3. Social / ethical aspects of the topic including how real people and communities have been positively or negatively affected and legal consequences.

4. Possible solutions to the problems that have emerged

5. Guideline(s) or rule(s) for teenagers

Links to:

Digital Communication

(Student Learning and Academic Performance)
Electronic exchange of information

Aim: To create a 'c-book' on what it means to be a digital citizen in the 21st century.

1. Overview/Description of the various aspects of the topic

Digital Communication is basically the electronic way to exchange information. In the 19th century the electronic ways to communicate were very limited. Now in the 21st century forms of communication have expanded widely throughout the world. The expanding communication is changing everything allowing you to keep in constant communication. Examples of this can be found with descriptions throughout this page.

2. Background of the topic including specific real examples

E-mail-

Email allows you to receive mail and letters over the internet. We now have the option of mailing things via the post office.The term, manual mailing, is one that was used commonly before things like the email were invented. Now, it's referred to as "snail mail". "It suggests that half of written communication is by e-mail, 29% by text message and just 13% by pen and paper." This quote shows some statistics depicting the progress in means of communication that has been happening internationally. Email-forwarding is a very popular feature in email. People often get an email that they think is "cool" or "cute", and they end up forwarding it to their friends, therefore creating a long chain message. As much as this can be "fun", it can raise issues. For the users of P.C.'s (personal computers), spam through email is common. Spam is one of the many ways that viruses can get passed on to computers.

Cell phones-

The cell phone is probably the coolest and most common gadget around today. Just about everybody has one. Kids usually get them when they are really young before 2nd grade. You can text message as well as communicating verbally call. You can even get on the internet. Most kids can't live with out texting, so that's why most of the people those days have one. Parents want their kids to have a cell phone because it makes their parents feel safe. If something would happen to their child they know their child can call 911. I like having a cell phone because it also makes me feel safe. I can go out without getting lost, like at theme parks and places like that. A cell phone is a very good electronic device. Technology has improved in so many places even in Africa which are facing some political, economical, and social problems, and they are still improving.

Videoconferencing-

Videoconferencing is a new way to communicate over the internet, so that people don't have to go to meetings and have to travel to a bunch of different places.There are many different ways to video conference, you can send videos on your cell phone or you can send pictures. These are all ways of videoconferencing. It helps a lot of larger companies get information through to all of the workers and get things settled even if the other business is over seas or a thousand miles away.

Instant messaging-

Instant messaging is a cool feature on the internet. It is like text messaging except online and a person could send a word to the other person in less then a second. Those conversations could contain three or more people. You have a buddy list and then you find someone that is online. You can talk to them and it is instant. It is not like email. They receive the message right a way. It is very cool. Even when no one is on they have robots that automatically will talk to you. Instant messaging has gone "out of style" lately. The major thing that everybody wants to do now is text messaging. Instant messaging is still cool though, and a lot of people use it. It is free, so I think that is why everybody likes it.

Here is a link to a detailed, but opinionated article about instant messaging:
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm

Text messaging-

Texting is a well known addiction that has occurred in the last few years in just about every teenager in the world. Parents want their child to have a phone in case something happens, but it has gotten out of hands, parents are doing everything they can to stop their child from talking to their friends all the time because it is distracting them from getting anything done. Texting is a good thing because it allows you to talk with your friends without having to talk on the phone, but it is only a good thing at a certain amount not all the time. Lately it has gotten so bad that people are getting killed because they are trying to drive and text message at the same time and most of them cannot multi task like that. Thousands of teenagers go out on the road and a lot of them don't come back. 50% of all traffic deaths are caused by driver distraction and all of them are not teenagers, as well as teenagers adults text massage too.

Blogs-

Quick definition of a blog: A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Wikis-

A wiki is a type of website that lets anyone create and edit its pages. Wikipedia is a good example. The word is Internet slang. The word Wiki is short for WikiWikiWeb. Wikiwiki is a word from Hawaiian, meaning "fast" or "speed". In a wiki, people can write pages together. If one person writes something wrong, then the next person can correct it. The next person can also add something new to the page. Because of this, the page should get better whenever someone changes it. Of course, there are problems with people vandalizing the sites by adding information that has nothing to do with the topic.

3. Social / ethical aspects of the topic including how real people and communities have been positively or negatively affected and legal consequences.

One useful and positive thing a cell phone is used for is law enforcement. If you get kidnapped they can tell where you are, but not in undeveloped countries. Saddly this system in only available in developed countries. There is a GPS chip in your phone, so as long as your phone is turned on they can find you. That is a very useful tool. However on the other hand, recently in the news there was been an issue with text messaging. There are girls who are sending nude pictures of themselves to boys. I think this is ridiculous. It negatively affects their families because it ruins not only theirs but their families' lives as well. It makes their parents look like they didn't do a good job of raising their children. It also affects the teenager's future. When they go off to college or apply for a job after college, their employers will look at their teenage lives. If they were rebellious and bad as a teenager, they will probably not get hired. While it seems cute and funny at the time, it can really affect these kids careers.

4. Possible solutions to the problems that have emerged

There are definitely many problems with digital communication. I think the biggest solution for this is peoples' responsibility. If teenagers do not want, for example, their bad language to affect their chances to get jobs, they should simply be responsible and avoid using bad language in the internet. Also girls should think before they send nude pictures to boys or put up to internet. It is all for everbody's own safety. Another important case is people using their cell phones while driving. They should simply not answer or buy for example bluetooth handsets so you are not distracted from driving.

5. Guideline(s) or rule(s) for teenagers

Input/Ideas for Digiteen Contract

Links to:

Action Qatar Academy
Action Vienna International School
Action Westwood School

digital communication is the ability to create persuasive
communications in different media, be it websites, video, audio, text, or
animated multimedia. Digital communication is a foundation skill for most
careers today, as most people will be involved in some form of conceptualizing,
producing, delivering, and receiving such communications in their jobs and
lives. Starting in elementary school and extending to higher education, students
can learn a variety of digital communication skills across all their courses,
whether they build multimedia presentations to demonstrate their knowledge of
academic subjects, create e-portfolios of coursework, or present ideas in a
virtual classroom.
In the past year, several reports on digital literacy have been published. They
describe digital literacy, what it is, and its importance as a 21st century skill for
this generation of learners. The Metiri Group and NCREL published, “enGauge
21st Century Skills, Literacy in the Digital Age,” in which they showcase the
skills with which students will be ready to thrive in a technological, global
environment. Based on two years of research, they’ve developed a collection of
skill clusters to be included right next to rigorous academic standards: digitalage
literacy, inventive thinking, high productivity, and effective communication.
Effective communication presumes that students select and use multiple
technology tools to create persuasive messages.
Supporting Teachers, Engaging Students
At Macromedia, I lead a team of former educators who design and build teaching
and learning resources for faculty and students. We work with faculty around
the world to identify projects and test classroom content. For example, we have
created K-12 projects that help teachers start integrating web and multimedia
projects into academic subject such as English, history, and science. Our goal
was to make the projects small enough to not be technically overwhelming, yet
academically substantial enough to show how digital communication enhances
subject learning. We designed them so that teachers could understand the
principles and then easily customize the materials for their classroom needs.
We worked for 18 months with teachers and staff from the Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction in the state of Washington to develop and
classroom-test career and technology education curriculum for their Interactive
Media career pathway. Washington teachers gave their students a broad
foundation in communication tools for the web, but often sought ideas and
resources for teaching professional design principles and development practices.
Effective web communication requires solid technical implementation as well as
design focused on audience needs. We found that students were most successful
communicators when they followed a professional design process and applied
career skills like interviewing, peer review, and team collaboration. When they
designed a site for a client, such as a school club, a local business, or a nonprofit,
the lessons about audience goals and user experience truly resonated.
3
When students can express themselves through a variety of media, they are
motivated and engaged. For many, multimedia communication is a first step in
owning their schoolwork and sharing it with a wider audience beyond the
teacher. Students are particularly intrigued with the multimedia they see on the
web and want to learn how to build their own Flash movies. While they might
think Flash is just a cool toy, there’s an opportunity to explore what makes
outstanding digital communication powerful. The class can analyze their
favorite media examples—dissecting how it grabs attention, persuades, and even
teaches. As they learn how professionals design, students are inspired to make
their own communication better.
In universities and schools around the world, more and more faculty assign
students to build electronic portfolios. E-portfolios let students demonstrate
their understanding of course content and communicate reflections on their
progress. E-portfolios can be simple when based on web page templates, or
elegant, complex designs when created by visual arts students. All are relevant
digital communication.
Reaching All Students
Students start communicating digitally at an early age and will continue
through rest of their lives. How technically advanced they become will depend
on the level of skill they need for their work or their personal lives. In school, it’s
important for all students to communicate what they know. Digital
communication levels the playing field. Some students may struggle with
writing, and find their stronger voice in images, video, and audio. Special
education students may find it easier to express themselves verbally or through
images, rather than in writing. Multimedia not only motivates students, it taps
into their different strengths and allows them to tell a story more richly.
Demonstrating understanding of a science process, for example, can be difficult
to do with words alone. When a student shows the process using animated
images with narration, then the explanation can be more complete. And as they
build knowledge of science, students learn digital communication skills.
We don’t know what types of communication tools will be available when
primary school students graduate from college. We do know that students need
substantive opportunities to learn how to approach a communication problem,
select appropriate media and express themselves effectively across different
scenarios. If we give them real exposure to a lot of communication media they
can become adept users of the next generation of tools.
Digital Literacy: Both Information Technology and
Communication
ISTE National Educational Technology Standards note that technical expertise is
just one component of a range of skills that will help prepare students to live,
learn, and work in an information-rich society. The organization emphasizes
that effective technology integration into schools can enable students of all ages
to learn collaborative, problem-solving, and creativity skills.
4
When students learn to communicate effectively in web media, they’re not just
learning how to use tools such as Dreamweaver. They’re learning how to
approach a project, to understand their audience, message, and purpose. They
learn to think critically as they decide on an effective way to present their
message.
College students especially should develop a wide range of digital and cognitive
skills to prepare them for jobs. For instance, journalism majors learn to write
and build web content since TV and newspapers all have web presence.
According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses represent
one-half of the U.S. economy output and employ one-half of the private sector
workforce. And they’ve generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually
over the last decade. In a small company, no matter what kind of business, it’s
now necessary to be able to communicate digitally with clients and customers.
At the very least, the company needs a website and someone has to be able to
build and maintain it. When an organization is very small, people share
responsibilities, so more and more prospective employers will be looking for
strong digital communicators who can collaborate as team players.
Digital Communication Skills for All
Students have the technology. They experience the world through multimedia
and want to communicate in the same way. We can prepare them to
communicate effectively by teaching them the whole communication process
from planning the message all the way to testing for usability.

The chronicles of a Digital Citizen

Friday, 18 December 2015