We all know the song “Head, shoulders, knees and toes.  Knees, and toes… Eyes and ears, a mouth and a nose”.  However, did you know that simple exercise is an important trait of an exemplary citizen within a digital learning community?  Keep reading to find out why.

The three most impressive character traits of an exemplary citizen within a digital learning community to me are Digital Health & Wellness, Digital Security and Digital Communication.

At the top of the list is Digital Health & Wellness.  It is defined by Dr. Mike Ribble  as the “physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world”.  Dr. Ribble further mentions “eye safety, repetitive stress syndrome, and sound ergonomic practices are issues that need to be addressed in a new technological world”.  This hits home for me because when I started teaching full time online I started to get migraines and did not understand why.  It was then that my eye doctor told me that although my vision is near perfect there was a slight weakness in one eye and the constant looking at the computer screen magnified it when otherwise I would have been fine.  Now I know that if I am going to spend hours at the computer I need to wear glasses, not to see better but to limit the strain on my eyes.

Medicine Online has an entire article dedicated to repetitive stress syndrome.  Check it out by clicking here!   One of the things mentioned in the article is  to take”regular breaks during repetitive activities, and doing strengthening exercises”  Head, shoulders, knees and toes anyone?

The second is Digital Security defined by Dr. Ribble as “self-protection or using  electronic precautions to guarantee safety”.  For example, password protecting sensitive documents.  Frequently monitoring for identity theft also comes to mind.

Finally, there is Digital Communication defined as “electronic exchange of information” (Dr. Ribble). This addresses issues like… should your really text someone to let them know their family member is dead?  While some of these issues also fall under Digital Ettiquette, Digital Communication focuses on which technology should be used for which type of communication.

While all nine elements are important, these three  Digital Health & Wellness, Digital Security and Digital Communication stood out to me as the most impressive character traits of an exemplary citizen within a digital learning community.

Just another math educator signing off!  Or is that singing off “Head, shoulders, knees and toes.  Knees, and toes… Eyes and ears, a mouth and a nose”.