Thanks to our class discussion in zoom I felt a little clear on where to exactly begin my research in order to truly start understanding my topic. There are so many directions in which I can go with this project and still am not to sure on which avenues to truly focus on, but I know this is normal at this stage.

This week as suggested by Dr. Zamora I decided to begin simple and start with looking at Digital Literacy as it compares to early childhood education. Skimming around I was able to see that I am not the only one persona interested in this topic and not the only one who wants to take a step in that direction. Finding out that I have a lot to study and examine makes me feel more comfortable with my topic, although this is just the very beginning.

I thought to myself that similar to the invention of fire or light, the internet can be put in this category as well . Very monumental and has truly changed the way we carry out life. It has made a huge impact now and with its expansion possibilities for generations to come.

With this thought in mind I want to carry out my entire thesis with this thought and tell why it is important to teach digital literacy starting early. This teaching is leading to further advancements of society around us.

“Early childhood is a pivotal period of child development that begins before birth through age 8. This is a period of rapid brain and body development.” These moments are huge when dealing with growth and development of children and implementing digital literacy strategies into their curriculum can really change the projectory of learning, or this is in some way what I am trying to prove. Either way positive outcomes for generations is the result.

The internet started January 1st 1983 according to to google and since then it has been implemented in every aspect and form of life. My idea is starting to truly understand how to use this tool, instead of children just being able to search cat videos for hours, can really change the way educators educate.

Below is how I started my research and where my thought process began:

How Parents Can Teach Digital Literacy Skills at Home 

• List down the key topics that will improve your children’s digital literacy. Building a clear plan will help you lead a more meaningful conversation with your children. Some of the key topics that you might want to discuss with them include cyberbullying, online ethics and internet safety.
• Break down topics into short bursts. Don’t overwhelm your children with too much information in just one sitting. Split it into smaller chunks and concentrate on one topic at a time. This will give them enough time to absorb and process everything that you’re teaching them.
• Apply games. Young students get distracted quite easily. So if you want to have their attention focused on you, you need to make learning fun for them. One way to do so is by reinforcing game-based activities. You can also leverage gamified tests to assess their digital literacy level. 
• Let them experiment. Let loose and allow your children to apply what they’ve learned into practice. Allow them to use technology with little to no supervision to help them become more independent and responsible online. 

What is Digital Literacy?  

Digital literacy is a broad term that encompasses all of the skills needed to live, work and thrive in a digital world. People who exhibit digital literacy understand technology, make use of digital tools, find verified information and even share one. They’re also well aware of the risks associated with technology and know the precautions to avoid them.

Digital literacy includes four crucial elements: finding, evaluating, creating and communicating information. Youth need to develop these skills to successfully navigate the digital age.

Digital literacy is an essential skill for preschoolers to learn in today’s increasingly tech-centric world. By engaging in technology activities, preschoolers can develop fine motor skills, understand concepts such as letters and numbers, and learn to use technology safely and responsibly.

Preschool teachers don’t have to be tech experts to utilize technology activities in the classroom. From various apps to using tablets or smartphones, there are plenty of simple activities to help develop children’s essential digital literacy skills.

This post will explore the importance of digital literacy in education and tips and activities to incorporate it into your classroom.  These technology activities are easy to set up and can be tailored to the developmental level of your children. So whether you’re a tech novice or a pro, you’ll find an activity perfect for your class.

What is digital literacy in education?

Digital literacy is using technology to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information. To be digitally literate, one must be able to use a computer and the internet for various purposes, including research, email, and social media.

Digital literacy is an essential skill for children to learn to be successful. With the ever-increasing reliance on technology in both the workplace and everyday life, it’s more important than ever for preschoolers to use technology effectively.

Preschoolers are beginning to develop the skills they’ll need to be digitally literate. By providing them with opportunities to use technology in various ways, you help them develop these essential skills.

Technology activities for preschoolers should be designed to allow them to experiment with a variety of different technologies. Moreover, exposure to various technologies will make them better prepared to use them in the future.

Why is digital literacy important?

We use technology in our everyday lives. From smartphones, computers we use at work, and entertainment systems in our homes, digital devices have become a staple in nearly every aspect of our lives.

While too much screen time can be harmful , digital devices and technology are powerful tools for learning when used in moderation. For preschoolers, learning to use technology in fun and engaging ways will help set them up for success in school and beyond. Here are reasons why digital literacy is essential for preschoolers:

Teaches how to use technology

In a world where technology is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, teaching preschoolers digital literacy skills familiarizes them with the basic functions of popular devices and applications. This familiarity will come in handy as they grow older and are expected to use technology for school, work, and other activities.

Develops fine motor skills

Using a computer or tablet requires fine motor skills that most preschoolers are still developing. Regularly using these devices hones their skills and prepares them for tasks that require precise hand movements, such as writing.

Teaches new concepts and ideas

Technology allows preschoolers to explore and expand their horizons. With the help of apps, websites, and other digital resources, they can learn about anything they’re interested in, from animals and plants to history and outer space.

Helps practice essential skills

From counting and matching to reading and writing, there are many ways for preschoolers to practice essential skills using technology. Finding apps and games that focus on specific skills helps your child master the basics before they move on to more challenging concepts.

Encourages creativityDigital devices and applications can encourage creativity and allow preschoolers to express themselves in new ways. Through digital media and technology, they can experiment with music, art, design, and storytelling.Improves problem-solving skills

Using technology requires problem-solving skills, from learning how to use a new app to troubleshooting technical issues. As preschoolers encounter new challenges while using devices, they’ll develop these essential skills and learn how to apply them to other areas of their live

How to teach digital literacy

Digital media and technology can be incorporated into everyday activities and experiences. Here are tips for teaching your preschooler digital literacy skills in the classroom:

Use in moderation

Help children understand the importance of using technology responsibly. Set boundaries in the classroom and stick to them. For instance, if they are supposed to use their gadgets for 30 minutes, stick to that. Most importantly, lead by example and turn off screens when they’re not in use and mute your phone when you’re not using it. This can help children develop a healthy relationship with technology.

Get involved in their tech time

Spending time with your preschoolers while they use technology is a great way to teach them how to use it safely and effectively. Play an educational game with them or start a discussion about something you watch together.

Introducing digital literacy in early education can help young children develop fine motor skills, critical thinking, and creativity. It can also give them a foundation to become comfortable and competent technology users as they grow older.

By incorporating technology activities into the classroom, teachers help their children develop the skills they need to be successful in the digital world.

Starting simple will help me navigate how I choose to express the information I receive and which ways can make this a successful thesis.

As last semester ended and we began picking our classes for next semester I was pretty intimidated that I was already at the point to take the oh so feared Thesis class to start my own thesis journey. All summer in stayed in the back of my mind and it was quite odd because typically I can’t even remember the names of classes until the semester starts, but I knew this was going and I wanted to be overly prepared.

Instead of being overly prepared I feel as though I have over thought myself into a place where all of my ideas seem less important for this particular assignment. I can also see how getting other to care about my topic, or see it in a new way plays a major in this process as well. Sometimes we need to show people what is important so they can take interest.

I have been slightly able to narrow down my vast ideas into short phrases that I feel best satisfy what I am looking to bring forth out of my thesis. I want it to be useful beyond my Masters classroom, so I am able to look back and reflect this for years to come with endeavors and business I have planned for the future. I want to bring out something that others may not have thought when looking from a business or learning perspective. I want to create a proposal of some sort ( have a few topics in mind that pertain to areas I am looking to grow in society). Being open to truly exploring and gaining new knowledge from the topic I choose.

My areas of focus that I am looking to presume would either be education, school business outline/ plan, social media aspects, podcasting, or even combining both education and social media which are two very sensitive topics when talked about together.

I plan to make this moment in time meaningful so it is something I can look at for years to come and use it in same way or aspect of my life at that point. With the amount of time we will spend developing this thesis is it important to leave a lasting impression and be able to truly make the most of this final piece.

I am very anxious, yet excited. I know the hardest part of this whole process for me will actually be narrowing down my topic and starting to research and making sure that that topic is something that I can stand behind after this moment in time.

Hello All !

Super excited to be starting my 2nd to last semester of this Master’s Program. Also very anxious as usual during the fall semester. So many new things to talk in and unlike the spring semester where we have a few weeks off to recharge and jump back in, the fall semester we come in from having months off and doing other things in our lives. Keeping ourselves busy, and now we add on some new things with this start.

Although I do have some anxious feelings I am also very relaxed at the start of the semester because it is a feeling of being refreshed and bringing a new energy into new surrounding, or some already familiar knowing my classmates and some professors as well. This gives us a new way or perspective to come into this semester and make the absolute most out of it.

I have personally been thinking of this Master Thesis since the start of Grad school, as I have heard the stories of many who have graduated before me, and how it totally consumed them, but I just noticed the positive of how they all made it happen. Now that I am thrown into the mix I am feeling a bit pressured, but nothing more than I can handle.

The fall brings forth such a crisp refreshing air that trickles into my life slowly but surely, and my whole presence becomes calmed in a way daily. This is the perfect time for e to be starting such a big moment in my this part of my life as well, almost makes it a significant point to be aware of.

I am going into this thesis process with an open mind and an open spirit to truly allow my creative and logical juices to flow and produce an awesome thesis. I also want my thesis to be something I use for the next few years of my life if possible, or something that can help in the long term. The research and time I plan to put into this thesis and knowing what is expected makes me want to be able to use this as a stepping stone for something coming in my future.

Below is my Microfiction:

Violet Penelope goes to Yale University, the Harvard of the North, at least that is what everyone says. She is from Lancaster, a small town in Pennsylvania.  All throughout highschool she excelled in school and was praised with many accolades and awards to recognize her achievements. Her parents were so proud, but they did not know how much school was making her suffer. She was diagnosed with anxiety during her last semester of her freshman year, and it was due to the pressure she was applying to herself. Violet was taking medications but it never seemed to work.

Finals week has proven to be her toughest week to date. “She was exhausted from hours spent poring over research and articles on the potential of artificial intelligence in higher education, but her mind was still racing with intrusive thoughts about looming deadlines and the potential for failure; her research due, her final project in the morning, and the final exam at the end of the week. She tried to shake them off, to focus on the task at hand – but it was hard when her anxiety seemed so determined to overwhelm her.” (Sudowrite) “This project seeks to explore the current potential of artificial intelligence in higher education, and to evaluate its potential for revolutionizing the way we learn, adapt, and think.”(SudoWrite) These words appeared to bounce around on her computer screen as she kept re-reading the instructions for the assignment. 

Living in a world with AI all around her she tried her best to be honest in her work. Morality was everything to Violet, but with all of the pressure over her head like a dark cloud she was starting to think about using these writing tools to complete her final research paper. She has never done this before and just wanted to see how much it could help take some of the stress off of herself. So she decided this would be the best option to use an AI writing tool just for a head start. 

Tonight before she started working on her paper she wanted to use some exercises her psychiatrist had given to her when she ever felt the walls closing in on her. “For a moment, she was tempted to take a break, to grab her phone and check her emails or catch up on the news – anything to get her mind off of her impending disaster – but she quickly dismissed the idea.”(Sudowrite) Social media is always her go to when she wants a great distraction and possibly a laugh, but even that wouldn’t make the task at hand go away. “Instead, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart and plummeting thoughts. She reminded herself that she could do this; that she had the knowledge and the skills to succeed, and that she could rise to the challenge.”(Sudowrite)

She opened ChatGPT and typed in “AI on the rise in higher learning. What environment does this create in Education?” The words appear in a flash and immediately she is met with a ton of inspiration. She sits for a few hours and literally flies through her paper. Violet kept breathing slowly to keep her calm and she finally finished, and was very proud of herself for overcoming this hump yet again. 

“Violet was pleased to learn that AI had helped her achieve her goal and that she was no longer limited by her anxiety. She had taken a chance and used AI to make her research paper easier, and it had paid off. She was grateful for the opportunity to prove to herself that she had what it took to succeed.”(SudoWrite)

Writing this micro fiction I wanted to kind of tell my story. I suffer with anxiety and I have since my 3rd year of my undergrad. Seeking help from my therapist has helped me put a lot into perspective over the years. Starting this graduate program brought back my anxiety, because I have this need to do well. I want to show myself that I can do it, be even my parents who have put a lot into my education through my years of school. I never have never wanted to let them down, and I learned that sometimes this thought in my head held me back a lot. I had to learn that alot of my issue was mind over matter. Sometimes the voices in my head can override my true thoughts and opinions, and I needed to learn how to shut them off.

I enjoyed using SudoWrite I can see how it can be a helpful tool when creating a story of any kind. It offered me a lot of options and directions to go in with the suggestions they gave. It made writing this piece quite simple, especially keeping in mind the word count. As a writer I can over talk (or over type), but SudoWrite really helped to keep it short and simple and still get my thoughts out.

As AI writing tools progress I hope to see educators using these tools in the classrooms to help students gain confidence when it comes to writing. I feel great collaborations can come from using these tools and can help students create great work. Embracing these tools can help offer more in the classroom as well.

I have truly enjoyed putting this micro fiction together. I used SudoWrite to help me. I gave myself 3 different drafts using SudoWrite and I allowed my inspiration to come from the 3 rough drafts as I pieced them together. I have my idea of using a graduate student who suffered from anxiety and was currently in their final week of the semester. Meaning they were overwhelmed with finals and their big paper. Her name is Violet ( stolen from one of my daughters) and she is so used to excelling in school and would truly hate to let her parents down. This is something I have personally related to and was even unable to tell my parents the first year of undergrad that I was diagnosed with severe anxiety, which often cam from the fear of failing. So I allowed the character to violet to solve her issue with the help of AI. I thought this was a way to show how helpful AI can be in academics directly, because at times I can see a more negative tone with AI in academics.

I let SudoWrite give me 3 rough drafts with different questions I posted for my topic. I specifically asked for a micro fiction version so I wouldn’t go over my particular word count and it also helped me to see how to structure my micro fiction, as I have never written anything with a 500 word count restraint. I needed to visually see for myself how to properly structure the writing so I could make my message clear and easy to read. With this I then quoted from SudoWrite and kind of allowed it to help me create the story. I wrote a paragraph and used a paragraph from a draft to do the next and I went on like that for the entire paper. Since this assignment asked for us to use the hep of AI I liked the ID of writing with SudoWrite, so to speak.

My issue now is as my story is finished, to me, I am at 657 words ! I feel I have a solid beginning, middle, and end, and this is after I have removed certain things from my story. I am stuck on trying to figure out what words to remove, or maybe even re-writing sentences to meet the 500 word requirement. This is my first time writing a story in 500 words, so with this new experience it is teaching me the true lesson of less is more. Following the example of SudoWrite I learned you can actually say a lot in 500 words using detail and concise tone.

Speaking on this weeks reading censorship is very important in the world of creative expression and artistry. With Deformation laws you would think it can be quite simple to weed out the wrong doings of people misusing AI, but sadly it can still hurt the reputation of the artist and create controversy for them.

Artist in any form strive to have their work represent them and show them in the best light. They of course want credit for their authentic work as they created it with the intent to receive recognition from it. AI can now in some forms take away from this for artist, so as the technologies develop they should create away to still preserve the works of the artists and have AI help them develop their natural gifts.

This is the link to my presentation.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BE3Lss3mwOuOPskgCUA_M1kAlHcOZqVYFbPLOKrBNHQ/edit?usp=sharing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZESTKVFDBg

https://youtu.be/WImlyoQuQzo

These videos are clips from the Joe Budden Podcast, some thing I am a frequent viewer of. I like when Joe brings the conversation of AI and the art of creating together because he himself is a creator. At one point he was a rapper, but he always prided himself on the ideas of freedom of expression and being authentic with lyrics for the artist who were his peers. All artist, whether they are musical artist, painters, sculptor’s, etc., are very passionate about the things they create because at some point it was literally an original feeling or thought towards something or someone that brought them to their creation, whether its a song, or painting.

We all know they are able to manufacture anything just about today, even the music can be produced through AI. This now creates a question with the authenticity of the music. This is how vocal artist can connect with their fans. Cinematographers connect through their lens with their fans and core audience. How will an AI truly connect with an audience if they are lacking the feelings and emotions that express empathy, that creates timeless pieces. Some may argue that when Vincent Vangough created his masterpieces their were no electronics and it was all done by hand with the most basic tools compared to what we see today, but this painting has been in galleries all around the world, and has inspired many individuals. Do we lose this if we give the power to AI to create what we as humans feel and express?

The article that spoke on Computational Creativity gives a great counter argument to the question on if AI’s and humans should be held to the same standard . “Rather than just seeing the computer as a tool to help human creators, we could see it as a creative entity in its own right. This view has triggered a new subfield of Artificial Intelligence called Computational Creativity.” Authenticity comes from the emotions humans have developed when dealing with life and going through new experiences. Computers are programmed by humans who have had these experiences, but it still wasn’t there to “feel” it for itself, so to speak. So what makes it authentic enough to be compared to great human artist who have shared from personal experience and personal knowledge.

AI is great with assisting artist in the production of their work. That comes with the many technological advances we are starting to make in shorter time spans, which leaves us with so many options to produce the best work faster. Because today everything moves pretty fast in our part of the world so keeping up with the mass production from peers artist today are trying to find faster ways to not only perfect their craft, but to also produce it at a faster rate to keep the engagement from their core audience interested. AI helps with this part when it comes to the money and circulation of the work the artist is selling, but from an authenticity point I can see it creating some issues with trust between artist and fans, nothing would seem real.

” But the idea of super intelligent machines with their own agency and decision- making power is not only far from reality- it distracts us from the real risks to human lives surrounding the development and deployment AI systems.” I want to start with this quote from “The Exploited Labor Behind Artificial Intelligence” article, simply because this offers the best assessment to the entire AI talking realm. In movies and television we have seen some options of the end of the world being robots taking over the world, and humans became slaves. Literally this is not true, but figuratively this is slowly something that can become possible. I always think of WALL-E whenever disgusting AI. The technology took care of the people in that world so much that they knew how to do nothing without a screen in front of their faces and became slaves to the robots who were caring for them. If they moved out of line or did anything out of order the humans were quickly corrected, and the robots were in control of order. That is no different as it comes to talking about jobs and career related issues.

Looking at job security now can start to look a bit shaky. During covid we were able to see a big change in how you can easily replace the daily office with at home work with the use of technology. This has created a great deal of benefits for both the business and the employees. With this shift it truly shows how great a service technology is actually doing and how well we are advancing with technology. Now with us working from home I can easily see how businesses who have may have seen a huge saving from having workers WFH, can see how AI technology can help them save more if they no longer have to depend on humans for their labor. This can increase the revenue for the businesses, and BUSINESS is all about earning money. If as a business you see something causing your profit margin to grow you are more likely to do it.

Taking a look at the music industry, which is a very big business, songwriters, producers, and engineers, which are very influential authentic parts to the production of music, can have questionable jobs at this point. There was a full AI rapper created and he was an example of the entire culture and even had a feature with a premium artist. A gaming company was behind the production of the rapper and even was Abel to sign his deal. Is this an Authentic artist and should he be help to the same standards of those who have worked hard int he music industry and created their own works? This is the question AI poses as it slowly replaces humans. The control will come from the idea that we as humans were the ones programming it to know everything about us, so in some way by using our phones, and different social apps, or regular apps we are feeding into the total control AI will have over us all.

The idea of teachers having mixed views on AI chatbots, like ChatGPT does not surprise me. We haver those teachers who like new fresh ideas when it comes to planning lessons and engaging their students, but then their are some teachers who think the way things have been done have produced great results, so why fix something that isn’t broken. No way is right or wrong, all that matters is helping students to understanding the subject, and helping them they best way the teacher can to retain the information. If only it were that simple.

The one idea all teachers share when dealing with the education world today is that every student learns differently. Some may learn a bit easier than other, and some may need a few tries to hit a goal or target, either way a great teacher will get the job done, and that’s what makes them awesome!

I feel AI chatbots like ChatGPT can offer CONFIDENCE in the classroom if used correctly. With it being so downloaded with information on all subjects and able to do anything just about it can serve as a great learning tool to make students feel a bit more confident with the work they produce. I know teachers would hate for students to plagiarize things, and I personally wouldn’t agree with this either, but I you teach the uses of ChatGPT to students that shows them what they can find on it and ways it can help to “improve” their work, it could really bring better marks for students and give them a positive attitude towards school.

I remember I use to HATE history in high school. I even tried skipping the class at times ( which was impossible in a small private schools with nuns who knew your ever move), but I just wanted to be anywhere but there, because I always felt no matter how hard I studied it was no way I could possibly retain all of the information about past wars, politics, and dates mixed with important people blah blah blah, all for one test! And again I’ve always been a big reader because I learned early on if I read I retain the information faster , but it just never worked for that class and the C’s really made me unmotivated in that subject. I think if I had ChatGPT it would have really helped me to create better papers because I could pull up speeches, dates and full blown war accounts for soldiers who probably were there all in one place on demand, and it would have helped me to produce better work.

If the right teacher introduces ChatGPT to their students as a way to help them, and show students that you are trusting them to be responsible when it comes to integrity within the work, this could really change attitudes that students have early on towards school. A lot of time students get discouraged in subjects they may see others excelling in, but these AI tools can really bring them confidence in the work they produce and in return give them better grades.

Voice is the most important part of being a writer. It goes along with finding your style and how you go about composing your writings. This sets the tone off of you as writer, and through voice you find your audience, which is another key component of writing. As I have journeyed through my own personal writing experience I struggled at first with finding my true voice. I had to later see that this is something that developed naturally and is very distinctive to different cultural experiences, backgrounds, personal growth, and other self acquired views of life in general. I learned to focus on allowing my voice to come naturally, and this in turn allowed me to develop organically and stop caring about trying to appeal to anyone in particular, and just curate writing content more focused on my internal views and mindset.

I read a lot, and have been doing so since I was in elementary school. When I go through the hundreds of books I have read overall I saw a pattern as I entered my teenage and adult years. Most of the authorsI generally liked tended to write in a more narrative journal style of writing. This I saw helped to see why my style of writing was this way. When I wrote in my personal life my voice lended itself to be more of a narrative style, which was my comfort zone. I in turn challenged myself to writing other pieces that were different just to see if I was capable. I had to go outside of my normal favorite authors to find others styles to try my best to imitate and make my own, which worked for both expanding my reading content, and further developing my voice in writing.

As we look into the ChatGPT world and how it is developing to meet the growing writing content world, I feel voice plays a very big part in the authenticity of the work being produced. Wether academic or creative as writers we all have certain style we chose to write inland we all use a certain type of vocabulary throughout our writing. When it comes to finding plagiarized works within academic writing it may be hard to decipher what has been organically created, and what has been generated using AI technology. This is because AI has been programmed to follow the voices of most writers, but this is where uniqueness come into affect. Recently read an article that questioned not the writing of the students producing the academic writings, but it looked further at the questions the professors were using to get the information from their students. It mentioned that if the questions being asked are superficial and not complex, then. the answers can be easily generated using AI technology. That then made me think should students be punished in academic writing for finding ways to complete work easier, or should professors be more complex in their questions to really dig deep and see how well students are receiving the information they are being taught?