Digital Citizenship and Technology Impact Notes

Overview of Today's Technology

• Technology's impact on individuals, society, and the professional world
• Digital citizenship and privacy protection
• Technology use in job search
• Ethics and assistive technology

Module 1: Being a Digital Citizen

• At home, school, and work

How Technology Impacts You

• Digital literacy:
  • Acquiring current knowledge of computers, mobile devices, the web, and related technologies.
• Digital citizen:
  • Someone familiar with using technology to be an educated and productive member of the digital world.
• Computer:
  • Electronic device operating under the control of instructions in its memory.
  • Accepts and processes data to produce information.
• Memory:
  • Electronic components storing instructions for the processor.
  • Stores data needed by instructions and results of processing.
• Internet:
  • Global collection of millions of computers linked to share information.
• Network:
  • Collection of two or more computers connected to share resources.
• Wi-Fi:
  • Wireless data network for high-speed data connections.
  • Used for mobile devices, not attached to any device.
• Server:
  • Powerful, high-capacity computer accessible via the Internet or other networks.
  • Stores and serves files to users.
  • Usually grouped in a data center.
• Online social network:
  • Online community for users to share interests, ideas, stories, photos, music, and videos.
  • Examples: Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat.
• Big data:
  • Large, complex data sources that are difficult to manage with traditional methods.

Example of Technology Impact

• Using a public transportation app on a phone for directions.
• Scanning a phone to pay fare and access a terminal.
• Screens displaying alerts for incoming trains.

How Technology Impacts Society

• First-generation computers used vacuum tubes:
  • Cylindrical glass tubes controlling electron flow.
  • Examples: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer).
  • Constrained by:
    • Large size
    • High power consumption
    • Heat generation
    • Short lifespan
• Apple II (1978):
  • Introduced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
  • Preassembled computer with color graphics.
  • Included VisiCalc spreadsheet software.
• Internet of Things (IoT):
  • Processors embedded in everyday products ("things").
  • These "things" communicate with each other via the Internet or wireless networks.
• IoT-enabled devices (smart devices):
  • Communicate, locate, and predict.
  • Often controlled by associated apps.
• Embedded computers:
  • Part of the IoT.
  • Functions as a component in a larger product with a specific purpose.
  • Small with limited hardware but enhances device capabilities.
  • Performs specific functions based on product requirements.
• Examples of embedded computers:
  • Improve safety, security, and performance in vehicles.
• Automated teller machines (ATMs):
  • Familiar use of IoT.
  • Type of kiosk in public areas.
• IoT enables remote device management at home:
  • Starting washing machines at specific times
  • Preparing grocery lists
  • Viewing potential intruders via webcam
  • Adjusting room temperature
• Manufacturing:
  • Sensors monitor processes to improve quality.
  • Robotic arms ensure precision.
• Retail:
  • Sensors track inventory.
  • Coupons sent to customers' phones while shopping.
• Shipping:
  • Track mileage and location of trucks.
  • Monitor driving times for driver safety.
• Healthcare:
  • Connect to wearable blood pressure or glucose monitors.
  • Send prescription updates to pharmacies and patients.
  • Track data from wearable monitors for follow-up care.
  • Send appointment reminders.
• Digital divide:
  • Gap between those with and without access to technology, resources, and information.
  • Factors: age, income, location, education.
  • Impacts individuals, households, businesses, and geographic areas.

Secure IT: Protect Your Privacy

• Privacy definitions:
  • Freedom from public attention to the degree you determine.
  • Freedom from attention, observation, or interference, based on your decision.
  • Right to be left alone to the level you choose.
• Identity theft:
  • Using someone’s personal information to commit financial fraud.
  • Victims face charges and damaged credit history.
• Data access, collection, and sale:
  • Accessed from social media, web browsing, credit card applications, and official records.
  • Collected information: name, address, phone numbers, email, age, gender, property, SSN, income, education, occupation, interests.
  • Sold to marketers, advertisers, fraud detection services, investment officers, businesses, and government agencies.
• Methods of personal information theft:
  • Dumpster diving: retrieving information from discarded statements and receipts.
  • Phishing: deceiving individuals into revealing personal information via email or websites.
  • Change of address form: diverting mail to a new address.
  • Pretexting: pretending to be from a legitimate research firm to solicit information.
  • Stealing: obtaining personal information from stolen wallets and purses.
  • Data mining: guessing passwords or security questions via online social media.
• Safeguards to protect privacy:
  • Do not carry Social Security number or write it on checks.
  • Do not provide personal information over the phone or via email.
  • Keep personal information secure at home.
  • Be cautious about granting data collection requests.
  • Be cautious about information posted on social media and who can view it.
  • Review financial and billing statements each month.

How Technology Impacts the Professional World

• Intelligent workplace:
  • Technology connects employees to the company's network.
  • Communication, productivity software, web conferencing.
• Online collaborative productivity software:
  • Enables employees to share documents and make edits/comments.
• Schools use social networking tools:
  • Promote events, collaborate on projects, teach anti-bullying.
• Online productivity software:
  • Enables collaborative student work and submission to teachers via email.
• Interactive whiteboards:
  • Teachers use a mouse or touch to manipulate, edit, or add data to a screen.
• Learning management system:
  • Used by colleges/universities for web-based training sites.
  • Students check progress, take practice tests, and exchange messages.
• Mobile health (mHealth):
  • Healthcare professionals use smartphones/tablets to access health records on the cloud.
  • Patients use digital devices to monitor conditions and treatments.
  • Reduces the need for doctor visits.
• 3D printers in healthcare:
  • Manufacture skin for burn patients, prosthetic devices, and casts.
• Telemedicine:
  • Use of telecommunications technology for remote diagnosis and treatment.
  • Provides access to doctors for rural or remote patients.
• Transportation:
  • Workers use handheld computers to scan package codes.
  • Computers find efficient routes and track progress.
  • Drivers use GPS to navigate, avoid traffic, and hazardous conditions.
• Manufacturing:
  • Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) streamlines production.
  • Robots perform dangerous, detailed, or monotonous tasks.
  • Machine-to-machine communication monitors assembly lines and equipment.
• Online presence for job searching:
  • Career networking sites or personal websites showcase talents.
  • Social media and job search websites promote individuals to potential employers.

How to Use Technology in Your Job Search

• Professional online presence:
  • Recruiters/interviewers will often see this first.
  • Online professional networks help keep up with former coworkers, instructors, potential employers, etc.
  • LinkedIn: career-based online social networking site.
• Tips for creating an online presence:
  • Avoid humorous or informal names for profiles, blogs, or domain names.
  • Include a professional photo.
  • Upload a PDF of your resume.
  • Include links to videos, publications, or content created.
  • Proofread carefully to avoid spelling and grammatical errors.
  • Enable privacy settings and avoid posting anything you wouldn't want an employer to see.
• Areas offering certifications:
  1. Application software
  2. Data analytics, database, and web design
  3. Hardware
  4. Networking
  5. Operating systems
  6. Programming
  7. Cybersecurity

How Convergence Impacts Technology

• Computer defined:
  • Electronic device operating under the control of instructions in its memory
  • Accepts data (input), process the data according to specified rules, produce information (output), and store the information for future use.
• Electronic components process data using instructions (software, program, or app).
• Convergence:
  • Increasing integration of technological capabilities into previously unrelated devices.
  • Example: Accessing email, social networking, and gaming apps on laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
• Laptop:
  • Thin, lightweight mobile computer with a screen on its lid and a keyboard on its base (also called a notebook).
• Tablet:
  • Thin, lightweight mobile device with a touch screen, often associated with eBook readers.
• E-reader:
  • Mobile device primarily for reading digital media.
• Desktop computer:
  • Personal computer designed to be in a stationary location
  • All-in-one: Housed the display and the processing circuitry in the same case
• Mobile device:
  • Portable or handheld computing device.
• Smartphone:
  • Internet-capable phone that includes a calendar, an address book, and games, in addition to apps.
• Earbuds:
  • Small speakers that rest inside each ear canal to listen to phone calls or media without disturbing others.
• Media and Gaming Devices
  • Digital camera:
    • Camera that creates a digital image of an object, person, or scene.
  • Digital media player:
    • Application that lets you play audio and video files
    • Most tablets and smartphones include media players.
  • Streaming
    • A way of receiving audio and video content on your device as it is being downloaded from the web.
  • Wearable device:
    • Small, mobile computing consumer device designed to be worn.
• Activity tracker:
  • Device that monitors heart rate, measures pulse, counts steps, and tracks sleep patterns.
• Smartwatch:
  • Can communicate with a smartphone to make and answer phone calls, read and send messages, access the web, play music, work with apps (activity trackers and GPS).
• Game console:
  • Hardware device that allows you to play video games, either single player or multiplayer.
• Handheld game device:
  • Small enough to fit in one hand, making it more portable than a game console.

What Does it Mean to be a Digital Citizen?

• Digital literacy vs. Digital Citizenship
  • Digitally literate people know how to copy and paste information from one source into another.
  • Digital citizens know when it is appropriate to copy and paste information, how to properly credit the source, and the ramifications of violating copyright restrictions.
• Netiquette:
  • Rules of Internet etiquette.
  • Code of acceptable behaviors users should follow while on the Internet.
  • Includes rules for all aspects of the Internet.
• Digital ethics:
  • Set of legal and moral guidelines that govern the use of technology.
• Cyberbullying:
  • Form of bullying that involves digital devices and platforms.
• Distracted driving:
  • Driving a vehicle while focusing on other activities, typically involving an electronic device such as a cell phone.
• Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs):
  • Document that lists guidelines and repercussions of using the Internet and other digital company resources.
  • Distributed to reduce an organization’s liability and to clarify what is and is not a fireable offense.
• Plagiarism:
  • Copying or using someone else’s work and claiming it as your own.
• Turnitin:
  • Service that automatically checks for plagiarized passages.

Green Computing

• Green computing:
  • Reducing electricity consumed and environmental waste generated when using computers, mobile devices, and related technologies.
• ENERGY STAR program:
  • Developed to help reduce the amount of electricity used by computers and related devices.
• Green computing efforts:
  • Purchasing and using products with an ENERGY STAR label
  • Shutting down computers and devices when not in use.
  • Donating computer equipment
  • Using paperless communication
  • Recycling paper, toner and ink cartridges, computers, mobile devices, and printers
  • Telecommuting and using videoconferencing for meetings
• Organizations can implement measures to reduce electrical waste:
  • Consolidating servers
  • Purchasing high-efficiency equipment
  • Using sleep modes and power management features
  • Purchasing computers and devices with lower power consumption processors and power supplies
  • Recycling or properly disposing of obsolete technology
  • Using outside air to cool data centers or computer facilities
  • Allowing employees to telecommute

Ethics and Issues: Assistive Technologies

• Assistive technology:
  • Device, software, or equipment that helps people work around their challenges.
• Accessibility:
  • Removing barriers that may prevent individuals with disabilities from interacting with data, a website, or an app.
• Visually impaired:
  • Change screen settings (size/color of text).
• Screen reader:
  • Technology that uses audio output to describe screen contents.
  • Reads alternative text for images.
• Hearing-impaired:
  • Programs/apps display words or visual clues instead of sounds.
• Mobility issues:
  • Impact ability to interact with hardware (keyboard/mouse).
  • On-screen keyboard or other alternatives to mouse buttons include a hand pad, a foot pedal, a receptor that detects facial motions, or a pneumatic instrument controlled by puffs of air.
• Intellectual disabilities:
  • Technologies to help users (speech recognition, graphic organizers, audiobooks).
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
  • Requires companies with 15+ employees to accommodate the needs of physically challenged workers.
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):
  • Requires public schools to purchase/acquire funding for adaptive technologies.
• These laws ensure people with disabilities can access resources, information, and services using appropriate technology.