Good Afternoon!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! There are a few updates to the blog. The syllabus has been revised to reflect a link to this blog, a few additional book choices, and to show that all classes will be at Cheney Tech. The resources that I mentioned during last week's class are also listed under resources.
It looks like I have almost everyone's contact info. If you've already sent it to me then you may have already received an invitation to be an author for this blog. I look forward to reading your posts!
You can also subscribe to the blog by clicking on the RSS button. It should allow you to subscribe via email (or any other way you choose). You may find this helpful to know when someone has posted; instead of intermittently checking the blog you'll receive an email with the post.
With your preferred email address I have also sent you a copy of the syllabus designed especially for you. This will be the space where I will provide you with feedback on the tasks. The rubrics are embedded right in it so you will see exactly how you met the criteria. I'll chat more about this and the self-reflection piece on Thursday.
Have a spectacular week!
Have a spectacular week!
24 comments:
Jessica Willem’s 1st Blog on Lol…OMG!
As I sit here and reflect upon the book’s first chapter, I am suddenly blushing! I’m thinking about how embarrassed I am, knowing that all of you will be reading this. I am used to only our professors reading my reflections, and not all of you; so be nice! In retrospect to worrying about what other people think about what I post on line, this first chapter reports the exact opposite of college students today. Matt Iverson reports how college students are constantly documenting their lives online, including their mistakes. In colleges all over the world today students are continually posting blogs, statues, and pictures about themselves online, with no regard for how damaging this can be to their, “permanent file.” This permanent file is one that I remember clearly from high school myself. I know my classmates and I are thankful our files are probably locked away in a file cabinet in the bottom of our high school’s basement, if not shredded, after all these years. However, today’s college student’s permanent records are being documented online where information is shareable to everyone. Would you have wanted all of your mistakes made in high school and college documented online for all to see? How do you think this could have impacted your college career and/or job search?
Sounds very interesting Jessica, I have not read this chapter (I am starting with a different book)but this reminds me off the debate I often have with students as to whether potential employers should have the right to use facebook and the like during background checks. I am always surprised by the amount of students who feel this info should be off limits. This 'permanent file' is a bit scary to me and the main reason I have never set up a facebook. It seems that what happens on the internet stays on the internet for all to see. -Ken
Jessica, you are so right on, our students live and grow in a very different world than the one we grew up in. I've actually sent messages on Facebook to former students warning them to be careful with the content they post online. The interaction between the immediacy that teenagers crave and the instant gratification that the internet provides can be potent and dangerous - all the more reason why we need to teach them how to use the technology more responsibly. I definitely wouldn't have wanted my college years documented online - I probably wouldn't have been able to become a teacher!
So, having finished the novel Thirteen Reasons Why, I am torn. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable novel, with an engaging plot and two intriguing protagonists. However, I struggled with making a connection between the book and the purpose of our class. For me, I guess I understand that the book deals with the issue of bullying, and hits upon the effects students can have upon one another whether they realize it or not. However, I think it reflects a growing issue our nation faces. While we do need to teach students to not bully and to respect one another, I also feel like we need to teach students to handle stress in a better way than by harming themselves. Growing up, I'm sure that each one of us was subjected to bullying at least once in our lifetimes. For the most part, we stood up for ourselves, understood that it was only words, and moved on. Students today struggle with this and take it much more personally, leading to permanent and devastating decisions, such as suicide. I think as an educator, we need to A) teach kids that what they say online can be just as hurtful as what they say in person, and B) that students need to understand that they are not alone and that suicide is not an acceptable option, that there are always alternatives.
Overall, I felt that the book was well-written, and made a good point. While I do think that the focus on bullying has been a little overdone, I do understand the power of this text and the good that it can do.
I constantly reflect upon the fact that Facebook signaled a major change in our societal technology. I find it strange that, with our constant yearning to be connected to others, we actually are more alone than ever before. To your point, Jessica, I remember student teaching at my old high school and being allowed to take my personal file. That's it, the only copy. Kids now have these digital files that can be accessed yeas after they have graduated, allowing for their past to come back to haunt them in ways ours never could. Is it more,convenient? Of course? But is it good for us? That questions can't truly be answered.
Garrett, you may find reading one of Don Tapscott or Alan November's books helpful. They talk a lot about empowering students with the technological tools available to them.
Hello all,
I am not sure what I did- but I don't think I originally posted correctly- as I now am seeing all of your posts...
While reading the nine elements of digital citizenship, three of which still left me with many questions we as professionals need to explore/define more in depth. Digital etiquette- I believe that some adults struggle with what is/isn't appropriate and how their actions affect others. How can we teach our students the proper etiquette to online blogging/researching/posting? I work primarily with students that have disabilities- should their digital access be any different than the regular education student? There are many online/tech savvy tools that these students' would greatly benefit from, and could even be included in their program modifications, but without knowing "digital law and security" that well myself I feel uncomfortable implementing these tools within the students IEP. I currently use technology within the classroom, but I am interested in learning more about programs and technology available for students with both learning and physical disabilities. I know our district is looking into online classes for students who may need an adjustment in programming- but I am interested in keeping students in school, and using technology more as an accommodation, instead of a program change. What are your thoughts on teaching digital literacy in your classroom? Would you feel comfortable if a Learning Disabled student had an IEP with modifications/accommodations that incorporate technology- such as Kurzweil or Read Aloud? (Computer programs that help students with reading/writing) English teachers- Do you currently use these programs within your class?
-Cassie
At Garrett- I agree with your comment about teaching students how to handle stress. When we were young- this was something that was taught to us by our parents (or) was learned by means of observation of other adults (Or we simply weren't stressed out- and were able to figure out a solution on our own). The question that is left lingering in my mind is- are kids becoming "more stressed" or do they not have the social skills to deal with their problems, as face to face conversations/interactions are starting to become slim. I think that this connects to your comment "I find it strange that, with our constant yearning to be connected to others, we actually are more alone than ever before". While students are connected to more people, do they lack the social skills that we were taught through face to face interaction? If so, what does the future of these students look like?
I guess for me, I a, looking to cut a happy medium. I want my students to be technologically savvy. That being said, I see many of them addicted to technology in the same way a drug addict is addicted. How can we balance this, especially when we are fighting what the parents make readily available to them at home? Can we? If not, how can we teach them (to the best of our extent) how to live in the real world AND the digital one, and not just in one or the other?
At Garrett,
I think it is amazing that you were able to take your personal file with you! I wonder what is even in mine, if it is still around! Students today make their own files on many social networks that can be easily accessed by any student, parent, teacher, or future job, and this is truly scary! I know many stories of teachers being fired for what they put on Facebook and adults. Maybe 13 Reasons Why should be read by more teachers than students!
I also feel that students take bullying to the extreme and become so consumed by what other people say to them and think about them, that they forgot what matters; what they think about themselves. Students often forgot to stand up for themselves. Instead, students just insult the person insulting them, and so it continues. I feel that as educators we need to remind students that being friends with someone is a choice. I often find myself telling my students, “If a person doesn’t make you happy and puts you down, do not be friends with them.”
At Cassie,
To connect to your comment, I do feel that older students have learned how easy it is to hide behind their phones and computers and no longer have a need to just hang out and talk! I used to spend hours talking to my friends on the phone and the best part was hearing them laugh. Now, all kids see is, LOL. It is depressing to me that friends have to now tell their friends they are laughing, rather than being able to hear them. I actually had a friend tell me she calls me less often because she feels like she keeps tabs on me through Facebook. This statement really hurt my feeling and goes against what I hold most valuable in life, talking with family and friends. If students are seeing their parents and teachers talking more through technology, does this mean they will learn to talk less face to face?
In response to Jessica's original post: I think that this concept of a 'digital footprint' is a bit scary. Many of my students do not understand that they leave a record when they use the web, and of course some get themselves into trouble and don;t think about their actions before hand. This footprint is the reason I do not have a facebook account and have no desire to do so. I always enjoy the discussion I have with my students about if employers and colleges should be able to use facebook and the like to learn about individuals. Most students disagree with this practice and feel that this should be private info. The reality is though that once the info is out there...its out there.
In response to Garrett (or should I say at Garrett?) I completely agree with your last post. All to often I see students who just seem like they cannot function without their phone. Many flat out tell me it is their #1 material possession and they are lost without it. I agree balance is key. I do think it is a good thing for a school do have a bring your own device policy and embrace not fight the use of technology in the schools. But I also do not think this should give students free reign to never put the phone down. There is a time and place for the phone. I think a start to teaching students how to live in both the real and digital world is to set boundaries and force the technology out when it is not needed. I personally fear the day when we may live in a completely digital world like some of our students seem to.
There was a recent article about the guidelines that a mother gave her son along with the gift of an iPhone (http://abcnews.go.com/US/massachusetts-mom-son-sign-18-point-agreement-iphone/story?id=18094401). The list of rules is really comprehensive and includes things like turning the phone off every so often to look up and around at the world. It's really all about balance - the digital world is not good or bad, it is what we make it. I think that we as educators also need to strike a balance and not be too anti-technology. As the old saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. Then change them from the inside (that part's my little revision :-) ).
Good evening everyone. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and hunker down for this huge snow storm we are getting on Wednesday. Yeah right!!! Good stuff on here. In response to Jessica's original post and Emily's response...to put it nicely...I am not a fan of Facebook at all. This generation gets their gratification from the number of friends they have on Facebook. It's like owning Air Jordan sneakers or Ugg boats. It's all a status symbol. The majority of the kids we teach have "friends" on their list that they have no idea who they are. I honestly don't understand the "need" for me to go online and post for the entire world to see that I am leaving my house and heading to the gym. Every year we have state troopers come to our school and give a presentation on internet safety. And it amazes me how little the presentation affects my students. Last year, the day after the presentation, I forgot about teaching math for a day and I got permission from one of my students in the class to "hack" into their Facebook page. It took me 30 seconds to find their page and put it up on the Smartboard for the entire class to see. And then I explained to them that at that very moment, there are people all over the world doing what I just did and looking at you in all of your photos that you choose to put out there for all to see. Again, I don't see the need. Like Emily said...our students need to be taught how to use the internet properly...but is that our job as educators?
Steve- I have mutual feelings regarding facebook, I use it to catch up with old friends and view pictures, but strongly agree that it shouldn't be a place to air your life story. Working at a High School I would agree with you in regards to students not caring about what they post for complete strangers to see. When asking students about this, some have told me that they simply do not care what others think of them- which of course creats a discussion about getting jobs, and what is/isn't appropriate to post. About a year ago I read about a man who applied for a job at a fast food joint, and prior to being hired the manager asked to see the applicants facebook page. I am not sure that this is legal, but the applicant refused, and wasn't hired. I think with technology increasing everyday, it would make sense for parents to teach their children about how to use it properly- BUT- many parents aren't familiar with and or don't understand how to use technology (yet how to use it correctly). I think as teachers we all have a "fear" about what we are/aren't going to be held responsible for (if something were to go wrong)- and for me, my fear is the unknown- without knowing how to use much of this technology myself, it makes it difficult to incorporate it into my lessons.
In response to Garrett’s post on 13 Reasons Why, I also didn’t quite see the connection between the book and this course. That doesn’t mean that there are no lessons to be taken from this book. On the contrary, I found the story compelling. Once I got past the initial gut reaction to the tale about a student who takes her own life, I began to analyze the sequence of events that led to the tragedy. How could this have been prevented? What is my role as a professional educator to be part of the solution? It struck me that there were several warning signals that were either not recognized or completely ignored by adults who could have done something to head off Hannah’s suicide. (Though I am a generation removed from my students, I am still able to relate to the confusion and self-doubt that is part of growing up.) I began to look for some of those same warning signs in my students and asked myself whether it was appropriate to take action. Ultimately, it is up to the parent to recognize these warning signs, but in many families the parents are so distracted by their own personal problems they fail to see the pain in their child. My conclusion was that the professional educator has a responsibility to take action if he or she sees evidence that a student is at risk. Part of my responsibility is to teach students to have respect for each other in situations that are not part of the classroom or school experience because they just don’t know the implications of all that they do.
In response to Emily’s post about the mother's guidelines for her son's iPhone use, I read every word of the agreement with great interest. I commend the mother for recognizing the power and potential abuse of technology and placing limits on its use for her son. That seems to be a recurring theme in this course. Technology, when used properly is a tremendous tool. Used improperly and it is at least an unwelcome distraction and at worst, destructive. I wish all the parents of my students were as responsible as this mom. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone and have come to depend on it to help me organize the many tasks in my daily life. Knowing when to turn it off is key. The iPhone works for me, I don’t work for the iPhone. If we can teach our students to use good judgment about the use of technology, we will be doing them a great service.
@ Emily- I watched that video and read her contract, thanks for sharing that! I love it! It underscores what you were talking about in class the other day. We need to teach them responsibility with all this technology. She had some really great points that kids need to hear and it was clear through her language that they have a close relationship. We all might be able to take this idea and apply it into our own classrooms somehow, depending on how we are having our kiddos use the technology in our classes.
lol..OMG! contains many true life examples of what can happen when ‘sharing’ goes public. Often, the one(s) sharing their comments or video on YouTube, Twitter, or Face book think that they’re just having a good laugh. They don’t really think ahead as to how offensive their material may be to others because they think the information will just stay within their circle of friends. It’s too late when they find out how wrong they were. Concrete examples like this should be discussed with anyone who has internet access. It’s crucial to have the forethought to not post or tweet anything that can make you look bad. Recently in the news, Washington State football players have been banned from Twitter because of the negative impact. Face book has also made access to old photos easy to obtain. Material that might have been posted years ago can suddenly reappear. Privacy settings should be changed to reflect just who you really want to obtain certain information. The author, Matt Ivester, gives specific advice on how to change Face book settings. All social media users should also become ‘conscious creator (s) of content.’ Anything that might seem humorous at the time (lol moment) can get turned into an OMG life altering change (having to drop out of the college or not getting a particular job). It’s important for students to become educated about social media’s impact on their future opportunities. Many will say that they ‘don’t care’, but this is a short-sighted and egocentric viewpoint. Having social media education specifically written into the CCSS and all content area curriculums would place more emphasis on just how important it is.
In response to Alicia thoughts about how students really don’t seem to think about how comments and pictures sent to one person could end up going to the whole school and beyond-
I’ve been thinking and researching about how I’m going to present and teach the idea of respect and appropriateness in preparation for hosting a science blog of my own. Stacey Baker (not my cousin) a high school science teacher and blogger has her students send her all their posts for preview, she then puts them up on the blog. Another alternative we know is to set it up on your phone to receive an alert every time one of your students posts. Of course you then need to read the posts and take them down if necessary. I talked to one of my colleagues that blogs with his AP students. He does find it time consuming but suggested that you can make it more manageable by setting up very clear rules and times for the blogging. I’m still undecided because I think that students all have such varied schedules that creating a specific day and time might be impossible to do. Several teachers use Edmodo primarily to put up extra resources and to remind students and their parents of quizzes, tests, and project due dates.
At Garrett,
I think it is amazing that you were able to take your personal file with you! I wonder what is even in mine, if it is still around! Students today make their own files on many social networks that can be easily accessed by any student, parent, teacher, or future job, and this is truly scary! I know many stories of teachers being fired for what they put on Facebook and adults. Maybe 13 Reasons Why should be read by more teachers than students!
I also feel that students take bullying to the extreme and become so consumed by what other people say to them and think about them, that they forgot what matters; what they think about themselves. Students often forgot to stand up for themselves. Instead, students just insult the person insulting them, and so it continues. I feel that as educators we need to remind students that being friends with someone is a choice. I often find myself telling my students, “If a person doesn’t make you happy and puts you down, do not be friends with them.”
At Cassie,
To connect to your comment, I do feel that older students have learned how easy it is to hide behind their phones and computers and no longer have a need to just hang out and talk! I used to spend hours talking to my friends on the phone and the best part was hearing them laugh. Now, all kids see is, LOL. It is depressing to me that friends have to now tell their friends they are laughing, rather than being able to hear them. I actually had a friend tell me she calls me less often because she feels like she keeps tabs on me through Facebook. This statement really hurt my feeling and goes against what I hold most valuable in life, talking with family and friends. If students are seeing their parents and teachers talking more through technology, does this mean they will learn to talk less face to face?
At Steve,
I absolutely LOVED that you hacked into your student’s facebook page in order to prove first hand at how easy it is to locate their information. It is so important for them to know that people who cannot be trusted are able to easily do the exact same thing. To answer your question, I do think it is our job as educators to teach our students about digital citizenship because if we don’t, who will? Most parents know less about digital citizenship and the safety of the internet than their own children. I know some of my third graders know more than I do, and boy is that is a scary thought! I think it is important that you took the time to educate your class and there is no doubt in my mind they all learned a valuable lesson from you!
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