Adding More Stress

This year, I’m teaching three different subjects for the first time and I love every minute! While loving three new preps might sound strange to some people, it's not to me since one of my favorite parts of teaching is developing the lessons. Consequently, this year, I am able to do that…a lot. So I spent tons of time thinking about all of the possible options for my course project, which is planned during this class and will be taught next semester. Given the time constraints, personal as well as the limitation of one quarter classes, and the choice of working alone or collaborating with a wonderful colleague, I opted to work with Susan Chubb to perfect and improve our stress unit.

During the last class, both Susan and I blogged about our stress project. Most of the student stress videos were interesting and effective. All of the student feedback about the project was very positive. In their reflections the students thought they learned a lot from the project by “creating the project and listening to other presentations”. Students said they learned from the “examples” in the films “rather than people sitting in front of the camera talking.” Most students liked the “comedy” in the videos and when they were “funny and creative”. As one student stated, the “…funny part which made me laugh and made me watch the video seriously until the end.” When they reflected about any difficulties they encountered, most thought they needed more time, in particular more time to film and edit. Though one student stated that the difficulties his group encountered “were having so much fun we couldn’t focus.”

Therefore, Susan and I decided we want to allow a little more time for their stress videos. In addition, we want them to blog about their experiences and post their videos on their blogs with their blog entry categorized as “health”. We think that expanding our current project, thereby adding more days of stress, makes more sense than trying to add something else to our already full units, especially given the time constraints of a one quarter class.

Here is one of the videos from this quarter:

Managing Peripherals When I Can Manage the Time

How do you manage the use of technology peripherals with students? What are some things you've learned and hope to implement?

Well…this may be a rather short blog posting since I really don’t use a lot of technology peripherals in my classroom. It’s not that I don’t want to… it’s just that I lack the time to really get to know them.

At best, I have a basic relationship with my Smart Board. The students enjoy using it and I see a lot of potential, yet the Smart Board still remains an untapped resource. To further complicate things, I learned, through personal experience, that different Smart Boards operate a little differently…so the two Smart Boards in my classrooms this year are not exactly like the one I used last year. I know tech help sessions are offered after school and some of them have even focused on getting to know your Smart Board, but these sessions always seem to conflict with a club meeting or a homework help session. Once again, it is all about the lack of time.

What I really need is some time for “messing around” with these different items and to incorporate them into some lessons. This is how flip cameras débuted in my health class last quarter and now they will be making a regular quarterly appearance. There is something to be said for having the time to play with and get to know peripherals and technology. (Susi wrote a great blog about this!) Having that time can yield tremendous results. For example, last year I gave my students about 45 minutes to play with Moviemaker. We were starting working on a photo essay project that traditionally used Powerpoint. I wanted to offer them another option so I provided some time for them to get acquainted with the program prior to starting the project. It was time well spent. The majority of students opted to use the new program with very satisfying results.

Teachers need time to try out technology, play around with it, and to share things that work. However, until that happens, my plan is to try to create some of this time for me…just as soon as I finish all of the other things that I need to do…

Image source: http://oncallweb.net/images/Computer%20smile.gif

Laptops In My Classroom

What are ways you manage the use of laptops in your classroom and what additional best practice ways might you add?

Regarding this topic, I really liked the activity we completed in class. What a great way for everyone to share their knowledge and best practices! After doing this and reading the other student blogs, I think this is rather repetitive. But here’s what I do:

• Make students responsible. The students get the lap top carts. During class, I keep an eye on the time and give them enough time to save their work and put their lap tops away. Students are selected to monitor the carts and to make sure that all of the lap tops are plugged in. These students must return carts and PLUG them in or bring them to the next classroom on the list.
• Monitor students. While students are working on the laptops, I constantly walk around the room, watching what they are doing, and answering questions.
• Tops down for instruction. When I give instructions, I have the students lower the computer tops. It is the only way that they truly focus on the oral and written instructions. I have them get the computers and log in before the directions are given because sometimes it just takes so long for them to get logged in!
• Get computer and log in as they enter the room. This is a big time saver. Not to repeat myself, but sometimes itjust takes so long for them to get logged in, that I’ve found I save a lot of time if they do this while they are settling down and writing their homework in their agendas.

Amazing Technology: The Mashed Potato Machine @ 7-11!

Personal Photo

Nets for Teachers and Administrators

How relevant are the NETs for Teachers and Administrators to being a "Good Educator" today?

As mentioned by other CoETaiL students (Martin & Gaby to name a few), the NETs for teachers are similar to teaching standards that have existed since I began teaching about nine years ago except they contain phrases like “using technology” and using “digital media”. They reflect our rapidly changing world and make educators realize the countless options now available to enhance student learning. They represent the logical shift away from only offering pen and paper options to utilizing all available resources.


Likewise, the same seems true for the NETs for administrators though I don't know much about the mysterious world of administrators.

Personal Photo

Student Learning And Technology

How can teachers and schools ensure that their students are learning what they need when it comes to Technology and Information Literacy?

Very simple: make it a priority.

• Provide professional development opportunities for teachers. Opportunities should include programs like the CoETaiL classes as well as providing technology sessions during early release days and teacher work days.
• Have a strong tech department to work with teachers and motivate teachers to use technology in their class rooms. Once teachers discover how easy, fun, meaningful, and engaging technology can be; most wouldn’t want to teach any other way.
• Have it supported by the administration.
• Have sufficient resources to support technology in the classroom. Make sure there are enough lap tops, head phones, microphones, etc. Ensure that the internet really works and that it's fast enough to support technology programs and projects.
• In addition to having all teachers teach and utilize technology in their classrooms for student learning, schools should offer meaningful technology electives and computer class options for students. This is especially important for middle school and high school students. They need to have a chance to deeply explore specific aspects of technology. For example, the ISB Middle School offers Flash Animation and Video Production as extra technology electives, giving students a chance to become an “expert” in another aspect of technology.

Whose Job Is It Anyway???

Whose job is it to teach the NETs and AASL standards to students?

Basically, the NETs and AASL standards are good teaching practices that all teachers should focus on in the classroom. In fact, many teachers do this naturally without really needing the standards. They are not much different from the usual teaching standards except that they contain technology words and terms. The responsibility of teaching these standards to students rests with all teachers. The class subject provides the content, Humanities or Health in my case, and these standards provide the focus for using technology as a way to deliver, work with, and enhance the content.

For example, maybe ten years ago an “innovative product” that would demonstrative student creative thinking and construct knowledge might have been a handwritten or typed “magazine” about some historic event, like the US Civil War. About five years ago, you might assign a similar project using Publisher. However, now, I’d assign the project (if I were still teaching Georgia Studies) giving the students different choices and options for incorporating technology. Their options might include covering the assigned content through the creation of:

• a class Wiki that becomes an “on-line” textbook,
• a news program/talk show filmed and produced using imovies or Photostory 3,
• a digital story using voice threads or imovies/Photostory 3 and Internet images,
• or an online newspaper or news magazine
  

In addition to having technology learning integrated within the content areas, I believe that additional classes in specific aspects of technology should be offered. ISB Middle School does this and often I utilize these students as “Tech Experts” during class activities so they can practice their skills and share their knowledge with others. At ISB many of these technology electives are taught by regular classroom teachers, often humanities, math, or science teachers, lending even more support to Kim’s wonderful statement: “We are all technology teachers”.

Image: http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2009_09_13_archive.html

Final Reflection on this Course & Final Project

When I was first married my husband and I were discussing having children. I mentioned that I thought we should wait for the “right time”, while he pointed out that often the “right time” never arrives. He had a point, many times, if you keep waiting for the “right time”, you just keep on waiting. This course has helped me realize that there is no “right time” to use technology in the classroom. If you keep waiting for the “right time” or until you “know everything” about technology, your students will never benefit from technology. Two things I’ve realized during this last course about using technology in the classroom:

• Don’t wait; sometimes you just have to jump in there.
• No matter how much I’ve learned about technology, I keep realizing how much I don’t know about technology.

So Susan Chubb and I “jumped right in” and had the students create imovies about their experiences with stress. (This was a really big jump for me since I’m not a Mac user!) On her blog, Susan does a great job explaining the background of the project and our project page provides even more details). For this project, we kept the content simple, yet meaningful and essentially students had to show:

1. What stress is for you, a middle school student
a. Show examples of things that cause you stress
2. What happens when you are stressed?
a. How do you react, for example, you forget things, get sick, don’t sleep, get angry...
3. What can you do to help your stress? What do you do?
a. For example: exercise, get a massage, read a book…

In addition, they had to define stress, tell when stress becomes a serious problem and what can be done about it. The imovies are short, between :45 seconds and 2:00 minutes in length.

The students did have a lot of fun creating these and have seemed to learn a lot. My students were able to use all of the technology (cameras, software) without too much trouble. If a student had a question that I couldn’t answer, then another student was able to answer it. We’ll find out on Monday what the students think of the project when we’ll hold the class film festival and then write a reflection about the content, process and outcome of their projects.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/funka/2559860826/

Digital Stories

As part of our final project, Susan Chubb and I created a video introducing our students to an imovie project about stress. As part of our 8th grade curriculum, we discuss stress, how to handle stress, and ways to keep from becoming stressed. We thought it would be more meaningful if the students examine stress within the context of their own lives.

To introduce the imovie assignment, we found a non-zen PowerPoint about stress and we used that as an example. We created a situation in which we were asking the students to help produce interesting imovies to teach all about stress since our own materials were so dull and unexciting.

We had a lot of fun making our introduction imovie and we used the procedure that we were requiring our students to follow. First, we made a storyboard, then we practiced (a little), and next we shot the footage. Finally, we did a “quick” imovie edit, which actually took longer than we planned since we were both new to imovie. My only problem with this assignment is that somehow, I was stuck being filmed, and I hate to appear in videos!

Screencasts...a Little Bit of Sunshine...

My first experience with screencasts occurred during the last technology class. For our final project, many teachers created pages for a “Doing Stuff” wiki.

To accomplish my part of the project, I used Jing and found it to be very cumbersome. I created a screencast video about finding images on Flickr. Creating it wasn’t too much of a problem; it was waiting for it to load on the wiki page time each time you wanted to use that wiki page that was. Realizing this, I did the next few items with the screen capture and just typed in my comments. This seemed to work better with the wiki.

In spite of my trouble with Jing and my constant battle with that darn Jing sun on my desktop, I do think screencasts are very useful. Teachers can create them for students to show them exactly how to do something. Then the screencast can be posted on blogs or Panthernet for each student to reference as needed. Screencasts can be turned into lessons; students can create screencasts to show other students how to do things. For example, I might have students create screencasts to show different tips and tricks for working with imovie. Once created, all students can reference this information.

Oh No! That annoying Jing sun!!

Image from: http://cpusergroup.apcug.org/images/jing.jpg

Youtube & You

I was reading Facebook the other day, when I noticed a posting from one of my former teaching colleagues, a creative, dynamic, and energetic young United States History teacher. She’s the kind of teacher the students adore and she goes beyond the “normal” methods of teaching and really makes the lessons hands-on by doing things like converting her room into trenches for her World War I lessons. Anyway, on Facebook she was excited because she found this video about the US Civil War on Youtube:





However, she was up against the district’s firewall:
“…we need to figure out how to get around the firewalls at school to show youtube. this is a great example of things it'd be nice to show the kids!!!”

Fortunately one of her Facebook friends told her he’d show her how to convert the Youtube file so she wouldn’t need to use the internet at all while sharing the video with her class.

So… how has the explosion of web based video changed the teaching and learning landscape?

Well…not so much if you can’t or don’t know how to use the resources!

Fortunately, ISB doesn’t restrain teachers with firewalls and happily they provide teacher training opportunities as well as superb technical support. A few times a week, I am busy converting video files to use in the classroom. I prefer converting them because I don’t have to worry about no-or slow Internet. I use web based video to enhance my lessons. For example, when some students seemed to miss the concept of “materialism” I showed a few minutes of Madonna’s “Material Girl” video to clarify the meaning. In health class, I frequently show anti-bullying, drinking or smoking PSA’s to begin a discussion. I also show alcohol and old tobacco commercials to discuss how the media influences smoking and drinking. Finding the clips is fun but can be time consuming and you need to be careful that you are showing “accurate” content.

Presentations Before & After

Here is an example of a Powerpoint presentation I created before CoETaIL classes:

Ode To Odes

Here is the same presentation, updated using tips I learned in class:

Ode To Odes Update

The differences are very clear!

Using Images While You Teach

I frequently use Creative Commons Flickr searches to find interesting images to use for journal writing or to start class discussions. I think that many of my CoETaIL classmates wrote wonderful blog posts presenting some of these images used in this context. However, many times, especially for social studies, I need historical images or artwork and most of these fall into the Public Domain since they are quite old (about 70-100 years past the life of the artist). Here is one of my favourite images to use with students. It is a print made from an engraving by William Hogarth, issued in 1751, that was part of a campaign leading to the Gin Act of 1751:

This image, a re-release can be found at Wikimedia Commons. The original can be found at the British Museum.

When I’ve used this image in class, I’ve projected the image while the students write down what they see. Next, they discuss with a partner the message of the picture. Finally, as a class, we discuss the image, its message, and how it relates to our curriculum (as an early example of social commentary, how it fits with what was happening in England in the 1750s, or what this says about the impact of drinking gin on your health). Depending on the course content/focus, I’ll show them the companion engraving, Beer Lane as well as discuss the poems that went along with each engraving.

This image is found at the same souces mentioned above.

Another way I use images in class is by having students select their own images. Frequently, I like my students to write a blog post and then find an image to support or complement their entry. For example, at the beginning of this year, students could choose one quote from several economic quotes and then write what the quote was about, a bit about who said it, how it relates to some economic concepts we’ve studied and what the person who said the quote would think about consumerism. To accompany this blog entry, they needed to find an image that symbolized what the quote meant to them.

Now That I've Dusted the Cobwebs Off My Blog...

How This Program Has Changed My Teaching For The New Year...

Actually, these courses in the Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (CoETaIL) program have changed my teaching during the last school year as well as impacted my teaching for this current school year. Before taking these courses I knew the basics about technology, but little else. I came to ISB Middle School after teaching High School Advanced Placement World History, a course which relies heavily upon Powerpoint notes. To spice things up a little, I added short video clips to the Powerpoint notes presentations. A revolutionary move in my US school district, but the small pictures and bullet heavy slides remained. In my honors World History class, I’d often use a picture or an image to get a discussion started, but the rest of the class relied on low-technology projects and activities.

Last year, while teaching grade 7 Humanities, I had the opportunity to implement many things I learned in CoETaIL in my classroom. Some of the things that I implemented included:

• students blogging about different subjects and topics
• student making Powerpoint presentations in the Kim-Jeff-Zen style
• students using moviemaker to create their Korat photo essays
• students learning about Creative Commons image searches
• students creating and using iGoogle accounts and RSS Readers
• student choices regarding projects using or not using technology (creating videos, podcasts, Xtranormal videos, writing final chapters, creating sculptures, etc.)
• students learning about and using wikis, GoogleEarth, Google Docs, video clips, image searches, and music
• students learning to analyze the validity of websites
• teacher created activities, games, and brief Powerpoint presentations using the Kim-Jeff-Zen style
• class discussions centered around images and the analysis of those images

This current school year, I’ve been busy continuing to utilize technology in my classroom. With three new preps and all of the planning involved, I’ve been very busy (thus, the reason why I’m so far behind in my blog entries!) In addition to continuing some of the same types of technology activities that I used last year, this year I have been working more with Panthernet.

Like last year, this year I don’t use technology just for the sake of using technology in the classroom. I examine what I want the students to learn and use the best tools available to accomplish the task. Sometimes it may be writing a blog entry, while other times I might see more benefit from writing a journal entry or even creating a picture or web using a large sheet of paper. I try to balance traditional methods with technological ones. I think the CoETaIL classes have been instrumental in providing me with the knowledge of the different tools that are available and how to use them.

Image From Flickr, Josef Stuefer http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefstuefer/9500503/

Final Blog - Project & Class Reflection

Whew… just finished the last little bit of my final project and now it’s on to the final blog! Unfortunately, in addition to having flashbacks to my undergraduate days when I waited until the last minute to complete major projects, I am also having writers block! But here it goes…

For my final project I created “How to Find Images on the Internet” for the doingstuff wiki. The doingstuff wiki is a collaborative site where helpful “how to do stuff” pages are posted. Students and teachers can use the information to teach themselves about different aspects of technology. In addition, students and teachers can share their tips, tricks and technological expertise in this wiki format. As I work with my seventh graders, I realize how their technology skills vary. This wiki is a great way to fill in some of the gaps in technology knowledge.

Being a technology-novice I really learned a lot from this project. This was the first time I’ve ever created pages for a wiki and added information to a wiki. I spent time “playing” and learning how all of the features of this wiki work. In addition, I learned about Jing. During one technology class Kerry shared this useful tool with me so I decided to give it a try. It’s easy and fun to use, however, it is a bit cumbersome with the very large files and it loads rather slowly. Given this problem, I wonder if the Jing Pro (that you pay for) would be a wise investment! One other lesson learned: when you’re still learning about technology, it ALWAYS takes longer to get something finished than you anticipated!

Once again, I found this technology class to be incredibly interesting and practical. I think I’m learning lots of useful stuff about technology and I’m able to use what I’ve learned in my own class with my students. One of the things I enjoy about ISB is the investment the school has made in technology and the technological expertise that is available to help teachers use this technology with their students. I am continually impressed with the amazing technology talent that the school had the foresight to hire.

So now I'm just looking forward to the next class... well OK I am looking forward to summer as well!

From Lone Rangers to Mass Collaborators

“Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.” - Oliver Wendell Homes


“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” -- George Bernard Shaw


Once upon a time, many years ago, I received my undergraduate degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Here we were trained to be a bunch of “lone rangers”. Individually we researched and wrote about topics of great interest to us that were related to our current courses. These lengthy papers, once graded by our professors, disappeared from the surface of the earth forever. My friends in the School of Business had of different experience. They were mostly involved in group projects and presentations. They learned the art of small-scale collaboration, group work and negotiations during most of their class assignments. They griped about the “slacker” in their group (or bragged about being the “slacker” in the group “Hey, I’m doing nothing and getting an A!”). However, like in my college, their efforts, once graded, disappeared forever.

So in my past it seems that my university decided business students needed to learn collaboration while liberal arts majors didn’t. However, most professions do need to collaborate at many different levels. Now, with technology, we have the capability to collaborate, share, and store knowledge like never before. We can share ideas and build on those ideas.

Times have changed, now students are being prepared for a world of mass collaboration mostly through some type of group assignment. Unfortunately, student participation in technological mass collaboration is heavily dependent on the philosophy of the school and/or the experiences of the individual teacher. So what can we as educators do to prepare students for a world of mass collaboration? Here are a few ideas:

• Become mass collaborators ourselves so we can lead by example.
• Look for ways we can incorporate mass collaboration activities in the classroom.
• Provide opportunities for students to participate in mass collaboration, especially technology based collaboration.
• Teach students about mass collaboration, show them examples of successful mass collaboration efforts, and empower them to become collaborators.
• Recognize the personalities that can limit the power of mass collaboration: the slackers, the bossy ones, the lone rangers…
  

Interestingly, many cultures have proverbs or adages that recognize the power of collaboration. Here are a few:

• Behind an able man there are always other able men. - Chinese Proverb
• Many hands make light the work - English Proverb
• Two heads are better than one - English Proverb
• Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. - American Proverb
• Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. - Swedish Proverb
• A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study. - Chinese Proverb
• Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. - Native American Proverb
• To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. - Chinese Proverb
• What you give you get, ten times over. - Yoruba Proverb

New Media Literacy Anyone?

One of the most interesting sessions I attended during EARCOS was the Job-Alike lunch discussion session. Since middle school humanities was divided into either middle school English or middle school social studies and I couldn’t decide which part of humanities to attend, instead I opted for the Film/Media session.

It really wasn’t such a random choice, as part of the Grade 7 Connected World project, the students are making short 2 to 3 minute films about their issues and I wanted to know more about this process from the experts.

It was during the lively discussion of editing software, “ripping films”, and bashing core curriculum teachers who want their students to make 3 minute films but have no concept of how much time is involved that media literacy surfaced.

Many of the film/media teachers felt that media literacy should be a stand-alone required class. Many felt that in such a class students could acquire the skills and the content teachers could spend less time teaching skills and more time focused on applying technology to the curriculum. Interestingly, this same discussion occurred during one of our ISB technology classes.

Some quick internet research revealed that in the majority of countries, media literacy is embedded in English/language arts, social studies, health and other core or required classes, so as we frequently say in this technology class, “we are all media literacy specialists”. However, should media literacy skills or “new” media literacy be taught in a stand-alone class?


Here are some additional questions:

• If media literacy skills are taught in a stand-alone class, then when (grade levels) and what (by grade level) should be taught?
• Will a high school media literacy skills class teach skills that will become obsolete by the time a student enters university? (For example, think about typing classes and keyboarding classes).
• Should media literacy be a required course at university?
• When media literacy is embedded in core classes, has adequate teacher training been provided? Are adequate technological resources available?

Some interesting web sites/articles:

Media Literacy: An Alternative to Censorship

The Association for Media Literacy

media literacy - state literacy report

Variety news article

So what do you think? New media literacy anyone?

Copy...right? ...and Pirates at Bay?

Well…what can I say about copyright laws that hasn’t already been said by other course participants? I thought about cutting and pasting all of their great ideas into my blog…but then I worried that I’d be violating some sort of copyright law and my blog entry would be taken down…

Here’s an unhappy person, some of his videos were removed from U-Tube for copyright violations:



As educators we should abide by the copyright laws as they apply to us through fair use. It seems we have more flexibility when using copyrighted materials thanks to the interpretation of fair use. As we learned in class, even what we can and can’t do with copyrighted material as educators is often misconstrued and misunderstood. Furthermore, as educators we need to teach our students about copyright and copying (plagiarism). ISB’s AUP mentions the importance of complying with copyright laws and citing sources: “Graphics and text retrieved from the Internet must comply with copyright laws and sources must be properly documented.” (ISB, MS AUP).

Most course participants, on their blogs and in class, seem to agree that copyright laws need to be rethought and updated. They need to change as society changes. Some artists have already started to do this by selling or “donating” their music directly to consumers and using the “free” publicity generated to fill concert venues. Furthermore, everyone basically agrees that sharing seems to contribute to creativity. Historically, most inventions, including language, are actually “borrowed” as opposed to being a completely original innovations; lending support to the idea that creativity builds on creativity.

However, some believe in the importance of protecting the livelihood of artists and creators. If they can’t financially benefit from their talents, hard work and gifts, then they will have to do other things to make a living and contribute less to the rich tapestry of creativity. Therefore, balance is important with regard to copyright changes.

So basically change needs to happen: change, adapt or risk extinction. Whatever your thoughts and opinions on this topic; change is coming and it won’t be easy for everyone. Just ask the people at Pirate Bay, now convicted and facing one year in jail and hefty fines:



Pirate Bay speaks out

"Illegal file sharing won't stop"


And remember...

The Power of Web

The power of the web lies in the users, the collaborators, the organizers, all of us. This is summed up nicely in the UTube classic, The Machine is Us/ing Us:




The web connects us; it connects the world and rapidly changes us, our present, and our future...



It enables us to become involved in our world for better… activism…

And worse… get rich quick schemes (with poor English)…




It has forever altered education, connecting us to information and students…(and lengthy government reports about education and information)…


The web entertains us and lets us entertain ourselves… that's the power of web...

Harassment and Bullying Online

Cyber bullying has been getting lots of publicity in recent years and unfortunately, most studies indicate that the problem is continuing to grow. Schools, communities and families are trying to find ways to successfully deal with this problem. As a teacher as well as the parent of two teens, I find this phenomenon very distressing: What if my child is ever a victim of cyber bullying? Would they tell me? Could I help them? What if my child was a cyber bully? What if their actions as a cyber bully have a disastrous conclusion?

Two well publicized cases of cyber bullying resulted in such tragic consequences. One, that I’ve discussed with my grade 8 students when I first started teaching about cyber bullying in the spring of 2007, concerns Ryan Halligan from Vermont, United States. This thirteen year old was harassed, bullied and cyber bullied until he committed suicide in 2003. Another cyber bullying case from Missouri, United States involved thirteen year old Megan Meier who committed suicide in 2006 after being harassed via a social net working site. In this case, the bully was an adult, the mother of her former friend, pretending to be a sixteen year old boy.

Here are some additional examples of cyber bullying and their impact:

• Earlier this year in Vermont, sophomore Kylie Kinney came forward with her story of harassment. While Kylie was in eighth grade, threats and homophobic remarks were made about her on a Web site titled "Kill Kylie Incorporated". Then, another classmate allegedly created an instant message screen name similar to Kylie's, and began writing sexual innuendos and offers of dates to her field hockey team. Consequently, Kylie quit going to school, was home-schooled for a period, and then transferred to a new high school. In response, Kylie said "I had no escape, everything followed me to school" (Broache, 2006).
• In Canada, teenage Ghyslain was bullied when a group of his peers got a hold of a video he created. The video showed Ghyslain reinacting a scene from "Star Wars", flinging and twirling himself around his room. His peers then edited his video, adding special effects and sounds while splicing Ghyslain into movies such as "Chicago", "The Matrix" and "The Terminator". Then in turn, they uploaded it to the internet for everyone to see. Within two weeks, over 15 million had seen the two minute video. Now known as "the Star Wars Kid", Ghyslain dropped out of school and has had to seek psychiatric help (Paulson, 2003).
• Sixteen year old Denise, from Los Angeles, experienced cyberstalking and denigration as a form of retaliation from her ex-boyfriend. Shortly after she broke up with her boyfriend, he posted personal information, including her cell phone number, e-mail address and street address on sex-oriented websites. For months, Denise was constantly being harassed by prank calls, instant messages and drive by's. While her ex-boyfriend was quickly apprehended, it did not eliminate the continued hurt and helplessness Denise experienced (Strom and Strom, 2005).

Cyber bullying, like many things happening in the virtual world, is now being dealt with in the legal world. Courts are busy creating legal precedents while more and more bills are being introduced in local and national legislatures. Generally, in the United States, one source reports:

• “"School districts are well within their legal rights to intervene in cyberbullying incidents - even if these incidents were initiated off-campus – if it can be demonstrated that the incident resulted in a substantial disruption of the educational environment" (Hinduja and Patchin, 2007) (emphasis added). While free speech is protected by the First Amendment, a student's right to free speech is more limited than the "public at large". In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969). The court ruled that a student's right to free speech can be limited when the speech "materially disrupts class work or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others." The standard of "material disruption" set by Tinker is often referred to by the courts”
  

Interestingly the Megan Meier case has taken on remarkable legal questions that are being followed throughout the world. Megan and her adult cyber bully, Lori Drew, lived in the state of Missouri, where prosecutors could find no legal means to bring charges against Drew. However, federal authorities were able to charge her under federal law in Los Angeles, California, the location of the MySpace servers. Some in the international community view this as a test case for internet usage. While Drew was found guilty and is still awaiting sentencing for three minor charges, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the main charge.

What to do about cyber bullying? The internet is filled with links to helpful sites and Jono and Dan have provided some useful links on their blog entries. Here are some ideas that evolved during our last class discussion on this topic as well as some of my points of view:

• Make sure students understand what cyber bullying is. In fact, there was a strong movement during class to give it a different name, one to which the students could better relate.
• Teachers need to work consistently and regularly with the students regarding this topic.
• Since students are very reluctant to report any kind of bullying or harassment, some type of system needs to be developed. Students need a way to ask for help, one that is comfortable for them.
• Get parents involved. Schools need to educate parents about cyber bullying. They should understand the danger signs if their child being bullied as well as things to look for if their child is the bully.
• Students should not have a computer in their room. Keep the computer in a family room.
• Schools should address cyber bullying and harassment in their AUP.
• The AUP needs to be clearly conveyed to the parents as well as students.

ISB’S AUP and Cyber Bullying

While ISB’s AUP does contain a “cyber bullying clause” I believe it needs to be more detailed and specific. The term cyber bullying needs to be clearly defined and it should include the term harassment as well as the usual means of harassment. It also needs to include information about what a student should do in the event of a cyber bullying incident. Here is an example I like from the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• “Neither the school's network nor the broader Internet (whether accessed on campus or off campus, either during or after school hours) may be used for the purpose of harassment. All forms of harassment in cyberspace, often called cyberbullying, are unacceptable. Cyberbullying includes but is not limited to, the following misuses of technology: harassing, teasing, intimidating, threatening, or terrorizing another person by sending or posting inappropriate and hurtful e-mail messages, instant messages, text messages, digital pictures or images, or Web site postings (including blogs). Often the author (sender or poster) of the inappropriate material is disguised (logged on) as someone else.
  Community members who feel that they have been the victims of such misuses of technology should not erase the offending material from the system. They should print a copy of the material and immediately report the incident to a school official (the director of technology, the dean of students, or the director of the upper school). All reports of harassment in cyberspace will be investigated fully. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, the loss of computer privileges, detention, suspension, separation, or expulsion from school” (Franek, 2006, p. 42). (Original Source)

Death In The Digital Age

It’s been a tough week.
Sunday night, still groggy from the ERCOS Conference, I received an e-mail from a close friend back in the United States informing me that one of my former students, a tenth grader, committed suicide.
He was 16 years old.

Feeling far away, alone and helpless I noticed the RIP site on Facebook, created by his friends and joined by hundreds of his friends and acquaintances. As I scrolled through the memories and messages, I cried and laughed and cried.

Thanks to technology, here I am in Thailand, yet, I can share my grief with many of my former colleagues as well as students.

Footprinting Your Students

The other day I asked my students to write a journal entry responding to the following:
“What is a digital footprint? How can your digital footprint affect your future?”

Like typical seventh graders, when confronted with an unfamiliar phrase, many immediately whined and demanded to know “What is a digital footprint?”

Think about it I said.
Think about what we’ve been talking about and think about the meaning of the words.

As I peered over their shoulders while they were busy writing, I was impressed that most students were able to figure it out. Almost all students responded that a digital footprint included anything you post or place on the internet. Fewer students realized that it also included all the places you’ve visited. Many students were amazed to discover that some sites like Facebook and Google actually track and store information about their adventures on-line. Almost all of the students understood the impact of what they place on-line and how it can affect their future. (Many cited the U-Tube clip and PowerPoint discussion which Chad Bates prepared last semester for all synergy teachers as well as his presentation.)

After this very interesting discussion, I showed them the Digital Dossier u-tube clip which Robin Ulster forwarded to me.



So when should students begin to learn about their digital footprints? I believe this should begin before they are given the freedom to independently use the Internet and it should be a continual part of the curriculum. As a teacher, if I’m encouraging and requiring students to use the Internet, then I have a responsibility to teach them about many of these cyber related issues.

Where? I believe that both schools and parents should play roles in providing information to children. In fact, schools may need to provide information sessions to parents to give them the necessary tools to discuss this issue with their children. I was surprised to learn, in Jeff Utecht’s blog that so many ISB parents lack basic Social Networking knowledge. I think parents should learn more about the benefits of allowing their children to become cyberliterate, by becoming cybereducated themselves. Sometimes parents, quite a few that I know, fearing the internet’s “harmful” effects, don’t allow their children to use e-mail, Facebook or other social functions of the Internet; which only limits the cybergrowth of their children.

Does ISB’s AUP take this issue into account? While ISB’s AUP doesn’t mention anything about digital footprints directly, it does mention social networking and the importance of students recognizing the possible implications and long term consequences of their online activities. Furthermore, it clearly states that online safety is a personal responsibility.

Reflection On This Class

Overall this technology class has been a fantastic and valuable experience. At the beginning of class I knew very little about the types of technology that we were introduced to and now, while I still have a lot to learn, I know more about it and how to work with it. I never knew that Google Readers existed and now I love it and use it almost every day. I use Google Documents on a regular basis as well and I will start my students using blogs and wikis in class next week.

I think that the instructors of the class planned useful and interesting activities and most importantly, we were given time to work on assignments that are meaningful to us and have practical classroom application. For the most part, the guest speakers contributed valuable information to the course content.

One of the most useful ideas I have taken away is the importance of full integration of technology in the classroom and not just layering it. However, while I see the benefit of technology, I still think there is a place for non-technology activities. For example, face to face discussions have a lot of value and are an important skill and nothing compares to curling up with and reading an actual book!

Reflection On Our Project: Connected World

Our Connected World project came into existence through amazing collaboration among the grade 7 humanities, IS and ESL teachers. We were allowed to take an entire day and use that time to plan this project. Most teachers involved agree that it was one of the most productive days we’ve ever had. After this initial meeting, we divided up the tasks and using Google Docs we are able to constantly share progress and ideas about this project.

Since our first meeting day, we use time at our regular meetings to discuss and continually update the project. This final Saturday of class, we used our time to continue this process and to plan exactly what will happen during the first two weeks of the project.

Like the other grade 7 humanities teachers I am very excited about our Connected World Project and look forward to beginning it next week. On Monday we will introduce the project to the students and let them know their region and topic and by the end of the week we should have their first blog entry! Hopefully all will go well...and we'll have a connected internet!!!

Teaching With Grand Theft Auto?

Last night my son tried to convince me of the educational value of World of Warcraft (WOW) and some Xbox car smash-up game when, during a fit of rage, I banned him from playing these games during the week due to homework neglect.

Once the homework was finally completed and he was “bored” I informed him that he could:

1. Read a book!
2. Use the computer and do educational games, go to educational sites, current events, issue sites… (who was I to interfere with productive “messing around”….and http://www.freerice.com/ IS a lot of fun!)
3. Watch something on the History channel or other “educational channel”

It was during the second choice that he creatively outlined the “educational” merits of the two games he really wished to play… (Unfortunately, he rejected the free rice vocabulary game… even after my demonstration…)

So imagine my surprise, later that night, when I found this same conversation taking place on Facebook among some of my teacher friends:

• Teacher 1: I just read that, apparently, video games are the solution for world peace. just so's you know....
• Teacher 2: I'm pretty sure that they aren't talking about "Grand Theft Auto," though.
• Teacher 1: come by my classroom tomorrow. i will show you the book that says specifically that grand theft auto can teach literacy and promote good learning skills..... then again, the same guy said that the games about role playing palestinians throwing grenades and rocks at israelis can teach about and promote tolerance. apparently, by giving a video gamed voice to palestine, children will learn about the viewpoint of the palestinians and will then be encouraged to seek solutions for peace. right......(in graduate school) we actually debated tonight, "would you let your students play a first-person shooter game in class where they were a nazi in WW2, and how would this promote learning?" wait, WHAT?
  

So what do you think? Educational value in Grand Theft Auto? World of Warcraft? Nazi shooter games?...

Adopt and Adapt?

I was eager to read Mark Prensky’s article “Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom” after reading so many “interesting” and varied comments on an assortment of blogs.

While I agree with other bloggers that he does make some outlandish statements, fails to cite sources for his statistics, and shows his inexperience in an actual classroom/educational setting, he does raise some interesting points. And if you consider that his piece was written in December 2005, then some of his blanket statements deriding our (teachers) use of technology are almost forgivable.

(In 2005 I had just left a LARGE high school in Texas, where they had TWO LCD projectors in the ENTIRE school. AND I had to check it out in advance and haul it and the attached laptop (we didn’t even have teacher laptops) on the cart up three flights of stairs – no elevator). So one can see why overhead machines were the norm and why some areas are still technological “black holes”.)

Basically, things change…some people ignore it, some embrace it and some reject it. It has always been that way and history is full of plenty of examples. However, I think more teachers embrace technology than he credits, especially in international teaching.

In addition to resistance to new technology, Prensky discusses access to technology as another barrier to technological advancement. Even with the falling cost of laptops, one-to-one computing still remains a dream for many US school districts that lack wireless networks and other hardware. Last year I taught at a US public high school that did not have wireless capabilities. What good are $100 laptops when you are don’t have wireless?

According to Prensky access includes being able to use existing technology. While some safeguards should exist to protect students from inappropriate sites, this should be done with a view towards the curriculum. In Georgia, it was tough to teach Georgia history when the internet would not allow us to find sites the discussed things like the Klu Klux Klan. Of course we discovered “creative” ways to circumvent the filter, a great lesson on internet searches.

Until some of these issues are realistically addressed, the divide between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” will continue to grow.

The Reluctant Blogger

I don’t really understand blogging....why create extra information, thoughts and musings on the already overcrowded Internet pathways.

I’m not opposed to technology…I just think we’re heading towards information overload…and I really don’t want to contribute…

I grew up when you kept your thoughts and feelings to yourself or you shared them with a few of your best friends. You diary was kept locked and your best friends knew when to keep their mouths shut. If they didn’t then the gossip never lasted very long and it never traveled far. No one’s personal information was ever floating around the globe…

So, now times have changed but I just don’t know about this blogging stuff…

Project Sketch..

Inspired by many things we have learned in this class, our grade 7 humanities team got together and began to develop a new project encompassing technology. One of the articles which motivated us to create this project was “Reinventing Project-Based Learning.” Personally, I really enjoyed this article in part due to its content, (it’s about curriculum development – one of my favorite areas) and also because of its clear examples.

At the meeting we divided the tasks and we each have been working on different project aspects. Thanks to Google documents we are able to all read and edit the project as it evolves.

During this Connected World project (thanks to Robin for the creative name idea) students will utilize technology on a regular basis as they are assigned to a particular world region and follow one of eight global issues. They will work together to create an online “hyper Text” book assembled on a wikiblog about their experiences, create a video about their issue and come up with an action plan where they are part of the solution. Throughout this process the students will write regular blog entries detailing their thoughts, feelings, reflections about the process and their experiences.

Robin did an excellent job taking the ideas from our day of planning and putting them in a project description and David did a nice job adding some personal ideas as well as comments made during our second meeting about this project.

In addition to our four main phases of focus, here are some additional ideas we are discussing or will discuss:

• During the beginning of the project, students will work with their topic groups (rich-poor gap, health, climate change, energy & natural resources, food crisis, conflict & peace, economy, and human rights) to research, discuss and better understand their topic. This might be a Google document so all topic group members can work on it at once, regardless of which class they are in. The finished document will become a page in the online textbook.
• Like the topic groups, the region groups will also complete an overview page about their regions. This may be a Google document as well and once finished, it will become a page in the online textbook.
• Current event discussions will occur from time to time. As a group we are still developing this idea. Some formats might include blog entries and/or wiki “discussions”. During the project students will regularly monitor one or two websites for current events.
  
  These three additional ideas focus the most on Standard #2: Communication and Collaboration, Standard # 3: Research and Information Fluency and Standard #5 Digital Citizenship
  
  Overall, like the other teachers, I am very excited about our project! I think the students will benefit from exploring these topics or themes regionally and then examining them globally. For social studies, I think the thematic approach is a valuable way to focus the course material. The current events aspects delights me as well, I see it as a very meaningful and practical use of current events. In addition, I hope that it instills good habits and hooks many students, making them regular readers and followers of world happenings.
  

How my thoughts are changing...continued

Reading these articles as well as examining the life of a typical 12 year old resulted in a few thoughts about teaching the youth of today:

• It is important to incorporate technology into the classroom. Not just “layering” it, but to really incorporate it.


• Technology is an important focus, but it should not be the sole focus in the classroom. Many different types of activities can be engaging for students. One day I had my students work on giant pieces of paper and when I held up the giant paper to show them…the room was filled with gasps of amazement, excitement and anticipation. Furthermore, simulations and problem-based learning activities that involve critical thinking and group interaction can be engaging and valuable for students.


• This generation has a “different” type of attention span and they seem to excel at multi-tasking (simultaneously engaging in multiple IMing sessions while searching the Internet and watching video clips etc. is relatively “normal” behavior) and these skills need to be taken into account while developing curriculum. (““Their short attention spans,” as one professor put it, “are [only] for the old ways of learning.” They certainly don’t have short attention spans for their games, movies, music, or Internet surfing.”” Engage Me or Enrage Me)


• Visuals are important to today’s students and video clips, photos, pictures and other multi-media files should be incorporated into the classroom.


• Students are becoming self-directed learners.


• While Blooms taxonomy has long been functional, the updated, digital version provides a new framework for the digital age.


• Students using technology need to be monitored to make sure they are actually working…Messing Around but not messing around. All too often their Facebook status will be written from class or they are IMing friends about social topics. To observe this tendency to get off topic on the computer, one only needs to look at a roomful of teachers at a school sponsored in-service…how many are really hard at work on their laptops doing in-service related stuff? (Many are checking their own Facebook accounts, answering e-mail, writing lesson plans, looking at vacation photos…)


• While the virtual world provides rich opportunities, let’s not forget the real world and the experiences it offers as well.
  

How My Thoughts Are Changing...

…about my daughter’s behavior…and today's youth...

Evidently, my daughter is a pro at “Messing Around”!

As I read this article, I couldn’t help but think about the “strange” habits of my 12 year old daughter and how quickly the times have changed since I was her age (exactly 30 years ago).

The article describes “messing around” as “the beginning of a more intense, media-centric form of engagement. When messing around, young people begin to take an interest in and focus on the workings and content of the technology and media themselves…”In addition, activities that are included in messing around are “looking around, searching for information online, and experimentation and play with gaming and digital media production”.

These above quotes, as well as the rest of the article, describe her daily activities. For example, she is constantly on the computer searching for information for school projects or pictures and media clips for fun. For years she has been a big fan of “Charlie the Unicorn” and other strange media productions she and her friends uncover on the Internet (like clay figures bungee jumping and losing parts of their bodies). She would rather watch selections from U-Tube then watch a TV show. I can’t even remember when she last watched regular TV.

Like many of her generation, the thought of turning in a well-written essay without some sort of Wordart or graphic enhancement is very foreign. On one school essay, she insisted on

downloading the actual Chick-fil-A logo, before the assignment could be considered complete (by her, I’m not sure if the teacher really wanted or appreciated the decoration). Like the authors of this study state “visual media become more deeply embedded in the everyday communication of young people”, and she exemplifies how important visuals and graphics are to this generation.

The article mentions that “messing around with new media generally involves social exchanges centered on new media and technology.” Once again, this is exactly what she does. She takes pictures, enhances them, takes video clips, exchanges these with friends as well as posting them on Facebook. She does this with one or two friends over (face2face) or while online in her virtual world. Like the children interviewed for this study, she is constantly changing her Facebook profile picture as well as continuously updating her status.

This article really reminds me that times have really changed. For example, while my 12 year old social life involved in-person contact with friends as well as telephone calls, she rarely uses the phone and never the landline. Her cell phone is used mostly for text messages or for keeping in touch with me. When she is not with her friends, she prefers to be on the computer where she is engaged in three to five different IM conversations while surfing the Internet, uploading pictures on Facebook, and playing on-line games. When she wants to watch a movie, she’d rather use the computer so she can watch and IM at the same time. This type of social contact I find difficult to understand, I’d rather talk to someone then write a message to them or chat on-line with them.

However, unlike Tony, one study subject, she hasn’t started her own small computer-based business…

Blame it on...

The other day, I noticed that I was behind on my graduate class assignments (nothing new & still am) but, thanks to a school holiday, I had a whole entire day to catch up! I started by using my newly established RSS reader, which was overflowing with new blog entries just waiting to be read. As I worked my way through the pile I came upon a wonderfully written and thoughtful blog entry by Margherite: “Connectivism the new constructivism?”

Well… her entry had me thinking… she mentioned Soylent Green…great movie … I haven’t seen it in a very long time… wonder if I can find the film online… hmmm…Google search ….wow…the entire film on Video Google …. Only 97 minutes ….I have the entire day….

So I watched the entire movie …which took longer than 97 minutes …it has to download… then that had me thinking … about the Twilight Zone… that episode … “To Serve Man”… similar to Soylent Green in some ways…very different in others….I wonder if I can find that…sure enough…Video Google again… only 25 minutes this time!

So bad news…the whole entire day was squandered (movies and kids) and blogs were not produced! Good news…I successfully used Video Google…not once but twice! (first time…I’ve only U-Tubed before).

I do recommend you read Margherite’s blog entry…however…do not do as I have done…

Comments on Chris

When utilizing any type of information, on the internet, print, video or any source for that matter, truth and bias are important considerations. Know your source and how it might influence the validity and reliability of the information.

Chris Betcher’s presentation focused on this issue and asserted the importance of teaching this to our students and that it should be part of the curriculum. I completely agree with this concept. I enjoyed the “Spaghetti” video and the Bonsi kittens are awesome! These “fun” sites plus his useful PowerPoint “5 Factors for Evaluating a Website” provides some great tools to make these concepts fun and memorable for students.

In addition, he stressed the importance of internet searching, how to conduct a search and to teach students to be aware of different types of web sites. We did some work with this in grade 7, starting at the beginning of the year. Robin put together a wonderful lesson about searching the internet which we all used with our students. Throughout the year, we continue to build on what they learned about internet searches.

Furthermore, Chris led an interesting discussion about Wikipedi and defended the reliability of information at that site. He took us to parts of Wikipedi and showed us how you can see the updates for each site. Very interesting!

My Thoughts on Personal Learning Networks and Clarence

Clarence’s presentation explaining personal learning networks and their application in the classroom was very interesting…I really like many of his ideas and admire how he incorporates technology into his classroom in a natural and beneficial way. I am amazed at the variety of tools that exist as part of personal learning networks…like voice threads and I-tune pod-casts from university professors. Here are some specific details that I like:

• Personal learning networks are a great way to connect kids with content and people in other parts of the world. This idea of a global audience.
• I-Google tabs are a useful tool to utilize in the classroom to organize and share information sources.
• Using themes then providing pre-screened sources which students follow over time. They must be ready to discuss this information as well as use it in class as required.
• Writing assignments that are posted on a blog/wiki which other students/people can read and respond to.
• Notify parents in advance and once the blogs are set, students are required to share the url with their parents.
• Using “experts” within the class to teach technology to others.

One are of concern was raised during the presentation involved the safety of children on the Internet. As a parent myself, this is a huge concern that I address with my own children by monitoring their use of the computer, the sites they visit as well as discussing the dangers of “strangers” on the internet. Also, I teach my own children (and students) to know their internet source and not to believe everything they read on the internet (any more than TV).

Why I'm Taking This Class...

I want to learn more about current technology and how to use it in my classroom.
I want incorporate some of these newer ideas into my lesson plans to benefit my students and engage them more in the classroom.
While I’m not a technophobe who can’t use the basics of technology, I feel like technology is developing and changing so quickly that it is easy to get left behind and I feel like I’ve been left behind regarding blogs, wikis and other forms of technology that have practical application in the classroom.