Digital Citizenship Week 2 Reflection
In the world of digital technology, having good digital citizenship is important. As teachers it is our job not only to teach content but prepare our students for the rear world. One of the biggest real world example is a student’s digital footprint. In order to understand a digital footprint I first took a look at my own digital footprint.
As I search for myself I began to see an underlining theme. As a teacher and a coach I found most of digital footprint to be school related. Many would look at this and say that isn’t a bad thing. Though I would have liked to see more of my eportfolio present. Just as I am writing here, many don’t seem to be looking at or reading any of my portfolio. One of my biggest digital tattoos was my Youtube channel. I was also able to find myself on the usual social media areas like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. As I looked at my Linkedin account I found that it had not been updated in sometime. So as a digital footprint this was not a positive. I will need to go back and update or delete my Linkedin account.
Also in this week I was tasked with understanding Net Neutrality. So what is net neutrality? Net Neutrality is the idea that the internet should be free and open to use for all that want. Imagine a company that would be able to limit what you where able to see. Your cell phone company could determine what you are able to see and do. They could also in turn charge you more in order to use such services like Facebook and Twitter. On the flip side of wanting net neutrality there are those that say why don’t they have the right to charge and control. Many would say that in a free economy businesses have the right to charge what they want.
In looking further into net neutrality, I started to look back on my years of teaching government. Freedom is a tricky thing, too much freedom isn’t always the right answer. Though limiting freedoms can have its down falls as well. It seems to me that something in the middle would be the best route, though I lean more towards more freedoms. If business are allowed to control what you are able to see or even purchase. The consumers are at risk. Too much control could lead to segregation among those that can and can not afford those services. I would advise anyone to learn more about net neutrality and its serious implications on the future of the internet.
Living in a digital age that is focused on technology can have serious challenges for our youth. Making sure that they are able to navigate and understand those challenges is key to understanding and having Digital Citizenship.
Resources
Adam. (2014, May 17). An Introduction to Net Neutrality: What It Is, What It Means for You, and What You Can Do About It. Retrieved from http://www.marshalldata.com/2014/05/an-introduction-to-net-neutrality-what-it-is-what-it-means-for-you-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/
Restoring Internet Freedom. (2019, October 03). Retrieved from https://www.fcc.gov/restoring-internet-freedom
leigh4education.school.blog 