Lesson 4: Digital Technologies Interaction

February 26th, 2021

Main objectives of this lesson were: 

• To know those key competences to the student that let it to interact by a number of digital devices and applications. 
• To understand how the digital communication is distributed, represented and managed 
• To understand the appropriate use of different communication ways through digital media 
• To study different communication formats, adapting strategies and communication ways to specific target group 
• To know the basic aspects regarding cybersecurity as net individual and as teachers to transmit this knowledge and to detect possible risky situations

In this class, we started talking about Web 1.0, Web 2.0 also known as the Social Web, Digital Identity, and Virtual Learning Communities. We looked at how and why Virtual Learning Communities can help us create a place for individuals to go to learn new concepts or be a part of a group that has the same interests as you. There are different strategies to create these communities such as forums, web pages, instant messaging applications, and even social networks. 

In addition, using social networks in education has become more and more popular in the recent years. There are different Horizon Reports regarding the tendencies in education that influence the impact the use of social networks platforms has in the teaching area. They can communicate ideas, add value to subjects, assist collaboration on projects, find up to date information and communicate with people all over the world. 

Some tips to use social networks such as twitter or facebook for education are: make use of profiles, pages and groups. Make groups: public/private, collaboration, units, topics, add files and check the stats. 

Some tips to be able to choose the social network are: 

• Look at the administrator experience using this social network 
• Look at the Specific features that the social network provides: 
• Design 
• Type of content and possibilities 
• Number of users 
• Tools 
• Search / classification 
• Management

We also talked about cybersecurity. The on-line digital safety or cybersecurity is the group of tools, politics, concepts regarding security, safeguards of security, directives, risks methods management, actions, training, ideal practices, locks and technologies that can be used to protect the actives of a company and its users in the cyber-environment. 

Through this topic, we came to know more about cyber bullying. Bulling is “unwanted, aggressive behaviour among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time”. Cyber-bulling can be defined as the action of bullying by on-line communication technologies (mobile phone, social network, e-mail, instant messages, etc.) This behaviour can appear in adults, or even worse, in between adults and children or in between children.

During this class, we had to do a group exercise where we had to think of a social network where we could create a virtual learning community to talk to other teachers and professionals about The Water Cycle. My group has chosen Facebook to create our virtual learning community for our didactic unit. The name of our community is called The Water Cycle as we wanted to choose a simple name for individuals to find our community in a fast and easy way. 

Here is a screenshot of the community we created on Facebook for the Water Cycle: 

Facebook is defined as an online social networking website where people can create profiles, share information such as photos and quotes about themselves, and respond or link to the information posted by others. 

• 
  It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, the site is free to members and derives its revenue from ads. 
• Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.
• People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family.
• It is used to discover what is going on in the world, and individuals share and express what matters to them along with pictures and updates about their life

We decided to choose Facebook as it is a social network that is mainly used by an older audience. It was easier access to links and other resources that we can provide for other teachers and we are able to create different sections where other individuals can comment and help each other. We can provide information for anyone that wants to know more about the water cycle and other teachers can give us feedback on other approaches we can look at in regards to our didactic unit.

Using this platform, it is easier to create communities and pages about the water cycle. You also have other options such as using chats to connect teachers with each other and even with students that want to learn more about the cycle. Through Facebook, you are also able to write more as other social medial platforms such as Twitter or Instagram have a limit of characters whereas on Facebook, we are able to develop our ideas in a deeper way and indivdiuals do not have any limits to what they can publish. It is also easier to connect with professionals through Facebook. 

I think that virtual learning communities are really useful to have a space where individuals not only have a place where they can know more about a specific topic but also, they can write and help each other with any concerns and questions. Virtual learning communities allow individuals to feel connected at all times while also being able to look for information whenever they feel like it. Virtual learning communities are also helpful for the teachers themselves as they are able to ask for feedback from the students and other individuals about their content and teaching strategies. 

Even though there are some limitations on using an online platform such as some individuals might get distracted or feel like they are not learning as much, it is a useful thing to create specially in the times that we are facing right now. With the current pandemic, virtual learning communities are essential to keep the students engaged during these difficult times. They are a place for students to post any time of question or idea so other students and the teacher themselves can help and create a discussion. Overall, virtual learning communities have been proven to help immensely in education and all teachers should consider implementing them into their teaching for a greater learning experience for students.