Internet for Educators

       It is not uncommon to run recycling programs in schools, encouraging students to collect plastic bags, bottles or cans. We spend a lot of time talking about the environmental impact of garbage and discussing with students how they can lessen their footprint on the world. We encourage students to be good citizens and be respectful to each other and their environment, but do we ever talk to them about the environmental impact of their technology use?      I remember in my first few years of school doing basic research projects using dictionaries and encyclopedias. By grade three my school list included floppy disks and I could tell my teachers were uncomfortable with using the computers. Often times they would save our projects for us rather than show us how. I remember being taken out of class in groups and sat in front of computers while the TA read from a script, "click this icon 2 times to open up the internet." By the time I was in 6th grade everyone was more comfor

     Social media and the classroom has now been discussed a few times in our class. It is not something I had ever really considered in the context of the classroom. I have always thought of social media as something more personal and private, almost as an extension of the individual but I recognize now that social media can be used for more. It can be a window into the classroom and it provides a new way to communicate with parents.      Due to Covid-19 parents are no longer able to come into the classroom. They are no longer able to talk to the teacher face to face or see their child's work displayed on the classroom walls. Social media can help parents feel more connected to their child's school experience. It is a great way to show parents what the classroom looks like and to display students work. Social media can be a great way to help parents feel more connected to their child's classroom atmosphere with out being in the school. It is a way to celebrate the learning

     What is a digital foot print? A digital foot print is comprised of all of the information that is available through the internet about an individual due to their online activity. A persons digital foot print is accessible to the public at all times. It is important for people to be aware of their digital footprint because it is always accessible to the public. That means that at any point in time someone can search their name and find out about that persons online identity.      For people in the education field I feel that it is even more important for them to be aware of their digital footprints. Prospective employers, future students and parents are likely to google you. What types of information are they going to find? What information do you want them to know and what do you want to keep hidden?      If someone where to google my name the majority of the information that they would find about me would be from when I was in high-school. A presentation I had to make in Grade

          The Q&A discussion that followed the presentation given by Kristen Thompson started a conversation about digital divides among students. The majority of the families in Mb who live in rural communities or in northern communities often struggle to access adequate internet connections or on occasion any connection at all. This is not a new issue but due to the current pandemic caused by Covid-19 this issue has become much more visible.       In 2016 The United Nations declared access to the internet a basic human right. For comparison other basic human rights include a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of the person or family. This right specifically references food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services. Access to the internet is comparable to access to these things. Karl Bode quotes the United Nations in his article The case for internet access as a human right saying that internet is integral for humans to  "exercise

     For many people around the world the internet has become integrated into their daily lives. With smart phones, smart TV's, smart plugs and smart bulbs I can turn off the kitchen light from my bedroom by issuing a verbal command. The internet has become such a part of my daily life that I forget when visiting peoples homes (pre Covid-19) that I may not be able to call out a question and get an immediate response from a smart home device. Many people have fully embraced the internet of things and have integrated their own IOT into their own daily lives, but there is another group of people who are more leery. It is not uncommon for people to look at me wide eyed and shocked by the amount of smart devices my partner has set up in our home. They ask me, "Are you not scared of them listening to you?" Now I am not someone who has a large amount of knowledge on subjects such as this one. The IOT in my home has been curated and is maintained by my partner, I am simply a bene