Digital Badge D: Chapter 5

This chapter of the textbook, discusses the very real problem of cyber-bullying in today's 21st century society. The readily available technology mediums allow for bullies to access their victims easily, discretely, and at anytime. Text messages, social media forums, email, blogs, videos and photos are all tools a bully can use with the intent of causing harm to another person. While cyber bullying may not inflict immediate physical harm to the victim, the social, emotional and psychological harm inflicted can still be very detrimental to the victim. According to the text book, cyber-bullying victims can develop depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor habits such as smoking and drug use, and even lead to suicide in some cases. As a future educator, in our technology driven society, I intend to educate my students on cyber-bullying, I will be an advocate for the victims of all types of bullying, and I will work with students to prevent such behaviors from occurring. I plan to stress the importance of empathy with my students. I also want my students to know that I am here to help, all they would have to do is ask. I will encourage my students to make ethical choices. I will also make it clear that I will have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying of any form. I will also see to it that my students are made aware of helpful resources, aside from me, including their parents, their peers, as well as online tools meant to educate students on bullying.

This chapter also discusses the use of technology for plagiarism and cheating. With all the readily available information on the internet, created with the intent of cheating, and with mobile devices handy cheating and plagiarism may seem even more tempting to today's students than to previous generations. With academic pressures and busy life style, taking short cuts to reach end goals faster may seem appealing. As a teacher I will do my best to instill my students with the tools they need to feel prepared and confident in creating original work. I will also explain the importance of giving credit where credit is due, as I will promote them to be resourceful and ethical at the same time. With in my own classroom, I hope to prevent cheating on test or quizzes, by implementing different strategies to make cheating seem less appealing. I will allow students to make test corrections, to achieve a higher grade and to promote the material further. I will conduct test with open books, allow for group tests, and allow my students time to study in class as well.

I am a fan of reading. I love fictional novels, and will take advantage of any free time I may get to enjoy a good book. I have a e-reader for personal use. I have only used it once! My personal preference, is to read in the traditional manner, where I flip pages, use paper bookmakers, and have a light on in the room to be able to see the words on the page. I feel as though I get a more fulfilling reading experience from an actual book. With an e-reader, I missed the sound of the paper page turning, the smell of paper (especially in older books), and the actual feeling of holding a book. According to the textbook, "a survey of 2000 students, ages 6-17, 25% said that they have read a book on an e-reader, 57% said they wanted to, and 33% said they would read more if they had access to electronic books" (p 102). While e-readers may not be my personal preference of reading, I am all for encouraging students to read more. Reading is most beneficial, in my opinion, if it is enjoyed, not just required. If using an e-reader, sparks the interests of more students to read and better yet encourages their enjoyment and therefore the benefit of reading, then schools should find ways to accommodate theses digital natives in our classrooms.


References:

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.