Digital Communication Essay edu 225 PDF

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1 Amber Holmstedt EDU-225 June 21, 2020 Professor Jayne-Marie Yenko Digital Communication Essay As an educator, having effective communication with students and their families is very important. As technology advances so does communication. Communication can happen face to face or digitally. There are advances and disadvantages to both forms of communication. It is important for educators to teach their students how to properly navigate the online environment. Whether communicating digitally or face to face, each approach should be done respectfully, ethically and safely. Face to face communication is one way of involving families in their student’s success. Face to face is more personal. 93% of communication is nonverbal (Smith, 2020). For example, vocal variety and body language play a role in communication. Face to face communication also comes with instant feedback and it is easier to be understood. There are also disadvantages of face to face communication. For example, face to face communication is harder for those who are nervous or poor communicators. Another disadvantage is there are no written records of the conversation to refer to. Lastly, a listeners mind may wander and they may miss parts of the conversation. Digital communication is another way to involve families of their student’s success. Advantages of digital communication include, a written record to look back on. Using technology to communicate with parents also helps minimize accessibility issues. This allows educators to communicate and share information with parents who are unable to take calls during their workday. Digital communication can also make it easier to communicate with parents who

2 have disabilities or do not speak the same language as the teacher. There are also disadvantages to digital communication. For example, not all families have access to technology at home. Technology for digital communication can be expensive and not everyone can afford it. Digital communication is less personal. It is hard to read a person and their feelings over phone call or email. Communication is only 7% verbal (Smith, 2020). Lastly, with digital communication, it takes longer for a reply. For example, waiting for a call or email back. Both digital and face to face communication can be used in classrooms to create experiences for students and make positive, socially responsible contributions that build relationships and community. Both ways of communication can positively impact students. In the classroom, mostly face to face communication is used. For example, teachers lecture and students can ask questions to get immediate replies. Face to face communication also helps students be more social and create physical relationships (Snow, 2018). Throughout a classroom, students work with other students and build bonds. By doing so, students learn important communication skills which will help them throughout their life. For example, future job interviews. This teaches students how to present themselves in a mindful and respectful way. On the other hand, digital communication is rising in popularity. Students can now continue their education with a tablet, smartphone or commuter. Technology is the future of education. With technology, students can digitally communicate with other students and their teacher. Students also learn how to present themselves positively with a digital identity. It is important for students to learn how to navigate the online community. This way, they can be digitally responsible. There are many different social media platforms or digital communication approaches that can be used safely and ethically when communicating with colleagues, parents and students. In today’s generation, educators need to teach their students how to be responsible and ethical

3 while online. Teachers must demonstrate, guide, and help students practice appropriate and professional behavior while actively using online spaces like blogs, Wikipedia pages, YouTube, social media, online research, and much more (Cain, 2016). It is important to find safe ways to do so. One of my favorite ways of school based communication is an app called “Remind”. This app is great for student-teacher communication. Even parents can sign up. With this app, students and parents can get text message updates and reminders from teachers. Students can also reply and ask teachers questions. It is completely free and safe. It also protects teachers and students personal cell phone numbers. In today’s society, almost everyone has a smart phone and is active on social media. Another way of online communication can be a school or classroom Instagram page. My sisters high school uses this method it to post school wide reminders. For example, reminder of spirit week, homecoming tickets on sale, finals are coming up etc. I believe that the most popular form of digital communication in education is email. Teachers use email to connect with students because it is less personal than a phone number. Parents can also get in contact with teachers via email. Teachers also use email to communicate with colleagues. Emails can also be done in groups and are any easy way to get information to a large number of people. Digital communication can establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and examination of online resources while fostering digital literacy. Access to technology allows teachers and students access to numberless viewpoints on any topic of curiosity (Te c h i e ,2 01 7) . Teachers can use a student’s curiosity as a tool to learn more that subject. This can lead to teaching students how to perform proper research. Creating an environment of learning with digital tools can help students to see the importance of how quickly they can learn with the right online search (Te c h i e ,20 1 7) . Learning how to do research on the internet is a valuable tool. It is important for all teachers to research safe resources for students to use. Learning how to find the

4 author of a website and doing comparisons with multiple websites helps teachers and students share and learn about non-biased information (Leonard, 2019). Teaching students how to critically look at online information is a very important skill. While promoting curiosity it is also important to teach about online safety. This includes knowing how to sort through factual and non-factual information. It is extremely important for teachers to model and protect student data privacy when utilizing digital communication with colleagues, parents, and students. Access to students private data is a large responsibility. Student personal data includes, academics, medical conditions, address, names of parents or guardians, date of birth, grades, attendance, disciplinary records, special needs ect (Gallagher, 2020). Student personal data such as social security number, is highly sensitive and should never be shared. When having access to a student’s personal data, teachers should educated on applicable state laws, along with their district or school policies regarding student data privacy (Gallagher, 2020). This way, teachers can make sure they are respectful when working with sensitive information. One way teachers can protect student data by being mindful of where it is stored. For example, keeping files under lock and key or having intensive passcodes on ones computer. A students grades should only be shared with the student, no one else. Also discussing grades should be done in person (if possible), that way there is no written record that the wrong person could gain access too. Student dada should not be shared between colleagues. It is important to stay professional in the workplace and put student privacy and safety first. When sharing information with parents, I would recommend in person conferences. If that is not possible, then a phone call. Again, this makes sure there is no digital copy that could get in the wrong hands.

5 One of the challenges in any classroom setting is effectively communicating, both with the students and their families. With today’s technology constantly advancing, sharing progress being made in the classroom and updating families on their student’s success can be more effective than ever before. Communicating effectively with parents and students can happen digitally and face to face. Both forms of communication can also be used in classrooms to create experiences for students and make positive, socially responsible contributions that build relationships and community. There are also many different social media or digital/virtual communication approaches that can be used to safely and ethically communicate with students, parents and colleagues. Whether communicating digitally or face to face, each approach should be done respectfully, ethically and safely.

6 References Cain, J. (2016, December 15). Legal and Ethical Issues Regarding Social Media and education. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3058471/ Gallagher, K. (2020, October 13). The Educator's Guide to Student Data Privacy. Retrieved from https://www.connectsafely.org/eduprivacy/ Leonard, K. (2019, April 15). Education Technology. Retrieved from https://sde.ok.gov/education-technology Smi t h,D.( 20 2 0,Fe b r u a r y18 ) .No n v e r b a lCo mmun i c a t i on :Ho wBo d yLa n g ua g e&No n v e r b a l Cu e sAr eKe y .Re t r i e v e df r o mh t t p s : / / www. l i f e s i z e . c o m/ e n/ v i de oc o nf e r e nc i n g b l o g/ s pe a ki n g wi t h ou t wo r d s Sn o w,E.( 20 1 8,Fe br u a r y2 0) .I nt i ma c ya ndFa c e t o Fa c ev e r s usCompu t e rI nt e r a c t i on . Re t r i e v e df r o m h t t ps : / / v c . b r i d g e w. e d u/ c g i / vi e wc o nt e nt . c gi ? r e f e r e r =h t t p s : / / www. g o o gl e . c o m/ &ht t p s r e d i r =1 &a r t i c l e =10 53 &c o nt e xt =u nd e r gr a d _r e v Te c hi e ,S.( 20 17 , Oc t o be r23 ) .Edu c a t o r sa sEmp o we r e dCi t i z e ns( Un pa c ki n gt heI STE St a n da r d sf orEd uc a t or s ) . Re t r i e v e df r omht t ps : / / t e c hh e l pf ul . or g...