyone. Online communication is no doubt an incredible display of the first amendment but it just seems that some people view this as a green light to let commonsense fly out the window. There is no question that students need to learn digital citizenship before they make a mistake that could damage their reputation. I am always amazed by some of my students when they are in disbelief that a background check can take seconds using technology. Many students feel that what happens in their digital world is only their business and will not affect others. LOL...OMG has opened my eyes to just how many pieces there are to digital citizenship. I think Ivester's advice can serve as a golden rule of sorts, "why are you posting this" and "what affect will this have on others"?  

A lesson which I would implement in my classroom with high school students would have the goal of teaching digital citizenship, especially the aspect of appropriate and responsible posting. This lesson is aligned with NETS Teacher Standard #4 "Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility". One idea for this lesson is to use a class blog in which the teacher models appropriate posts and then students have the opportunity to participate on the blog site while the teacher moderates. After students have had ample time to post the teacher can review comments and offer individualized feedback to students able the quality and appropriateness of the posts. Another part of this lesson is to share with students some of the mistakes others have made in the past. This would be similar to what Ivester does and hopefully students will be surprised to hear about some of the mistakes others have made and realize the permanence of online content. Class or online discussions can accompany this lesson in which students discuss lessons learned and how to avoid making mistakes online.