Digital Citizenship MOOC

Why DLMOOC?

Digital Citizenship MOOC homepage

I can say that I was thrown into the waters of the web without having any idea of the protocol of behaviour to follow during my interactions with educators from around the world.  Learning how to behave online was not something I sat down to do, since there were so many exciting things to learn and catch up with that I often postponed the systematic study of this matter.  However, and as I got more involved in social media interactions with other educators I felt the time has come for me to reflect on where I stood regarding digital behaviour.
I agree with Alec Couros when he says that chances are that we are going to see more and more technology in our society, so it is only natural for a connected educator to get involved in the conversation about what we mean when we talk about Digital Citizenship.  It also resonated with me when he mentioned (I watched the recording today) that he has three children and I remember how I tortured mine in the early times of the internet at home.   Being a parent is also a strong reason to be here as well.
Digital Citizenship is also another example of those things that you learn by doing, that is why I believe the connectivist approach to this subject is the most appropriate one.
My aims for this course are getting to know what other teachers have experienced so far, learning about classroom techniques to foster good practices, and participating in discussions regarding what miths should be destroyed and what paths should be taken in order to focus our work on the best that the internet has to offer: people getting together to make this world a better place.

PS.  As I was sipping my tea after I published this post I remember another reason why I wanted to join this MOOC.  Last night I watched the recording of one session from the "Learning Together" series by my friend Vance Stevens with Alexander Hayes.  Link to the you tube recording.  In it I was able to have a glimpse of the research he is carrying out regarding the impact of the use of wearable technology in education and society.  The conversation brought about interesting but disturbing issues concerning privacy and transparency (and obscurity!) Technology is being blended into society and we are faced with new predicaments as we go along.  At the same time, and why not, it also has the potential of making us become closer, so close that we could become the person wearing the device, when it comes to seeing the world through somebody else´s Google Glasses.  It is an educators´responsibility to address the issues that come with this by discussing technology, not by demonizing it.