Participate 4 – Digital Health

March 25, 2018 Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba Georgia Online Professional Learning Digital, Digital Citizen, Digital Health, Ergonomics, Net addiction, Net Health, Participate

Digital Health Section of Participate module of Georgia Online Professional Training Course talks about practicing good digital health. In this post, we will review best practices for the digital health. As an example of net-life balance, I will reflect on my net habits and modify my daily routines to promotes health and safety in the virtual environment.

The proverb “A Healthy Mind Resides in a Healthy Body” has never rung truer than for a digital citizen. Today we have access to digital communities via our smartphones, personal learning devices and social media. The instant access to digital community and the human need to stay connected have a potential to turn web use into a net-addiction. Therefor, to achieve most balanced blend of technology and well-being, the netizens must practice digital health.

What is Digital Health?

Netizen is a citizen of net = online universe. In real world or a digital / virtual world, citizens with sound mind and physical fitness are crucial. Digital health is the best practices utilized by the digital citizen to practice good balance between technology usage to improve real life without harming relationships with self or others because of these use . These practices includes:

Use of correct posture and ergonomic designs in furniture used to browse web
Balance between time spend surfing the net and physical exercise
Nurturing healthy ties with family & friends and active participation in real life community
Unplugging from the net to develope the relationship with self & others

Best practices for the Digital Health

aking Score of my Digital Health

Image Source: Pixababy

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is a huge aspect of digital health. A user’s posture, furniture used while staying connected to the net and interaction of a user with the device may seem unimportant. The little things like the position of a laptop while answering an email can make a big difference in both digital and physical health of a person. Please allow me to share a Laptop ergonomic video I had viewed as a part of GA Online Training.

Source: You Tube

After viewing this video and further research, I corrected the posture I was using. I also realized that we did not need to buy any ergonomic chairs; the desks we are using are adequate as well.

Time Management and maintaining relationships in real community

The reflection on my net habits made me realize that I am spending too much time web hopping. The social media was stealing a big chunk of my time. To remedy that, I decided to take a 45 day vacation from Facebook. During this time, I will use Twitter for educational and professional purposes only. I also built in breaks from computer in my day to give my eyes rest while working. On a positive note, we already had some safeguards against the net addiction such as no electronics at dinner time and unplugging from net on weekdays between 10 PM – 5 AM. We practice family reading time, regular coffee dates and weekly visit with different groups of friends for maintaining healthy connections. Regular exercise & meditation helps me to be physically fit & mentally healthy.


Ways Educators & Students Can Sustain Digital Health

Nut n Bolt Puppy — What a 6th grade student can do with welding torch, some nuts bolts? Well, he will build himself a Nutty Puppy 🙂 Image © Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba

Our school district has We have embraced 21st century learning. The Students from K-12 receives personal learning device. Most assignments including exams are submitted and graded online. It seems the iPods have replaced paper & pencils in classroom; prezi, Google docs and Power Point presentations have made poster boards redundant. As a result, it is very important that both the students and teachers are aware of being digitally healthy. Additionally, engaging video games invite robs the students of time playing outside. To remedy these, the educators should allow the students more hands-on-learning opportunities, provide ergonomic furniture & teach students the best postures while using personal learning devices. They should also give students breaks away from computers and allow brain breaks while in classroom. The students need to engage in physical exercise, refrain from prolonged time on web & practice good postures.

By being vigilant about taking care of digital health, we, the netizens, will allow us the best blend of technology and well being. If you are interested in learning more about the digital health, let me share some of the links recommended by GA Online Learning.

The U.S. Department of Labor site about ergonomics gives visitors many ideas about ways to improve their health.

Healthy Computing’s interactive Causes of Discomfort explains the importance of good posture.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority provides information about the dangers of excessive internet use, as well as suggestions for minimizing such risk.

Dr. Kimberly Young’s website, NetAddiction provides education and intervention tips for dealing Internet-related negative behaviors.

Thank you.

This post is one in the series of posts for Georgia Online Professional Training Course. You can find similar posts by searching for hashtag #eteachertool

Participate 1 – Character Traits

March 23, 2018 Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba Georgia Online Professional Learning 4-Way Test, Citizen, Digital, Digital Citizen, GA Tool, GA Virtual Learning, Kindness, knowledge, Law, Open Learning, Participate, Purviben, Respect, Share, TOOL, Trivedi-Ziemba, What is Exemplary Digital Citizen?

The goal of this assignment is to share 3 most impressive character traits of exemplary digital citizenship (EDC) & share what makes each of these characteristics worthy of recognizing & emulating.

Please note that when possible, I have used gender neutral pronoun they instead of he or she.

Online Learning is no longer a novelty. In today’s classroom where flip learning, hybrid education and connected learning is a norm, a teacher must be prepared to guide their students in the intricacy of navigating the beauty and perils of digital education. First step of delving into the digital world is to know what it means to become an exemplary digital citizen (EDC). Let us briefly review characteristics of an EDC.

Taking too long?

Reload document

Open in new tab

Just like in the real world, the virtual world has both exemplary citizens as well as online bullies, hecklers and hackers, identity thieves and others with malicious intent. A survey conducted by Pew Research Center shows that 80% of teens using social media have seen someone being cruel or mean to another. I visited edublogger, Common Sense Media and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for teachers to get more information of digital citizenship. Based on these and other sites, I came up with these three characteristics for exemplary digital citizen..

EDC Exercises Kindness, Self-respect & Respect for Diversity.

EDC Has a Thirst for Knowledge & Sharing.

EDC Honors Laws, Rules & Norms.

Kindness and self-respect goes hand in hand. If each of us follow a 4-way test adopted by Rotarians, the community will become more harmonious; we will decrease instances of online bullying, gossiping and their aftereffects. Before posting, sharing or selling anything online we should ask the following four questions and proceed only if the answer is yes to all.

Image from http://orangevillerotary.ca/rotary-international/four-way-test/

A self-respecting individual will always strive to do best for self and others. They will make ethical decisions and will be transparent while interacting with others. Having a healthy self-respect will also help a person become more cognizant of other’s feelings, culture & beliefs. e.g. While working on a collaborative project, my Jewish colleague is not available on the weekend. Being an EDC, rather than getting upset for delaying the project, I will respect his belief in Sabbath and work around his availability. Similarly, when my child does not return a text message immediately while hanging out with friends, I will remember that they are having fun and does not mean any disrespect towards me. Obviously, I will check on them if I do not hear back within a reasonable amount of time to make sure they are okay. In current political climate, being cognizant is crucial to carry out the discourse and stop hatred from spreading.

Having a thirst for knowledge and the enthusiasm to share the knowledge is what makes me a Mom, an educator & life-long learner. I am also one of the people who reads the terms and conditions for an account before checking the “I accept” box. By knowing my rights and responsibilities, I can make sure that I do not tread on anyone’s toes and do not come to harm or harm others. Since technology is changing rapidly, continuing education and self-reflection are a must in the EDC’s toolbox. These tools will allow an EDC to keep abreast of technology and help out his students/family & self while facilitating knowledge sharing. Please take a moment to view the You tube video Students thoughts on Digital Rights & Responsibilities. The video was made by office the Children’s eSafety Commissioner in Australia

An EDC knows and abides by digital laws, rules and norms of the vast digital community. They knows that piracy issues and giving proper credit when due are equally true in both the digital and virtual worlds. While working online one needs to protect themselves as well as others. An EDC is protecting self, devices and community against hackers by taking steps such as not leaving computer open, having good passwords, installing and updating anti-virus programs on devices and reading the fine print before clicking “I accept”. Often people hide behind anonymity of the net to harass, heckle and harm others. While not engaging in every little skirmish, an EDC will stand up against wrongdoing(s) by reporting an unethical use, bullying and malware. An EDC will adhere to the Roatarian’s pledge and teach their students for check for legal aspect of social media posts. They will promote following message found in many of the classrooms.

Think Before You Post on Social Media — Image created using http://www.addletters.com

T – Is it True?

H – Is it Helpful or Hurtful?

I – is it Illegal?

N – Is it Necessary?

K – Is it Kind?

I hope that you learned along with me while reading this post & reviewing my PowerPoint presentation. Feel free to use anything from the post/presentation. Just remember to be an exemplary digital citizen and give the proper credits. Happy learning & teaching.

References:

http://www.openteachertraining.org/

http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/

https://www.theedublogger.com/2017/01/20/copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying/what-should-i-teach-my-kid-about-safe-online-behavior

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHamPKNdI7o

Create 2 – Web Tools for Differentiation of Teacher Instruction

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba Georgia Online Professional Learning Create, Differentiated Instruction, Digital, GA Online Professional Learning, GA Tool, web 2.0 Tool

This post is created as a part of Georgia Professional Learning course. Creating differentiated instruction involves using best tools to make learning fun. We will discuss Desmos, a web 2.0 graphing calculator to facilitate student learning about marvelous mathematics.

Not to give away my age, but I learned to graph with paper and pencil. Graphic calculators were not out till I graduated from the college. Graphing was tedious and time consuming. Teachers pulled their proverbial hair out when the students failed to grasp graphing function. Then came graphing calculators and sanity everywhere was restored. Desmos graphing calculator with online presence and apps for android and iPad app is another example of technology making life interesting.

Desmos is a fantastic Online Graphic Calculator — Desmos

I am using Desmos to differentiate instruction in my Algebra 2 classroom. The ease of use and accessibility of Desmos as on the go instructional tool allows me to reach my students regardless of their comfort with mathematics. With minimum fuss, the students can observe the rules of transformation in action while working at their own speed and I can assist them as needed without hurting their dignity.

Let me share two screenshots from the concept Transforming Basic functions.

Parent Graph: y = X^2

Manipulating the graphs, no problem! Having fun? Definitely.

Parent Graph: y=x^3

Transformation of y= X^3 using Desmos , an online graphing calculator

As you can see, graphing is no longer boring task but can be a fun learn used in exit tickets, team competitions and real understanding of concepts. Students can continue creating graphs while waiting for lunch to be over or little brother to come our of the school, they may go to Red Bubble and make $$ by selling their creations. Students look forward to the summative assessment Desmos Art Project for Graphing Functions, to show their prowess and earn bragging rights. I can truly says that this tool has made math enjoyable for my kids and me. I still can remember the day when my 14 year old student came early to class so he can show me the cool logo he created and share his knowledge with the class! I was in teacher’s heaven that day.

Participate 4 – Digital Health

November 6, 2017November 6, 2017 Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba Georgia Online Professional Learning Digital, Digital Citizen, Digital Health, Ergonomics, Net addiction, Net Health, Participate

Digital Health Section of GA Online Teacher Training, Participate module talks about practicing good digital health. In this post, we will review best practices for the digital health. As an example of net-life balance, I will create a Digital Calendar, that promotes health and safety in the virtual environment.