tannermorg2-blog

[tannermorg2-blog]

Keeping Up With The Technology

The concepts that we are going over this week are very relevant to society today. The first term that we came across was the digital divide. The digital divide is the divide between those who have ready access to computers and the internet and those who do not (Friemel, 2016). The number used to be closer to 50/50 years ago, but now the numbers are edging closer to 85-90% who have ready access to computers and the internet. The numbers dramatically decrease as age increases. That means the older a citizen is, there is less of a chance they have access to computers or the internet. The other term that we were asked to define was digital equity, which is making sure that all people have equal access to technology. This term is usually used in education while talking about students. Often lower-income families with children do not have the same access to technology as other students (Resta, 2015). This is important to remember when considering education and students within it.

These two ideas are actually heavily connected. Digital equality actually stems from the digital divide. People can’t have equal access to technology and computers if they do not have ready access to computers and the internet. That is how they go hand in hand. This divide usually comes from the elderly that are 65+ and lower income families who cannot afford things like computers, the internet, and technology. This is vital to understand if you want to understand the world today. The reality is that not everyone is on the same playing field, and that includes digital equity (Katz, 2016). Not everyone has equal access to technology. Some families have multiple computers, while others do not have internet on their phones.

In today’s world, access to the internet is almost necessary for success. So much of what we do in the world involves the internet and other technology. Because of this, limited digital technology access, knowledge, or skills causes people to lag behind society and not be as up to day (Gonzales, 2016). This would be a big disadvantage in school or in the workplace. In school, many assignments that are given need to be completed online, or you may need access to the internet to find answers. Without technology or the internet, you would not be able to complete these assignments. In the workplace, you often have to take work home to complete it. Without a computer or the internet, it is near impossible to finish this at home and you would have to finish it at the office. These are examples that show how the limited digital technology access, knowledge, or skills may impact one’s ability to actively participate and engage in a world with technology.

References

Friemel, Thomas N. "The digital divide has grown old: Determinants of a digital divide among seniors." New media & society 18.2 (2016): 313-331.

Gonzales, Amy L., et al. “Technology Problems and Student Achievement Gaps: A Validation and Extension of the Technology Maintenance Construct.” Communication Research, Aug. 2018.

Katz, Vikki. "Opportunity for all? Digital equity in the lives of lower-income US families." Parenting for a Digital Future (2016).

Resta, Paul, and Thérèse Laferrière. "Digital equity and intercultural education." Education and Information Technologies 20.4 (2015): 743-756.

[tannermorg2-blog]

We never stop learning

Our use of citizenship certainly has changed over the years. Being a citizen a half a century ago required you to be an active member in the political community with certain civil, political, and social rights of membership (Mossberger, 2007). This is the same today, but the way we view a citizen is just viewed through a different lens. Being a good citizen a half a century ago is very similar to being a good citizen today in a technologically advanced world. So what does it mean to be a good citizen in today’s world that is filled with media? Common Sense Media explains that when it defines what digital citizenship is. They say that digital citizenship means "to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world" (Common Sense Media website, 2018). Digital citizenship allows people to participate in the digital world freely, but to also be conscious of what they are posting and interacting with online. In Layman’s terms, digital citizenship  is being responsible with what you put online.

Now that we know what digital citizenship is, we can shift our attention to how it differs from digital literacy. If you recall, digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information requiring both cognitive and technical skills (Renaissance, 2019). Digital literacy actually falls under the umbrella of digital citizenship. It is part of our job to be responsible online, and that includes our ability to use information to create and communicate online. We cannot have bad digital citizenship while using digital literacy. If you reframe that using different terms, you learn that if you cannot be responsible and safe online, you can not be online.

How do you implement this for adults? So much of what we learned when it comes to being online is not safe or not responsible, so how do we focus on change? How do we retrain our minds to think differently. One thing I learned from watching this video is that it’s much easier and more effective to teach someone to do something rather than to teach them not to do something (Make Digital Citizenship about the Do’s, not the Don’ts, 2019). Too often when we hear about what we are doing wrong, it can be frustrating. Instead of focusing on the negative, reframe the topic to focus on the positive things that address the negative. The goal of digital citizenship education should be to holistically develop a student that is both a positive global and digital citizen (Ahlquist, 2014). This statement doesn’t change. Focusing on development for all is important, and as adults we never stop learning. Digital citizenship education should always be happening and should be addressing how we can improve as a citizen online.

Sources

- Ahlquist, Josie. “Infusing Digital Citizenship into Higher Education.” Josie Ahlquist, 23 Oct.2014,

http://www.josieahlquist.com/2014/01/27/infusing-digital-citizenship-into-higher-education/.

- “K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum Scope & Sequence.” Common Sense Education,

https://www.commonsense.org/education/scope-and-sequence.

- Make Digital Citizenship about the Do’s, not the Don’ts, ISTE,

https://www.youtube.com/watchreload=9&v=tZeNr1q5QTU&feature=emb_title.

- Mossberger, Karen, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Ramona S. McNeal. Digital citizenship: TheInternet, society, and participation. MIt Press, 2007.

- “What Is Digital Literacy and Why Does It Matter?” Renaissance, 12 Apr. 2019,

https://www.renaissance.com/2019/02/08/blog-digital-literacy-why-does-it-matter/.

[tannermorg2-blog]

Social Media & Participatory Culture

Participatory culture and participatory media are two different things. We learn a lot about this in a TedTalk by Henry Jenkins, who is considered the leading scholar or "expert" in this area. Jenkins tells us that the community and participatory culture takes advantage of new technology everyday (Jenkins, 2010). Participatory culture is indeed a rich sight of learning culture. Jenkins defines participatory culture in his research report. “A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices” (Jenkins, Puroshotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2009). Jenkins goes on to suggest that there are many different forms of participatory cultures, including affiliations, expressions, and circulations. 

I interact with social media everyday. The question as to what inspires or motivates me to participate online with social media is an interesting one. There is a certain aspect of FOMO, or fear of missing out, that drives me to be active on social media. The book chapter reading for this week emphasized this point. For the longest time, the media controlled what was talked about and said to people. As the media shifted from print to online, more and more people had access to media. As technology has shifted, people no longer just consume media, but actively participate in it (Hinton & Hjorth 2013). The shift to social media has driven people to be more active in participating in media. Since everyone else is participating, I feel like I have to participate as well. 

One point I found very interesting from the research report is the fact that new media literacy has to be seen as a social skill, rather than a individualized skill people use for fun (Jenkins, Puroshotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2009). Taking these skills and using them in a large community are important, as it teaches others who do not have the same skills and forces them to adapt. These skills have been learned over time and people learn these skills in different ways. For example, a skateboarder may have learned how to upload videos onto the internet for a different reason than a video game professional. They learned how to do it for different reasons, but they learned it (Jenkins, 2010). 

“In a hunting society, we play with bows and arrows. In an information society, we play with information. In a mediated culture, we play with media. The way we play becomes a powerful form of teaching” (Jenkins, 2010). I found this quote to sum up this week’s content and a lot of the content from this semester nicely. In the Paleolithic Era, or Stone Age, if you didn’t know how to hunt, you would likely die or be dependent on someone else. You simply had to learn these things. In this century, you must know how to interact with media and become a participant of it. If you do not, you will be behind and not be and influence in today’s society. The fact of the matter is, we need to be able to use media. We learn how to use media in different ways, and the motive for using media is different for everyone. However, this participatory culture thrives on creating and sharing one’s creations and passing those creations along to others. 

[tannermorg2-blog]

Post 1- Teens & Adults Social Media

Common Sense Medias article about Teens and Social Media was intriguing to me, seeing how negative it can be in Teens lives, as well as be a sense of comfort and security. First, Let’s take a look at how negative it can be an how it can drastically impact the lives and upbringing of teenagers. Looking at how it can affect their overall mental well-being. It can literally tank teenagers because much of their lives is involved in how many likes they get, or how peers perceive them and interact with them on these platforms, the leading platform being snapchat amongst teens. In many unfortunate cases, it can lead to extreme cyber bullying. For example, we see Aija Mayrock who experienced cyber bullying from peers, many who she had never met, telling her to kill herself all because one of her peers though it would be funny to dress up as her for Halloween. This disgusts me, and it is easy to see how it can tank teenagers when you look at examples like this.

L

Looking at the positive sides of Social Media for teens, we can draw from the exact example above from Aija Mayrock. She says that social media is social currency for teenagers, think about that for a second. It is their currency, thinking of it in that way blew me away. Also, from the article we see that more teens say that social media makes them feel better about themselves than worse. Teenagers self-confidence is huge; in pedagogy, we know that teenagers are building this self confidence in themselves. For example, eighteen percent of teens say social media makes them feel better about themselves and only four percent say it makes them feel worse. Now, eighteen percent isn’t huge, I get that, but in general if social media is making them feel better about themselves that’s great, because its role in our lives is not going anywhere.

I think we have all been in a situation where you see a group of teenagers hanging out and their all on their phones, or you try ot have a conversation they didn’t hear a word you said because their nose is in their phone scrolling Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram, we’ve all most likely been there. Well, this is because 32 percent of teens say they prefer in person communication with friends instead of over text. That’s down from nearly 50 percent in 201, which is a huge drop in 6 years. So, basically this is saying that slightly over a quarter of teenagers would rather communicate in person than over the phone. This can lead to not developing proper soft skills and interpersonal communication skills. I can’t blame them though, it’s become so easy to communicate and say things over the phone or social media, its quick and easy and you don’t have to mustard up the same confidence you would in a face to face encounter. This stat blew me away, and shows that moving forward we will need to stress these soft skills in teenagers to help them develop them fully.

Social Media Use in 2018 by Smith and Anderson shows social media use by adults. What I found most interesting about this article was that 51 percent of adults say that they check Facebook several times a day, and Facebook was the leading social media platform used. I found it interesting because Facebook was not mentioned in the Common Sense piece on teens. It shows that teenagers and adults main source for social media intake is on different platforms, but that both groups rely on it. I can relate to this, seeing my grandparents scroll through Facebook keeping up with family members and to stay in touch with loved ones. They obviously rely on it, just like teens rely on it.