Reflection #5:
Digital technology: the impact thereof on our cultures, professional environments, society and ethics.
Education is continuously changing especially with the inclusion of digital technology (Ministry of Education (2015) which has an impact on our society, professional environments, ethics and culture.
Not just anxieties regarding continuous digital technological developments occur (Floridi, 2019) but also daily digital challenges exist such as cyber safety which involves behavioural issues like sexting and cyberbullying (MoE, 2015). Another issue is cybercrime, which comprises of illegal activities and also cybersecurity, which involves unauthorised attacks or even access to computer structures (MoE, 2015).
It is uncertain whether students are aware of ethics regarding cyber safety and their responsibilities around that (Mark & Nguyen 2017). Therefore, adults first need to familiarise themselves with Internet safety and the growing existence of Internet dangers and couple this with a joint responsibility to keep even my young digital users safe (Mark & Nguyen 2017). Also, adults need to update themselves with the changes in technological development and need to have those important ethics discussions with young digital technology users (Mark & Nguyen 2017).
Every person in our technological society needs as set of important skills in computer science (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019) to be creative as our modern society mostly relies on digital technology which is being used globally. Also, more families welcome digital technology – which I have noticed during my parent survey - as a positive means of collaboration, problem-solving and useful learning (Mark & Nguyen 2017). This established partnership between community members and parents can play a positive role in establishing knowledge about the ethics of using digital technology (Mark & Nguyen 2017). However, we as a society need to be aware of the existence of risks such as content, behaviour and connection when going online and my students should be better prepared and protected (UNICEF, 2017).
Regarding cultural aspects, Tupou and Loveridge (2019) suggest that Pasifika students are not likely to engage with computer science after primary school years. The Pacific nations currently represent about 7% of the total population in New Zealand (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019) and cultural, linguistic, age-related diversity and education is quite substantial amongst these groups. Barriers exist such as limited digital access, tension in teacher-student relationships as well as teaching content which is culturally unrelated (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019).
In order for Pasifika students to be successful in computer science, they need intentional education to highlight its purpose and relevance in their future decisions (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019). And I guess this should start at an early age, where my year one Pasifika students get the right idea of digital usage, with the correct and ethical mindset.
Digital Te Reo archives are currently being used to store traditional knowledge through advanced technology for future Māori generations (Tania, n.d.). Also, the project of Te Whare Matihiko o Te Reo develops several Te Reo Māori digital resources in order to preserve, strengthen and enabling the teaching as well as the learning of the Māori language in New Zealand (Tania, n.d.). Therefore, we can see that for indigenous languages there are more literacy materials available on the internet than traditional mass media or print (Tania, n.d.). I am thinking here of just one quick example, Kupu, an app which is sponsored by Spark, used to translate things in te reo Maori (Kupu, n.d.).
In the Samoan culture, to value and to nurture one’s physical, spiritual and cultural spaces and student input are considered as important issue to improve reciprocal relationships between teachers and students (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019).
However, cyberbullying and internet-related suicide exists though due to the unethical uses of digital technology by irresponsible individuals (Mark & Nguyen 2017) and this increases every year. Thus, our school is therefore expected to address such possible issues in order to continue to provide safer usage of Internet at school and at home which is called digital citizenship and internet safety – a growing global focus (Mark & Nguyen 2017). I believe it is crucial that my students at school are being given clear instruction regarding appropriate behaviours when using digital tools and alongside it, have open and direct discussions about communication on digital tools (Mark & Nguyen 2017).
We in New Zealand have NZSTA to guide and advice our schools and there is also NetSafe for clarity around incident response (MoE, 2015). Therefore, with the support of such, our school should strive to create a safe learning environment and guide our students to be responsible when using digital technology as a clear goal for present challenges (MoE, 2015). This way, incidents and harm to students can be lessened with effective response (MoE, 2015) or even prevented. In the case of incidents, the Education Act 1989 exists to guide me and other commissioned staff when action is needed for an issue that can affect the learning environment (MoE, 2015).
So, the future holds many innovations of new software and products created by students for problem solving and better quality of living (MoE, n.d.). Thus, even though students should be exposed to risks today in learning to become buoyant (UNICEF, 2017), they also need to critically review the social, cultural, economic, environmental and ethical effects of technology (MoE, n.d.).
References:
Ministry of Education (2015). A guide for schools. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY. Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Digital technology: the impact thereof on our cultures, professional environments, society and ethics.
Education is continuously changing especially with the inclusion of digital technology (Ministry of Education (2015) which has an impact on our society, professional environments, ethics and culture.
Not just anxieties regarding continuous digital technological developments occur (Floridi, 2019) but also daily digital challenges exist such as cyber safety which involves behavioural issues like sexting and cyberbullying (MoE, 2015). Another issue is cybercrime, which comprises of illegal activities and also cybersecurity, which involves unauthorised attacks or even access to computer structures (MoE, 2015).
It is uncertain whether students are aware of ethics regarding cyber safety and their responsibilities around that (Mark & Nguyen 2017). Therefore, adults first need to familiarise themselves with Internet safety and the growing existence of Internet dangers and couple this with a joint responsibility to keep even my young digital users safe (Mark & Nguyen 2017). Also, adults need to update themselves with the changes in technological development and need to have those important ethics discussions with young digital technology users (Mark & Nguyen 2017).
Every person in our technological society needs as set of important skills in computer science (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019) to be creative as our modern society mostly relies on digital technology which is being used globally. Also, more families welcome digital technology – which I have noticed during my parent survey - as a positive means of collaboration, problem-solving and useful learning (Mark & Nguyen 2017). This established partnership between community members and parents can play a positive role in establishing knowledge about the ethics of using digital technology (Mark & Nguyen 2017). However, we as a society need to be aware of the existence of risks such as content, behaviour and connection when going online and my students should be better prepared and protected (UNICEF, 2017).
Regarding cultural aspects, Tupou and Loveridge (2019) suggest that Pasifika students are not likely to engage with computer science after primary school years. The Pacific nations currently represent about 7% of the total population in New Zealand (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019) and cultural, linguistic, age-related diversity and education is quite substantial amongst these groups. Barriers exist such as limited digital access, tension in teacher-student relationships as well as teaching content which is culturally unrelated (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019).
In order for Pasifika students to be successful in computer science, they need intentional education to highlight its purpose and relevance in their future decisions (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019). And I guess this should start at an early age, where my year one Pasifika students get the right idea of digital usage, with the correct and ethical mindset.
Digital Te Reo archives are currently being used to store traditional knowledge through advanced technology for future Māori generations (Tania, n.d.). Also, the project of Te Whare Matihiko o Te Reo develops several Te Reo Māori digital resources in order to preserve, strengthen and enabling the teaching as well as the learning of the Māori language in New Zealand (Tania, n.d.). Therefore, we can see that for indigenous languages there are more literacy materials available on the internet than traditional mass media or print (Tania, n.d.). I am thinking here of just one quick example, Kupu, an app which is sponsored by Spark, used to translate things in te reo Maori (Kupu, n.d.).
In the Samoan culture, to value and to nurture one’s physical, spiritual and cultural spaces and student input are considered as important issue to improve reciprocal relationships between teachers and students (Tupou and Loveridge, 2019).
However, cyberbullying and internet-related suicide exists though due to the unethical uses of digital technology by irresponsible individuals (Mark & Nguyen 2017) and this increases every year. Thus, our school is therefore expected to address such possible issues in order to continue to provide safer usage of Internet at school and at home which is called digital citizenship and internet safety – a growing global focus (Mark & Nguyen 2017). I believe it is crucial that my students at school are being given clear instruction regarding appropriate behaviours when using digital tools and alongside it, have open and direct discussions about communication on digital tools (Mark & Nguyen 2017).
We in New Zealand have NZSTA to guide and advice our schools and there is also NetSafe for clarity around incident response (MoE, 2015). Therefore, with the support of such, our school should strive to create a safe learning environment and guide our students to be responsible when using digital technology as a clear goal for present challenges (MoE, 2015). This way, incidents and harm to students can be lessened with effective response (MoE, 2015) or even prevented. In the case of incidents, the Education Act 1989 exists to guide me and other commissioned staff when action is needed for an issue that can affect the learning environment (MoE, 2015).
So, the future holds many innovations of new software and products created by students for problem solving and better quality of living (MoE, n.d.). Thus, even though students should be exposed to risks today in learning to become buoyant (UNICEF, 2017), they also need to critically review the social, cultural, economic, environmental and ethical effects of technology (MoE, n.d.).
References:
Floridi, L. (2019). Translating principles into practices of digital ethics: Five risks of being unethical. Philosophy & Technology, 32(2), 185-193.
Kupu (n.d.). Kupu. Kia ora. Retrieved from https://kupu.co.nz/Mark, L. K., & Nguyen, T. T. T. (2017). An Invitation to Internet Safety and Ethics: School and Family Collaboration. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 23, 62-75.
Ministry of Education (2015). A guide for schools. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY. Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Ministry of Education. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Strengthening-local-curriculum/Leading-local-curriculum-guide-series/Revised-technology-learning-area
Tania, M. Te Whare Matihiko o Te Reo-digital tools for the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Language, culture & technology, 29.
Tupou, J., & Loveridge, J. (2019). Understanding Pasifika Students’ Engagement with Computer Science: A New Zealand-Based Case Study. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 54(2), 277-296.
Tania, M. Te Whare Matihiko o Te Reo-digital tools for the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Language, culture & technology, 29.
Tupou, J., & Loveridge, J. (2019). Understanding Pasifika Students’ Engagement with Computer Science: A New Zealand-Based Case Study. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 54(2), 277-296.
UNICEF. (2017). Children in a digital world. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2017_ENG_WEB.pdf
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