Below is my culminating project! I am so excited to share!

My mantra is:

Make every click count and be a great digital citizen! 

Attached below is my reflective essay. I hope you enjoy my thoughts and ideas!

Final Reflection 

This class has been one of the most challenging in my opinion, however I have absorbed so much from this class. Digital citizenship was a foreign concept to me. I really didn’t know what to expect when I first heard the term. After reading all the material about digital citizenship, I am cognizant of what it means now and the significance. The nine elements should be taught in all schools and shared with parents. They lay a great foundation of using technology appropriately. I learned that there is so much more than digital etiquette. Norms are important; however, you must be aware of the other aspects of using digital devices. I contemplate one of the most shocking aspects of digital citizenship was the health effects. I recognized staring at the computer could have health effects, but you should also consider ergonomics of your chair and more.

It’s difficult to determine one accomplishment in this course. If I had to choose just one, it would be creating a PowToon’s video. I have never created an animated video. It was fun to animate what I learned, showcasing a different way to provide evidence of my learning.

As I stated above, I felt this was one of my most challenging courses. I think the course load and the amount of time to complete the work is overwhelming. I understand this is graduate level work and is designed to be challenging and thought provoking. Many times, throughout the course, I felt extremely stressed, having to take off days from work to get the assignments completed.

My best work in this course were the weekly reflections. The reflections presented me an opportunity to look back over the week and pinpoint specific take-aways. For example, the week about copyright laws, I trust I learned the most. I spent the beginning of the week trying to digest all the new information, most of the time confused. However, by the end of the week, I was able to reflect, gather my thoughts, and in the end, I ascertained a lot more than I gave myself credit for.  I relished adding resources to my reflection and ultimately to my e-portfolio.

This course provided me with many applicable connections. I have confirmed my understanding that time management is extremely important. I have also learned the great importance of copyright. In my previous reflection I discussed how I unknowingly violated copyright laws. I am able to pass this knowledge on to others. As a matter of fact, I shared it with my mentor, the Principal/Superintendent of the school. She took was shocked by the information that I was able to glean from that week.

Being an administrator at a charter school, the most meaningful thing I learned was that cyberbullying can take place at any age and affects so many children, even if they don’t divulge that information. I was oblivious that this very thing could be happening to my students. That was not a good feeling.

This class was full of information. There is not one topic that won’t contribute to me being a better leader. Every week was full of new information. One of the things I know that I will be watching is net neutrality. This was a completely foreign topic to me but was making headlines that I never paid attention to. From this, I learned I must be aware of topics that can affect me, even if I don’t watch the news on a daily basis.

My favorite aspect of this course was the discussion board. I appreciated the weekly prompts and sharing my thoughts. It was interesting to see read what others had to say and see if they shared common thoughts. One of my favorite prompts involved the video of Monica Lewinsky. I had never viewed things from her perspective. This gave me a new outlook on the entire scandal.

Suggestions that I would give other students for this class, is to dig a hole in the ground and bury the word, thought, or idea of procrastination in it. This course does not allow time to lollygag. I would also tell them to take time and enjoy the readings and work ahead as much as possible.

If I could change one of the activities, it would be the case studies. In my opinion, the directions and expectations were unclear. When I submitted the assignments with the case studies, I was not confident that I answered the questions or met the expectations of the assignment. I would provide clearer expectations and more details in the case studies. Some of them lacked a lot of information, which caused me to do more research on the case. This is turn took time away from other components of the overall assignments.

I would tell my friends that I found this class stressful with the amount of work it calls for, however there is a lot of valuable information to be obtained. The amount of resources that are provided are helpful when completing the assignments. I had to learn in the course to pick certain articles to read or videos to watch. It is nearly impossible to read, watch, digest, and complete the assignments with excellence. That was a hard thing for me to do, because I didn’t want to miss any valuable information.

This week was full of empathic thoughts. It’s painstakingly perplexing to comprehend that the world is full of malicious behavior. That behavior has found its way to a platform that was designed to share information expediently yet has been exploited. I was not oblivious to cyberbullying and bullying nonetheless was not aware of the many victims affected by these behaviors. It is heartbreaking to be cognizant of the statistics surrounding bullying and cyberbullying.

The statistics of cyberbullying were mind blowing. I can’t believe how many kids are subjected to cyberbullying or have participated in cyberbullying. From the readings I ascertained that most parents are oblivious to negative online behavior. I know this to be true from experience. As an administrator, we have to tell parents to make sure they check what their kids are watching or participating in online. We have had tell them of different chat apps to be weary of. Many are thankful and disturbed of what they discover their kids are involved in.

All of the stories this week I read were tear-jerkers. The Ryan Halligan story was especially surreal and appalling all at the same time. It is unfortunate that it took Halligan taking his life to propel legislation into action. Many of the bullying laws were enacted after this tragedy. Laws seem to come into action after a travesty has occurred, yielding reactive measures instead of preventive, however eventually become preventive. Cellphone users are getting younger and younger, creating their digital footprint and accessibility to any content on the internet easier, therefore increasing their vulnerability to become a victim or cyberbullying or participate in cyberbullying. I have witnessed children at my school with their own personal cellphones in PK. The need for understanding what cyberbullying is more vital than ever.

The video that we watched this week of Monica Lewinsky was eye-opening. I admit, my initial thoughts molded by what was portrayed by the media was that Lewinsky was a home-wrecker and many other profane words. I never considered her side of the story and how the scandal affected her. I can say that my perception of her has truly changed. I didn’t know that she was 22 years old when this happened. I can’t imagine if my mistakes at 22 were aired for the public to judge and make speculations of my personal morals and character. I commend her for standing up and sharing her story. I know that took a tremendous amount of courage to relay her feelings and what transpired.

I also learned this week that there are different types of cyberbullying. Hinduja and Patchin discussed in their book several types of cyberbullying. One of the new terms I learned was “flaming”. This refers to sending or posting ill-spirited messages meant to strike the nerves of others. The example that was shared in the book was quite disturbing. However, after reading the example, I was able to make a connection. I have witnessed this type of behavior when reading comments of posted videos or blogs. I would just think the comments were mean, now I know there is a term for this type of behavior.

This week has really shed light on the need of preventive programs for bullying and especially cyberbullying. As an administrator, I want to evaluate the effectiveness of our current bullying programs. I want to ensure that we have measures in place to address cyberbullying.

If you want more information on cyberbullying, please check out these resources:

https://www.stopbullying.govThis website has information on bullying, cyberbullying, and prevention measures.

http://www.bullyingstatistics.orgThis website has statistics and facts about bullying. The facts and statistics are quite eye-opening.

https://cyberbullying.orgThis website is dedicated to cyberbullying. There is information on laws, facts, prevention, identification, and tons more!

There are tons of stories and videos on youtube that paint a pretty vivid picture of cyberbullying. All you have to do is type in cyberbully and hit search. Here are a few:

https://youtu.be/vOHXGNx-E7E

https://youtu.be/DxovVtvm49U

This week, I have learned so much! I had a very general knowledge base of copyright laws. I had no idea that is so vast and include so many components. At the beginning of my learning and research, I was extremely confused. I am still confused on some of the components such as Creative Commons. There is so much literature out there, it is hard to digest.

So, what did I digest this week? I had never heard of “fair use”. It seems educators are protected with the content they choose to use in lessons and lectures but simultaneously solicited for content use. Educators depend on supplemental materials accompany lessons to give them purpose, engagement, and depth. We need to be aware of such materials and ensure we abide by copyright laws. I am so guilty of violating many aspects of copyright laws. I have ascertained, there are four factors that should be considering when determining if material used falls under “fair use”.  According to Stanford (2018), the four factors include,

• the purpose and character of your use
• the nature of the copyrighted work
• the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market.

The first factor includes whether or not your work is transformative. This means is the content you are using will be used to enhance or add meaning to your original thought or idea. I believe educators hang in this realm of transformation. This is because we use information to provide facts to enhance learning. One of the greatest lessons I learned this week was about movies in the classroom. Who hasn’t watched a movie in class before. I didn’t realize that movies cannot be viewed in the classroom unless it is directly related to content being taught. Teachers are unequivocally guilty of this practice. I know I am! I have shown movies while I was a teacher during class parties as reward. This is a direct violation of copyright laws. When showing movies in class for reward purposes, permission should be acquired.

I realize at the beginning of this reflection, I stated was still confused about Creative Commons, I am, however I did discover there are numerous distinctive licenses that can be obtained. They type of license attached to the content determines how it can be used. I presume I am still unclear on why one would choose one license over the other or which one is best.

I have used images and literature without providing proper attribution over the course of my many years as an educator. I had heard the term, public domain, but was oblivious of its meaning. It is refreshing to know that I did somewhat abide by some laws! Images and literature provided by the government are part of the public domain and are subject to copyright laws.

The knowledge learned this week is quite overwhelming. To think I have violated laws is a little unsettling. I am not sure who said it, but my mom always told me, “If you know better, you do better.” This is definitely true when it comes to copyright laws. Because it so easy to violate laws you may not be aware of, I have listed some resources to help understand copyright law and its components.

Fair Use

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/#the_transformative_factor_the_purpose_and_character_of_your_use

Copyright Basics

https://www.csusa.org/page/Basics

https://www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/CopyrightBasics/basics.html

Creative Commons

https://creativecommons.org

This is just a few resources. Don’t be afraid to dive in. There are so many videos, literature, and websites available to better help understand about copyright. I know I am far from understanding the vastness of this topic!

References:

Stim, R., & Stim, R. (2017, April 10). Measuring fair use: the four factors. Retrieved December 8, 2018, from https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/#the_transformative_factor_the_purpose_and_character_of_your_use

Below is a video that I created using PowToons. This was the first time that I have created an animated video. This was a challenge when I first started, however, once I figured it out, it became a little easier to navigate. I am sure that I just scratched the surface of creating animated videos, but I am proud of my little feat. I hope you enjoy my creation. This video is about the effect of smartphones and digital citizenship.

Step One-Plan with everyone in mind

1. Form a committee and present proposal to help support stakeholder buy in
2. Survey Teachers on comfortability with instruction online
3. Survey Parents to identify their technology capabilities at home-internet and devices available.
4. Committee will review and analyze results from surveys.

Step Two-Investigate Platforms for Station Rotation, Flipped Classroom, and Individualized Homework

1. Committee will review current online platforms teachers have access to that are part of curriculum subscriptions.
2. Review these platforms capability of meeting the requirements of the blended learning program.
3. Investigate other platforms such as Istation, IXL, and Reasoning Minds
   1. Grade levels served
   2. Device compatibility
   3. Cost

Step Three-Present findings to Principal and Business Manager

1. Committee will discuss the platforms we are proposing to use.
   1. Benefits
   2. Case Studies
   3. Cost, if any

Step Four-Create presentation for teachers

1. Presentation will include benefits of blending learning.
2. Demonstrate the use of the selected platforms.
3. Presentation will feature a Q&A session.
4. Evaluation tool of presentation from teachers.

Step Five-Parent and Community Meeting

1. A parent meeting will be conducted to inform them of the blended learning program.
2. Benefits will be discussed as well as prospective results.
3. Q&A session will be held during parent meeting.

Step Six- Choose Pilot Grade Levels

1. STAAR testing grades will pilot the program in Math and Reading.

Step Seven-Begin Program

1. Students will take assessments to determine individualized paths.
2. Begin Station Rotation in Daily and Friday RTI time.
3. Use platform to assign student instruction via videos.
4. Students and teachers will recieve instantaneous feedback on progress.

Step Eight-Monitor and Differentiate

1. Monitor student progress from individualized reports.
2. Assist teachers with differentiating instructional activities.
3. Assess students with bi-weekly CBA’s.
4. Meet with students to assess their feedback and the feedback they have received from the individualized learning reports.

Step Nine-Support and Collaboration

1. Meet with pilot teachers weekly to receive feedback on the program.
2. Set aside time for pilot teachers to meet weekly to support each other.

Step Ten-Observations and Collaboration

1. Set-up classroom observations for teachers not in the pilot.
2. Teachers will have the opportunity to observe how the program works.
3. Set-up collaboration meetings so pilot and non-pilot teachers have an opportunity to discuss pros and concerns of the program. This will be an opportunity for non-pilot teachers for questions and answers.

Step Eleven-Report

1. Send home bi-weekly progress reports from individualized learning reports.
2. Report findings to Principal.
3. Report findings to Committee.

Step Twelve-Analyze, Review, and Update

1. Surveys will be issued to pilot teachers, students, and parents.
2. Surveys will target feedback for ease of program, student progress, as well as open ended questions for other comments or concerns.
3. Results from surveys will reviewed by the committee and the Principal to make necessary changes for the upcoming school year.