Week 3: Universal Design for Learning & Digital Citizenship

This week's module we learned about Universal Design for Learning and Digital Citizenship.  

I remember watching E.T. Extraterrestrial as a child and knowing how intelligent E.T. was despite his physical nature and not understanding the language.  A child named Gertie, used different methods to help him understand her and communicate with this alien from another planet.

Just like E.T. learned through different methods like physical objects and positive feedback to communicate with Gertie, it is just as important to use Universal Design for Learning to give all students an opportunity for success.  

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a method of teaching to help all students learn no matter how they learn.  UDL incorporates all teaching methods and doesn't single out one person for their challenges.  It allows for that person to use the method that best suits them.   

The three different principles of UDL are Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression.  Today's technological improvements allow for a computer or tablet to satisfy all three disciplines.

The last thing I learned from this week's module was about Digital Citizenship.  I was very frustrated with the Prezi explanation of Digital Citizenship.  I was expecting a video or narrative to play explaining Digital Citizenship because this term is totally foreign to me.  However, I was confined to a click-through slideshow of terms and bubbles to explain the concept that left me confused and longing for a better explanation.  After a quick google search, I came across https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/digital-citizenship/#heading_1.  This site gave a brief understanding of the concept and allowed for me to fully understand the meaning of Digital Citizenship.  It is safely and responsibly navigating technology and teaching students the skills, values and knowledge needed to navigate online.  I have been a practicing Digital Citizen since dial-up and AOL.  For those who are too young to know that sound, click the cringe-worthy video below.

Two examples of being a digital citizen in today's society are knowing how to protect the privacy of your images online and refraining from harassing others or sending inappropriate images or messages.

A recent video went viral of a pilot threatening to require all passengers to deplane because one passenger was Airdropping nude photos to several other passengers.  I believe that could cover several aspects of Digital Citizenship and how NOT to act.  Be a good citizen!

That's all for this week.  Check back for next week's From E.T. to ETEC!