Digital+Communication

toc = = =Digital Communication= (Student Learning and Academic Performance) Electronic exchange of information

=**1. Overview/Description of the various aspects of the topic**=
 * Aim: To create a 'c-book' on what it means to be a digital citizen in the 21st century.**

Digital Communication is basically the electronic way to exchange information. In the 19th century the electronic ways to communicate were very limited. Now in the 21st century forms of communication have expanded widely throughout the world. The expanding communication is changing everything allowing you to keep in constant communication. Examples of this can be found with descriptions throughout this page.

=**2. Background of the topic including specific real examples**=

E-mail-
Email allows you to receive mail and letters over the internet. We now have the option of mailing things via the post office.The term, manual mailing, is one that was used commonly before things like the email were invented. Now, it's referred to as "snail mail". "It suggests that half of written communication is by e-mail, 29% by text message and just 13% by pen and paper." This quote shows some statistics depicting the progress in means of communication that has been happening internationally. Email-forwarding is a very popular feature in email. People often get an email that they think is "cool" or "cute", and they end up forwarding it to their friends, therefore creating a long chain message. As much as this can be "fun", it can raise issues. For the users of P.C.'s (personal computers), spam through email is common. Spam is one of the many ways that viruses can get passed on to computers.

Cell phones-
The cell phone is probably the coolest and most common gadget around today. Just about everybody has one. Kids usually get them when they are really young before 2nd grade. You can text message as well as communicating verbally call. You can even get on the internet. Most kids can't live with out texting, so that's why most of the people those days have one. Parents want their kids to have a cell phone because it makes their parents feel safe. If something would happen to their child they know their child can call 911. I like having a cell phone because it also makes me feel safe. I can go out without getting lost, like at theme parks and places like that. A cell phone is a very good electronic device. [|Technology]  has improved in so many places even in Africa which are facing some political, economical, and social problems, and they are still improving.

Videoconferencing-
Videoconferencing is a new way to communicate over the internet, so that people don't have to go to meetings and have to travel to a bunch of different places.There are many different ways to video conference, you can send videos on your cell phone or you can send pictures. These are all ways of [|videoconferencing]. It helps a lot of larger companies get information through to all of the workers and get things settled even if the other business is over seas or a thousand miles away.

Instant messaging-
Instant messaging is a cool feature on the internet. It is like text messaging except online and a person could send a word to the other person in less then a second. Those conversations could contain three or more people. You have a buddy list and then you find someone that is online. You can talk to them and it is instant. It is not like email. They receive the message right a way. It is very cool. Even when no one is on they have robots that automatically will talk to you. Instant messaging has gone "out of style" lately. The major thing that everybody wants to do now is text messaging. Instant messaging is still cool though, and a lot of people use it. It is free, so I think that is why everybody likes it.

Here is a link to a detailed, but opinionated article about instant messaging: http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm

Text messaging-
Texting is a well known addiction that has occurred in the last few years in just about every teenager in the world. Parents want their child to have a phone in case something happens, but it has gotten out of hands, parents are doing everything they can to stop their child from talking to their friends all the time because it is distracting them from getting anything done. Texting is a good thing because it allows you to talk with your friends without having to talk on the phone, but it is only a good thing at a certain amount not all the time. Lately it has gotten so bad that people are getting killed because they are trying to drive and text message at the same time and most of them cannot multi task like that. Thousands of teenagers go out on the road and a lot of them don't come back. 50% of all traffic deaths are caused by driver distraction and all of them are not teenagers, as well as teenagers adults text massage too.

media type="youtube" key="dHobMbECFbg&hl=en" height="355" width="425"

Blogs-
Quick definition of a blog: A **blog** (an abridgment of the term **web log**) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning //to maintain or add content to a blog.// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Wikis-
A wiki is a type of website that lets anyone create and edit its pages. Wikipedia is a good example. The word is Internet slang. The word Wiki is short for WikiWikiWeb. Wikiwiki is a word from Hawaiian, meaning "fast" or "speed". In a wiki, people can write pages together. If one person writes something wrong, then the next person can correct it. The next person can also add something new to the page. Because of this, the page should get better whenever someone changes it. Of course, there are problems with people vandalizing the sites by adding information that has nothing to do with the topic.

=**3. Social / ethical aspects of the topic including how real people and communities have been positively or negatively affected and legal consequences.**=

One useful and positive thing a cell phone is used for is law enforcement. If you get kidnapped they can tell where you are, but not in undeveloped countries. Saddly this system in only available in developed countries. There is a GPS chip in your phone, so as long as your phone is turned on they can find you. That is a very useful tool. However on the other hand, recently in the news there was been an issue with text messaging. There are girls who are sending nude pictures of themselves to boys. I think this is ridiculous. It negatively affects their families because it ruins not only theirs but their families' lives as well. It makes their parents look like they didn't do a good job of raising their children. It also affects the teenager's future. When they go off to college or apply for a job after college, their employers will look at their teenage lives. If they were rebellious and bad as a teenager, they will probably not get hired. While it seems cute and funny at the time, it can really affect these kids careers. =**4. Possible solutions to the problems that have emerged**=

There are definitely many problems with digital communication. I think the biggest solution for this is peoples' responsibility. If teenagers do not want, for example, their bad language to affect their chances to get jobs, they should simply be responsible and avoid using bad language in the internet. Also girls should think before they send nude pictures to boys or put up to internet. It is all for everbody's own safety. Another important case is people using their cell phones while driving. They should simply not answer or buy for example bluetooth handsets so you are not distracted from driving. =**5. Guideline(s) or rule(s) for teenagers**=

=Input/Ideas for Digiteen Contract=

Links to:
Action Qatar Academy Action Vienna International School Action Westwood School