Educators in the digital learning environment must sustain values that not only benefit each student and learning, but also reflect the important beliefs a teacher holds. While teaching online, I have found that my values, for the most part, have stayed the same but have simply moved geographically Not only is education supposed to be an enriching exercise for all involved, but it should be done in an environment that is supportive and safe.
The values that follow me into any educational environment are Balance/Savviness, Safety, and Support. Each of these are incredibly important to guarantee that learning can happen with as few obstacles as possible.
Balancing Life on And Off the Screen:
7b ~ Partner with educators, leaders, students, and families to foster a culture of respectful online interactions and a healthy balance in their use of technology.
Educators will provide opportunities for students to learn and employ strategies regarding self-care and coping strategies in an online learning environment. McCloskey (2016) states that in mobile computing environment āhas blurred the line between our work and home livesā (McCloskey). This is true to be educator and student. Without the physical distance between classroom and home, each person involved in distance learning is working where they live and living where they work. It is also important to realize that āwith the breech of temporal and physical boundaries, the psychological boundary that individuals maintain between their work and personal lives becomes more importantā (McCloskey). This is where strong instruction in Social and Emotional health is important. Lessons on coping strategies for stress, for setting boundaries, and time management all help in creating the division between balancing life experiences and work/homework requirements.
Safety Navigating the Digital Age
7c ~ Support educators and students to critically example the sources of online media and identify underlying assumptions.
7b ~ Partner with educators, leaders, students, and families to foster a culture of respectful online interactions and a healthy balance in their use of technology.
7d ~ Empower educators, leaders, and students to make informed decisions to protect their personal data and curate digital profile they intent to reflect.
Schools will provide curriculum for educators to instruct students of the importance of their digital impact and presence.
While educators are often put in the place of parental roles, it is not a requirement. With that said, understanding how parents can support their children in the digital age helps educators emulate some of the support to keep students safe. In Elsaesserās 2017 study, she and her colleagues look at the parentsā support on both the adolescent cyberbullying, āboth as victims and perpetratorsā¦ [finding that] parental warmth is consistently associatedā in lowering cyberbullying (Esaesser, et al.). This directly relates to the importance of strong relationships between teachers and students as a strong indicator of safe interactions online.
Distance learning also affords educators the opportunity to hone critical thinking skills and lessons. Coleman, et al. state that, āIn the digital age, teachers and school leaders must work together to ensure the development of higher-level critical thinking skills for studentsā (Coleman et al., 2016). This is so important to curate because students are asked to so much more on their own as āā¦teachers may move towards more flexible, student-centered instructional models rather than traditional teacher-centered methodologiesā (Coleman et al., 2016). With a student-central learning environment, the skills of ascertaining the legitimacy of what they are interacting with online for their required assignments.
An aside of the importance of critical thinking skills, knowing how to detect inaccurate, or fake news is also incredibly important. Housandās 2018 work reminds us that āwe are constantly bombarded with a deluge of news and information through an every-increasing variety of technology outletsā¦we are seldom, if ever, truly unplugged from the technology and media that surround usā (Housand, p 1). It is inevitable, that while in class and outside of the school hours, students are surrounded with incoming news bits, social interactions, and visual information. To help each student to assess its relevance as well as truth is more important now than ever before.
Supporting One Another Through Social Engagement
7a ~ Inspire and encourage educators and students to use technology for civic engagement and to address challenges to improve their communities.
Educators will give time during online classes for students to interact and create social connections to help build confidence in themselves as well as in the curriculum.
Distance learning has severed social interaction in students to a distressing level. In many of the surveys (aka check-ins) I conduct, most students indicate what they miss about school is all things social. Their community has shrunk to the safe bubble of very few friends they see off the screen. In Jensenās 2005 book, Teaching with the Brain in Mind, he addresses how important social interaction is for students; he reminds us, āthe loss or absence of a valued social companion is a robust risk factor for depression. The increased risk of depression and suicide among teens makes obvious their need for more guidance, camaraderie, and support. These findings all reinforce the importance of social bonding with peers and othersā (Jensen, p. 98). Because of this, purposefully creating interactions in our synchronous classes online for social interactions should be of upmost importance.
References:
Coleman, H. V., Dickerson, J., & Dotterer, D. (2016). Critical Thinking, Instruction, and Professional Development for Schools in the Digital Age. Teacher Education, 27ā46. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0164-0.ch002
Elsaesser, C., Russell, B., Ohannessian, C. M. C., & Patton, D. (2017, June 16). Parenting in a digital age: A review of parents’ role in preventing adolescent cyberbullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178917301878.
Housand, B. C. (2018). The World of Fake News: How did we get here? In Fighting Fake News!: Teaching Critical Thinking and Media Literacy in a Digital Age (pp. 1ā11). essay, Sourcebooks Inc.
Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind. ASCD.
McCloskey, D. W. (2016, July 1). Finding Work-Life Balance in a Digital Age: An Exploratory Study of Boundary Flexibility and Permeability. Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ). https://www.igi-global.com/article/finding-work-life-balance-in-a-digital-age/163244.