My own DLE’s are generally restricted to work and study – I use the Google Classroom platform for work and the CSU platform for study. I like the Google Classroom because you’re not overwhelmed by everything else but the CSU platform is more cohesively designed for online study. My students also use Google Classroom to access their work and to submit assignments. The main frustrations of going digital is being able to help students engage and our familiarity with audio and video tools to provide lessons. I am also hesitant about having a video or audio recording running while I am teaching face-to-face as I don’t wish to have parents criticising the flow of the lesson or while I am dealing with a behaviour management issue. I would love to see more accessible forums available in the Google Classroom rather in addition to the ‘Facebook style’ posting feed it has now. Being able to have the forums easily accessible would be great.

Instilling the need for regular, reliable and responsible behaviour for learning is hard enough face-to-face, trying to do this online would be really hard. I think students need to be familiar with the concept of online learning for a long period of time to try and replicate the preferred type of behaviour. Behaviour within a DLE is being able to participate in discussions, be prompt with the viewing or reading of materials and generally speaking, having the ability to complete the work in a timely manner. Having checklists that the students can update themselves can help as they are then – in part – accountable for their progress.

My experience with social media for learning is limited. I agree that it has it’s place and can be useful; however, I do feel that it should be used with a grain of salt. Many of what is said online can be taken the wrong way and could result in bullying or harassment online.

In the current climate, a DLE is enable students to be able to learn from anywhere they can. At my site, students use Google Classroom to be able to access work provided by the teacher. Google Docs also enables students to collaborate with each other in real time. Some changes include the incorporation of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. in our social sphere. This is because our students are living in an ever increasing digital world. Our students spend most of their time on their phones and on social media. As teachers we need to be aware of this in order to understand the world our students live in. This has meant that students spend more time on their phones and are more easily distracted and disengaged in class. As teachers, we need to change our teaching methodology and how we approach the curriculum and content.

Digital Citizenship, to me, is being responsible and understanding the responsibility that a person has when online. Digital Citizenship is something that all students should be aware of from the moment they get their first digital device and then it be continually reinforced. A digital citizen should be someone who can show how responsible they are online and help teach others skills to be the same.

We should be remembering that the digital sphere is a new environment, one that many are still learning.  Many of our colleagues were not raised with the environments that we have. Many new teachers are aware of the technology and how to use it so it is a great opportunity to learn from them.

More and more, we as teachers are expected to use more digital technologies and practices. Implementing these technologies and practices can be difficult because of the divide between staff knowledge and the technologies as well as between students and what we choose to use.
My personal digital footprint is interesting. I have a few social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram are my most commonly used sites. I occasionally use Snapchat and Twitter is reserved for comments about Masterchef) and a YouTube account which is reserved for posting the videos I make for topics.
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Digital Citizenship is something that can be implemented throughout the curriculum and that can be something as simple as protocols for computer use in the classroom. ​

In our world, no one has escaped the need for digital citizenship and digital learning environment skills. We all need to know how to behave appropriately online, whether you are a parent or a student or a staff member.  That we can access any information that we desire and connect to people on the other side of the world is still something that many marvel at. Students use technology as a mechanism to collaborate with others, build understanding, create collaborative projects either in real time or virtually and be able to monitor their progress.
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Online media can be harnessed to access the power of global knowledge and communities at any time or place. Collaboration can take place in different time zones or even different countries. It is just a matter of how we harness the technology that we have.