Blessed are those who use careful grammar and spelling for they are sure to not look like idiots in front of their coworkers…
The guide to careful netiquette and the Top 12 Be-Attitudes (linked here) gives careful reminders of how academics can maintain their professional relationships and veneers through simple checks and stay away from some of the easy pitfalls that net neutrality easily lends.
Although for the most part these 12 rules are common attitudes and courteous behaviors that all people should follow regardless, it is good to stop and reflect at this time in our introduction to emerging technologies on how our own behavior and attitudes can be maintained or changed.
As an educator, I am constantly finding new resources that could help support my classroom. For instance, while doing some light Googling I will come across the perfect PowerPoint or worksheet that will help support learning in my classroom. I quickly download it, print off 70 copies and thank my lucky stars that educators before me found the perfect wording/images to express a new concept. But in that rush to create and disseminate new materials and contribute to the learning in my classroom, I have *GASP* forgotten to abide by Netiquette Rule #5-Be Respectful of Copyrights. My mentor teacher is a champ of respectfully using copyrights. At the end of each of her PowerPoints or at the bottom of a worksheet, I often saw credit being given to the original author/creator often in the style of MLA, which students are familiar with. This is a standard I should hold myself to more often if not just to avoid possible legal trouble for myself, or my school, but also to essentially teach my students about citations and plagiarism through osmosis.
One of the ways to ensure that my students are learning proper netiquette is through an acronym that I often use in class-A.T.T.P. This stands for Audience. Text. Tone and Purpose. Before any writing assignment, students should self-reflect on these four subjects before beginning their writing to understand how their writing should be structured. If I start to incorporate this acronym into smaller written assignments on a regular basis, instead of just major essays, perhaps the repetition will lead to students applying this policy of thought to daily interactions over email, text and chat as well. Additionally, I believe that students should be directly taught safe internet procedures through deliberate and direct instruction in technology classes.
A key component of digital citizenship is giving students the materials and instruction they need to interact with technology in a responsible, and safe way protecting both their information and themselves from harm. Many resources (including this one) are now out there that can give advice, resources and talking points to teachers, parents, and mentors on safe technology practices-some of which the adults need refreshing on as well! Technology is rampant in our society. To ignore the progress and to not match our education up to it, is to potentially put ourselves, and our futures at risk.
References
Berk, R. A. (2011). Top 12 be-attitudes of netiquette for academicians. Journal of Faculty Development, 25(3), 45-48.
Ribble, M. (Ed.). (n.d.). Digital Citizenship. Retrieved May 08, 2017, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/
ITS Summer 2017 Blog 