Professional and Personal Persona

Welcome Back!

It has been a while!

Well friends, here we are. The final blog post. We have discovered a lot together from our introduction, to code-breaking, to using, analyzing, and creating in the digital world. But this week has one of the most important aspects of critical digital literacy, your own persona and digital citizenship.

You may think that your persona in the digital world is anonymous. However, I'm here to tell you that you are dead wrong. In fact, your persona online makes you more public than ever. Online, anybody can find you if they look hard enough. This is important because if you are thinking of going into a profession where your reputation matters (aka any profession), then you must be very careful in the digital world. This is because the first thing prospective employers look at is your digital footprint, namely, they search your name and see what comes up in the search results. If anything seemingly crude, inappropriate, and unprofessional comes up, odds are you will not be hired. And what's more, no matter how much you try to remove those unprofessional aspects, they remain on the internet forever.

All this learning about critical digital literacy prompted me over the past few weeks to make a Twitter account. It is not a professional account, it is much more a personal one. However, in knowing that what I comment on, share, tweet, or like may be found in the future through a simple search and can decide whether I get a job or not, I must still remain appropriate and professional on this personal account.

Juliet Hinrichsen and Antony Coombs speak about online persona and the steps one must take to remain a healthy participant in the digital world. First, they write about identity building, in which one develops their own identity online. Next, they speak of managing reputations. This is key because to remain professional in the digital world, one must be respectful and smart to continue to have a positive reputation online. Lastly, they speak of participating. Participating is the concept of interacting with others online to accomplish tasks or have conversations. One must always remain respectful here especially because online, anything can be taken out of context and so, to make sure you stay as professional as possible, you must be careful of what you say, post, comment, like, or anything else.

These ideas are what I feel, as a soon-to-be teacher, we must be teaching our future generation. From what I witnessed in high school, students feel as though they can say anything online because they think they are invisible and invincible in the digital world. However, we must teach students from a young age that whatever they post on the internet will at some point be looked at by somebody and can mess up your future if it is overtly inappropriate and unprofessional. Teaching students that what they put out there in the digital world will be there for all to see is a way to prevent students from inadvertently saying or associating themselves with something that may harm them later in their lives. The knowledge I have gained over these past few months will significantly impact my teaching career because I now have a better sense of what the digital world entails when it comes to safety and how to navigate it. It is definitely knowledge and practice that I will be taking into my classroom.

This time around, I decided to utilize a creative make that is unconventional but still drives home my point about being cautious about what you put on the internet. I created a Kahoot! A Kahoot is an online quiz-style game that allows people to join if they have the proper code. As a teacher, creating Kahoots are an easy way to see what level of understanding your students are at regarding the content because you can create a Kahoot specifically designed for your course. I chose to do this because I wanted to provide an example of a secure place to interact with people online. Because you must have the code to join, it is far more secure than something like Facebook where, once you post something or even just sign up, your information is out there in the world. With that said, one must still be careful because, if you are averse to giving any information on the internet at all, to make a Kahoot you must create an account that, if searched for properly, can be found by people and whatever information you provide can be found. With that said, I must mention the critical element;

 do not be afraid to put yourself out there. It is similar to going outside; you put yourself at risk every time you step outside. However, the odds of something harming you are extremely slim as long as you are careful. The digital world is precisely the same in that, you put yourself at risk as soon as you put any information at all online; but, if you are smart and careful, the odds of something bad happening are incredibly small. Now, with all of that said, I created a Kahoot to test your knowledge of critical digital literacy. It is straightforward and you don't need an account for it so feel free to try it out and let me know in the comments how well you did.

Kahoot is unique because I feel it utilizes every aspect of critical digital literacy that we have spoken about in the past. It is not as simple to navigate as something like Google or YouTube so it definitely takes some code-breaking. However, once it is understood, you can use it, learn about it, understand it, and, if you so choose, create your own with relative ease. These are all the aspects I took into account when creating this Kahoot. I used it a fair amount in my high school years as a way to engage my classmates during my presentations. As a result, I have a fairly vast knowledge of how to navigate it. So creating came fairly easily to me. However, if you find yourself struggling, try watching a video that teaches you the basics of how to play on or create a Kahoot, or, if you want to challenge yourself, try to learn to navigate it through trial-and-error (its far more fun than it sounds 😊)
Overall, learning about critical digital literacy has really altered my view of the entire digital landscape. I have learned how to understand aspects of the digital world, how to navigate the digital landscapes, and how to maintain a professional demeanour online. Before we conclude, I thought I might share with you a Mindomo mind map that I created with the aspects of critical digital literacy about the aspects of critical digital literacy. There is a lot to unpack here, and I know it may look daunting at first, but if you're finding it hard to remember or navigate, just look at the core concepts and think about what they mean to you.

Well, that its folks! We have unpacked as much as we have time for about the elements of critical digital literacy! Wow, we explored a lot! It has been quite a fun ride! Who knows...maybe I'll post again in a short while. Perhaps I'll have the inclination to want to share what I discover about the digital world with all of you!

I'm interested though...what aspects of the digital world have you understood differently as a result of these blog posts?

Have you tried things you otherwise wouldn't have? If so what? And was it easier to navigate using these concepts we have learned about?

Thank you all for joining me on this long, incredible journey through the digital world and critical digital literacy! It's been a fantastic time! Until next time. 😊❤

References

Hinrichsen, J., & Coombs, A. (2013). The five resources of critical digital literacy: A framework for curriculum integration. Research in Learning Technology, 21.          doi:10.3402/rlt.v21.21334

Using, Analyzing, and Creating

Welcome Back!
If you thought last week was in-depth, exciting, and complex, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Using. Analyzing. Creating.
These are three words I never applied to the digital world before this month. However, it is pivotal that one understand these ideas to become a master of the digital landscape.
'Using' is the act of utilizing aspects of the digital world. 'Analyzing' is absorbing the digital world and processing how these aspects function as an individual and as part of the whole. And one is only capable of creating once they have successfully used and analyzed the digital world. 'Creating' is adding to the digital world. Creating...is the end goal. But that does not mean creating is the end. Creating in the digital world is infinite.
These three incredibly important aspects of critical digital literacy have played a significant role in my own learning in the past few weeks since I have been made aware of them. Two weeks ago I had the unfortunate experience of having my laptop taken over by a virus. Luckily for me, I still had my old laptop and charger to use. However, I had forgotten how different aspects of this old laptop were. I had to analyze the elements of this old laptop and use them to the best of my ability while I was waiting for my regular laptop to be ready to use again. I had to navigate a different version of Microsoft Word, and I had to navigate a different browser (I usually use Google Chrome, but I only had Internet Explorer). Having the knowledge that just using aspects of the digital world is not enough, I quickly analyzed these aspects and was able to navigate them with ease once I did so. I was able to create new Word documents and utilize Internet Explorer within two days, and even though the computer ran slower than I ever remembered, using the aspects of it that differed from my regular laptop were made easier by the knowledge that I had to analyze the digital landscape.

Juliet Hinrichsen and Antony Coombs write of a similar concept in their journal article "The five resources of critical digital literacy: A framework for curriculum integration" in which they speak of deconstructing, selecting, and interrogating. 'Deconstructing' is being able to see all the different elements of a specific digital tool. 'Selecting' is being able to understand and draw conclusions about particular aspects of this digital tool. And 'interrogating' is being able to take the analysis one can accomplish and utilize it within the digital world. While I feel this concept is a little too abstract for use within the digital world (because the digital world is incredibly practical and this concept is not), it is still a very relevant concept to understand. While similar to the using, analyzing, creating model, it differs just enough while still being very relevant so I felt it pertinent to mention to all of you.

If you remember, in my previous post, I used an aspect of the digital world that some people call a 'creative make.' Last post I used a Bitmoji. This time I tried something different. I attempted to create what is known as a GIF on a website called Giphy. 
A GIF is a snippet of a video usually with a caption. When the caption and video are put together, it provides an often comedic mixture. The GIF I created involved taking a video of my roommate that I made last year, cutting it down so that just one aspect was shown, and then connecting the caption to something relevant to my life today. GIFs are an excellent way to explain the using, analyzing, and creating model of understanding the digital world because they cover all aspects of it. It allows people to view other people's GIFs (using), understand the construct of a GIF and how they work concerning a specific circumstance (analyzing), and then it allows people to create their own GIF with their own unique style (creating). If you wish to heighten your skills in the modern day digital world, I highly recommend you try making a GIF of your own. It is both simple, entertaining, and enjoyable. As well, try filtering through other people's GIFs, it is a strong way to 'use' GIFs and will allow you to understand what they are in society. The website entitled MediaSmarts provides some great insights into this aspect of critical digital literacy as well as many other facets of the concepts. MediaSmarts is a website that attempts to provide relevant, important information about understanding digital literacy from the definition of digital literacy to incorporating it into the classroom.

But GIFs are not the only way to learn how to create in the digital world. Every so often, I find myself using video editing software to cut together clips from movies in an interesting (to me) way. After learning about the using, analyzing, creating model, I once again found myself sucked into that world and found myself creating a trailer to the movie Star Trek: Into Darkness using clips from the film. This is how I found myself understanding the using, analyzing, and creating model. At first, I was just playing around with the aspects of the video editor, using different clips from various films just to see what I could do. But after a short while, I found myself wound up in the world of video editing for beginners and chose to cut together my own trailer. While cheesy and admittedly not very well done, I was happy with myself for being able to incorporate the skills I am learning about in my critical digital literacy class into my everyday life in the digital world. Although not for any particular purpose, video editing is something I get pure entertainment out of even though I am not very good at it, and thanks to being introduced to the concept of analyzing and creating within the digital world, was able to put something together that made me proud and I enjoyed my time creating.

(Apologies for the watermark I am using a trial of a premium video editor, and I cannot get rid of it)

Wow! There was a lot to discuss this time! The past few weeks have given me so much insight into the wonderful digital world and how to navigate it, and after obtaining so much information, I just had to tell all of you about it!

I wonder, after reading this and learning about using, analyzing, and creating, how did that affect your use of the digital world and use of digital tools?

Have you ever created within the digital landscape? What have you created? How did you create it?

Well, that just about does it for now. So. Much. To. Absorb. But that's okay! I hope you'll check back here shortly for my next post because we have even more to talk about! Go and use, analyze, and create all you can in the digital world. I promise you won't be disappointed at how amazing it can be.

Until next time, have fun, and you will hear from me really soon. 😊❤

References:

Hinrichsen, J., & Coombs, A. (2013). The five resources of critical digital literacy: A framework for curriculum integration. Research in Learning Technology, 21. doi:10.3402/rlt.v21.21334

Code Breaking

Welcome back!
Now is when we delve deeper into critical digital literacy and all that it has to offer and discuss what I feel is the two most important aspects of critical digital literacy, meaning-making and code-breaking.

When I first heard the term "code-breaking," I immediately thought of many 0s and 1s like image off to the left. However, after reading and learning about what "breaking the code" actually means, I realize it is far more intricate and important than what I initially thought. Code-breaking is the process of breaking down all different aspects of the digital world into concepts we can understand. If you take away nothing else about critical digital literacy, take away this; every single aspect of the digital world has many different working parts all at once, and if anyone wants to be digitally literate, they must realize that this is the case and learn to look at all these aspects individually and uniquely. "Meaning-making" is the way by which people break down and understand these different elements of the digital world.
To me, these two terms go hand-in-hand. One cannot code-break without understanding to some extent what it is they are breaking down, and one cannot make meaning without being able to break the code.



I used what is known to many as a 'creative make' in the form of a Bitmoji. Learning to navigate this site and create my own Bitmoji was incredibly exciting and fun. My own personal knowledge of code-breaking came into play when I was creating this Bitmoji because I now understood to look at everything (colours, what I was wearing, text, etc.)both on the website and on the Bitmoji itself. I believe that having the knowledge of code-breaking and meaning-making really helped me create a more accurate Bitmoji to myself because instead of just looking at the surface and seeing one big picture, I was able to break it down into several different components and create a Bitmoji that better represents not just my looks, but my personality as well. I encourage all of you to go make your own Bitmoji. Not only is it fun, but it allows you to better understand what we are talking about here today. 
I do not know if you know this about me, but I love to break down and analyze movies. Specifically, I like to examine them for in their different components (directing, acting, writing, cinematography, and anything else you can think of) and judge them based on those elements individually and then as a whole. Many of my friends say this makes me too picky when it comes to watching movies. However, after I read an article about code-breaking and meaning-making, I realized that when I watch movies, code-breaking is precisely what I do. Because I have been aware of it for the past two weeks, I have taken that analytical side of myself and applied it to many websites and YouTube videos I have been to and watched. Learning that every element of digital texts is filled with codes to break is essential to understanding the digital world.

In the I video shared in my last blog post, Doug Belshaw speaks of how to look at digital literacies. And I think he touches on something significant. He mentions that elegant consumption is how we used to absorb media both in and out of the digital world. But now that we have so much access to make our own content, that has shifted from elegant consumption, to what he likes to call the 'Remix.' This remix is split into eight subcategories that make up how we can remix content to make it our own. I bring this up because I think is a great way to understand code breaking. We look at the digital literacies, and then we remix it to make it our own. And we do not just remix it the same way each time, we utilize various different aspects of our personality, ability, and imagination to make it as unique as possible. This is how I understand code-breaking. Everyone is going to see something slightly different in what they look at. And I feel as though that comes down to these eight components in the remix. Even if it is subconscious when breaking the code we take into account our cognitive ability, constructive ability, communicative ability, civic ability, critical ability, creative ability, confidence level, and cultural background, all coming together to make one understanding of a digital text. Using code-breaking methods and utilizing both old and new knowledge of meaning-making, I created this mind map on a Microsoft Word document of Doug Belshaw's idea of where digital literacy is headed.

Text, images, audio, video...these are all things that are incorporated into almost every aspect of the digital world, whether you realize it or not. One of the best websites that I feel makes it incredibly simple to see these aspects individually is Flipgrid; a video creating and sharing website. In Flipgrid, it is incredibly simple to create a video to post. However, through a series of individual steps, it allows you to create a video, add images, and add text before posting it. I think this is brilliant because it enables people to be able to utilize the different aspects of the code without struggling to realize what those aspects are. If you're interested, here is the link to learn more. 
For those of you that do not know what Flipgrid is, there is another program that I feel utilizes this aspect in just as simple a way: Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint is a slide-creating program that easily allows you to incorporate text, video, audio, colours, transitions, and almost anything else into a slide presentation. It is a wonderful way to introduce people to the world of code-breaking because it carries the creator through making the slides step-by-step to create a visually interesting slideshow.


I have learned a lot in the past two weeks about critical digital literacy, specifically in regards to breaking aspects of digital texts down into unique aspects. I hope this provided you all with some insight into the importance of breaking the code and meaning-making when interacting with any digital texts or for that matter, anything in the digital world.
Thanks for joining me in this deep dive into the understanding of critical digital literacy and how important it is to understand digital texts.

I'm curious though, is there anything you have done in the digital world that you now realize is meaning-making and code-breaking?

Why do you think it is so important for us to know about code-breaking and be able to code break effectively?

As teachers, do you think you will bring a lot of elements of the digital world into your classroom?

Even though this sounds like a lot, there is even more to learn about critical digital literacy, so I hope you will join me in a few weeks for our next, even deeper dive into this wonderful digital world. Until next time, have fun, and you will hear from me really soon.

P.S. If you would like more reading on this in relation to how we should be teaching our students, click here

References

The essential elements of digital literacies: Doug Belshaw at TEDxWarwick [Video file]. (2012, March 22). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yQPoTcZ78&feature=youtu.be

Intro to Critical Digital Literacy

If I were to ask myself 'what is critical digital literacy?' without having been in a course that specifically focused on that concept, I would have no answer other than a blank stare. That is a concept far too large to define right off the bat, so let’s break it down. Critical. I would venture to say that critical means necessary.

Digital. I would say that this related to the anything incorporated into technology whether it be on the internet or other applications like games or programs.

Literacy. This, to me, would mean the ability to maneuver competently within the particular medium one is trying to utilize.

Now that we have gotten those three separate definitions, we can connect them all.

So, back to where we began, Critical digital literacy. What is it? Given the prior definitions, I would say that a solid definition of this would be necessary and detailed skills one must have in relation to the digital world and technology to understand and navigate it properly and competently.

Critical digital literacy covers such a vast number of topics. When I began learning about it, I was absolutely amazed at the sheer amount of life lessons the digital world can teach someone. Without the proper teaching of this content, however, I think it is entirely too possible for someone to get misinformed and go down the wrong path in the digital world, making mistakes that will come back to haunt them, if not now, then later in life.

With this definition of critical digital literacy in mind, I feel it pertinent to share with you a couple of critical digital literacy frameworks that could help people to understand just what is involved in being digitally literate.

The first of these frameworks is called 21^st Century Competencies which gives insight into skills one must possess and skills people have to use to be digitally literate. This framework gives so much insight not just into what aspects of life digital literacy plays into, but also gives specifics and breaks it down into categories. These categories break down digital literacy into its sections of life lessons, then explains what each of these sections plays into in regards to what practices come into play, and then explains the 21st-century skill that is needed for each of these sections. This framework is brilliant in breaking down critical digital literacy and, if not all, then most of its aspect. I think many of you would enjoy it.

The other framework I think is most pertinent in today's world is the Mozilla web literacy framework. This framework presents a literal pie chart that is split into three sections, participate, write, and read. Within these three main sections, there are lots of smaller sections. As well, each and every one of these smaller sections contains a specific necessary skill that one must use in order to do this effectively. The four skills that are categorized in this framework is problem-solving, communication, creativity, and collaboration. All four of these unique life skills are spread out amongst the framework and each section of the framework has two or more of these life skills in use. This framework is brilliant because it is so simple to use and read, while also being incredibly complex and informative for people interested in how to be digitally literate.

As you can probably tell, I really enjoy the frameworks that break up into sections. This intrigues me because it takes this massive concept of critical digital literacy, and breaks it down, making it far easier to understand. However, the problems I find with these two frameworks is that the can sometimes be a bit too vague. They work for me, but for someone that likes more detail oriented things, they may not be detailed enough. That’s ok though as there are many many other frameworks that are far more detailed. So if you have been intrigued enough to keep reading up to his point, I’d suggest following these links to some other frameworks that may be more specific and give even more insight into the wonderful digital world.

Critical digital literacy, as I hope you can see, is a massive concept. Because of this, there are many people and concepts that attempt to break it down to its simpler roots. The two frameworks I have laid out are my two personal favourites but honestly, there are tons more. If you feel so inclined after this first step in our journey, take a gander at this video, it may help break the concept down for you more.

Thank you for joining me in our first steps in understanding critical digital literacy. I hope you have gained some valuable insight and I hope you choose to return. Remember, this was only the first step in our journey together. There is so much more we have yet to explore and I hope you’ll all join me for the ride. Until next time, have fun and you will hear from me really soon.

The Journey Begins

WELCOME WELCOME,

It is here that we begin our journey into the depths of critical digital literacy! Over the next 12 weeks, we will be discussing all we can within the topic of critical digital literacy. If you so choose, join me on this journey as we unpack digital literacy and learn more about how to incorporate this new digital age into a classroom setting. Feel free to visit my about page to learn more about me. But for now, have fun and you’ll hear from me really soon.