The connection between elements of Digital Citizenship and Talkwall

For my major project, I have been jumping from one app to another…. and this time I will be writing about Talkwall. It is a social media application that is specifically designed for classrooms. In other words, it is an interactive educational application. It provides powerful student engaging content for teachers. It is helpful to present and collect responses from students in real-time. It also promotes dialogic learning and language development. In addition, it accommodates both classroom-based students and remote learning students seamlessly. I never used this application in my classroom but I came to know about it from my course of language learning at U of R. After reading a research article about it, I just started studying it and saw that the application is very helpful for converting silent classrooms into an interactive one. The students are encouraged to use creative hashtags and every student is being heard through this application.

Now, I will be diving into the connections between the elements of digital citizenship and Talkwall. The current education demands digital tools. The 9 elements are developed to help parents and teachers in guiding children regarding digital citizenship. [Source: https://www.digitalcitizenship.net/nine-elements.html]

• Digital Access is about the equitable distribution of technology and online resources. This application is easy to use and can be used among students and teachers. Students are invited to contribute by posting on the forum built by the teacher. The data in this application is stored by teachers in a template which can be later shared with students as well. Students are allowed to work remotely as well by using the forum created by teachers. They can post and discuss with their peers within the time limit assigned by the instructor.
• Digital Communication and Collaboration is the electronic exchange of information. Talkwall provides an option to engage students through effective interactive activities. With the help of this, teachers can create dialogue-based questions or themes in which students get involved. In this application students and teachers both interact according to their pace and every child’s opinion is displayed on the screen. It means that every voice of the class is being heard, recognized, and respected in the classroom. Additionally, it encourages group work among learners, peer interactions and critical thinking abilities.
• Digital Etiquette refers to electronic standards of conduct or procedures and has to do with the process of thinking about others when using digital devices. This application involves the interaction of students with other’s posts and hashtags. We as educators can teach students the importance of posting content that does not have adverse effects or is illegal to post or share. As this application involves posting content on the screen thus, due to this we can teach digital etiquette to students.
• Digital Rights and Responsibility says that students must understand that protecting others both online and in the real world are essential skills to have. Talkwall encourages interactions and dialogic talks in the classrooms. This is helpful in creating a bond among students. In the digital world, people are moving towards being social yet isolated in their ways. This isolation has made them forget the importance of protecting others. But I believe this application will help students build relationships in classrooms and students will cultivate the habit of sharing knowledge with others.

I am still learning new things about this application and several more applications. Tried to cover the things that I have learned so far….. For me, it is a new concept through which we can promote productive interactions in classrooms. Looking forward to your thoughts on this application. Has anyone used this?