"If Your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online"

Here is an interesting article that was passed along to me by a colleague.

Here are some key points:

"Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted."

"...it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children’s environment"

"The heaviest media users were also more likely than the lightest users to report that they were bored or sad, or that they got into trouble, did not get along well with their parents and were not happy at school."

Marcia

Multimedia Storytelling

Capzles.com can offer a neat way to incorporate multimedia into lessons and/or activities. This is an application that combines photos, videos, music, and documents into a multimedia storyline. It's very easy to use, and I think this would be a great option for an enriched task in classes ranging from gifted-clustered to college level. Although it's fun to make, I don't think it's the most effective way for students to learn Math, however, it could serve as a good review activity and a resource for future classes.

Here's a "time capzle" that I made with lessons from earlier in this semester. I was even able to use my own background music!

Marcia

Wordle

A Wordle is a tool for creating a collage of words from text that you provide. Words that appear more frequently in the source text appear larger and bolder in the Wordle. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share.

Here is a Wordle that I created using the Internet Safety Tips for Teens provided by the OPP.

Source: www.opp.ca

Students and Computer Skills

Last month I was having problems opening "pdf" files on my computer. A helpful student saw my frustration, and asked if they could be of assistance. Two minutes later, problem solved.

I can appreciate the vast knowledge that students seem to innately have when it comes to computers. It is for this reason that I am so surprised to find a lack of skills with relatively basic software such as MS Office. Even my Grade 12 students struggled to use relatively basic features in MS Excel, Word, or PowerPoint. For example, many students are not sure how to manipulate the layout of a word document that includes tables and images, or how to change from "Portrait" to "Landscape". So, why are our students reaching Grade 12 without ever having learned these seemingly basic computer skills? Perhaps, somewhere along the path to classroom technology integration, our students were left behind to figure all this out on their own. It is logical to conclude that a young generation who has used a computer since the age of two will gain these skills naturally over time. I have often thought that students "just know" how to use these programs, however I have learned that this is not an assumption that can or should be made.

Having said that, I can certainly understand if they are unsure how to use a program that they rarely use, such as Excel, but I am amazed at their methods of troubleshooting. When in difficulty, most students prefer to type their problem into YouTube or Google, which of course yields many results. The problem is that the helpful tips they find are for different versions of the program, which makes the advice confusing and hard to follow. I rarely see my students click on the "Help" menu within the program itself before asking me for help.

What I have learned over the past few years is to not assume that students have these skills just because they are a "plugged in" generation. Although they may possess an impressive skill set when it comes to computers, it is still necessary to explicitly teach students how to use common software more effectively, as well as a variety of troubleshooting strategies and the perseverance to learn new programs.

Thanks for reading,

Marcia

Social Networking and Education Part 2

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Messenger, Blogs ... social networking is everywhere. As an educator, I must ask the question:

Do social networking websites have a place in schools?

Firstly, I feel that students should not be using their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts (and similar sites) during school time, but rather use their time at school in a more educational (or useful) way. I also think that for some students, social networking can be distracting and addictive, which can impede their learning process and progress at school.

However, I do wonder if blocking these sites in the solution. My thinking is that these websites can and are being used in educational ways. For example, Twitter accounts may be created for a particular class, and monitored by the teacher. This has been successfully implemented in Gr. 12 classes at my school, and many students found that they were able to stay up to date with critical information and discussions more easily. The issue as educators becomes finding ways of utilizing these formats while protecting our students.

It seems that despite teachers best efforts to monitor student use of the internet, we are constantly playing "catch up" with new technology. I think that these sites do have a place in education, BUT in a controlled and monitored environment. Recently, our school installed a system that allows teachers to monitor the use of lab computers. We are able to see exactly what the students are doing, and to assume control of the computer when needed. We can also block all internet use, or just allow access to one or two websites. I have found this enormously effective, since the idea of the teacher monitoring their screen discourages most inappropriate use of computers.

Monitoring the use of computers at school is a start, and can easily be enforced during class time, however with more and more students acquiring their own laptops, this becomes much more difficult to do outside of class time. This is why it is critical that students are aware of the potential risks involved with using these sites.

Some risks that we should explicitly teach students about are:

1. Privacy issues
I'm not convinced that all students realize that "nothing you write on the web is completely private" (www.opp.ca). They may think that an E-mail or instant message is completely private, however this is not the case.

2. Consequences of their posts (pictures, videos, gossip, ...)
Students need to realize that once they have posted something on the internet, anyone can access and save this information. Unforeseen consequences may result from irresponsible use of social networking features. Compromising pictures, statements or other postings may not reflect how they want to be seen by the outside world, for example other peer groups, potential employers, family and other members of the community.

Marcia

Social Networking and Education

There are certainly many potentially negative and/or dangerous situations regarding internet use that all internet users, especially young people, are facing.

I say especially young people because according to a study conducted in 2003-2005, "Young Canadians are more connected than ever", with an estimated 94% of young people having access to the internet from home. (1) This has permanently changed how young people network, for better and for worse.

Question: What are educators doing and is it enough?

One way that the school I teach in has tried to raise awareness about cyberbullying and privacy of personal information is via grade wide assemblies. In September 2009, the guidance department in my school thoughtfully arranged a Facebook awareness assembly for each grade. The presentation was given by a parent who learned about Facebook when his teenaged daughter signed up. In his presentation, he explained how Facebook uses the personal information of members, as well as how to protect your privacy.

After the assembly, I asked students what they thought about the presentation. The Grade 12 students in my class gave mixed reviews. Many of them were very interested in finding out how Facebook gains access to information for the list of "Suggested Friends", and many do in fact worry about the privacy of their personal information.

Having said that, most did not find the presentation informative. The real success of the presentation was the class discussion that it sparked upon returning to the classroom. A large assembly is not the most effective forum for these discussions, however it does give a nice introduction to the topic. As educators, it is important to raise awareness about these issues and encourage more dialogue on the part of the students. There needs to be an active and engaging approach in order to motivate students to take steps to protect themselves on the internet.

Thanks for reading,

Marcia


Source:

1. Media Awareness Network. (2009). Young Canadians in a Wired World - Phase II - Key Findings.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/research/ycww/phaseii/key_findings.cfm

Enhancing Online Lessons and Conferences

Jingproject.com is a very easy to use tool that allows you to upload screen captures and videos to any online conferencing media. I have also posted the link in the Teacher Resources section of my blog. Give it a try, and have fun!

HERE IS A DEMONSTRATION VIDEO that I made to show how Jingproject may be used.

Blogging in the Classroom

In my first week of blogging, I have come to appreciate the benefits of reflective blogging. All week long I've been starting sentences with "My blog" this and "My blog" that, while ending sentences with "I should write about that in my blog". I've realized that the act of blogging, at least for me, is a great tool for reflection.

Here are some ideas I considered while reading the articles "Educational Blogging" by Stephen Downes (1), and "The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom" by David Huffaker (2).


1) Things that surprised me

I was really surprised at the immense size of the blogging community. It was mentioned that in 2004, 3 million Americans had created blogs (Downes, pg. 15). That's ancient time in the world of internet use, imagine what that number is today, then imagine the number world-wide. When you also consider the statistic that 40-50% of those people were under the age of 20 (Huffaker, pg. 92), it's seems logical to assume that there are even more students using blogs today.

These statistics have inspired me to learn how many students in my own classes are using blogs.

2) Things that I like about educational blogging

I really like that blogs offer a format for reflection that may be more appealing and meaningful to students. I often ask students to reflect on the day's lessons, or on the unit that they have just learned. I ask questions like "What do you know really well in the unit? What is still confusing? What was your favourite lesson or activity? What didn't you like about this unit?..." I am lucky to get a response in a complete sentence, let alone an entire paragraph. Perhaps blogging would motivate them to think more about what they have learned, and how they learn.

I also like that students have a "documentation of completed tasks" (Huffaker, pg. 95).

3) Things that concern me about educational blogging

In a virtual world that is constantly changing, will blogging soon lose its novelty? I think that students would initially enjoy the process, but I also think that if overused, students will disengage or become bored.

4) Potential downfall of blogging in the classroom

While it may be true that many students blog, I would not assume that most students like blogging without further research. I think that it is a good option for differentiation in the classroom, however I would also consider that many students may not choose the blog format if presented with options.

Marcia

Sources:

1. Downes, Stephen, (September/October, 2004). "Educational Blogging". Educause, 14 - 26.

2. Huffaker, David, (2005). "The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom". AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.

Form the Eyes of the On-line Student

"Technology in the Classroom Part 1" is my first on-line course, and I must admit that it has been an adjustment. Back in 2003, I completed a few distant education courses, and I actually thought to myself, "How different could the on-line format really be? Just add in some E-mailing and discussion forums, and that's it."

What I have realized is how much has changed in the past 7 years. I've always considered myself to have decent computer skills, and was really surprised at how long it took me to figure out how to navigate through the on-line learning website! No longer is mailing in an assignment, or even E-mailing in an assignment, a means of submission. Gone are the days of picking up your course work from the registrar's office at the school of your choice. Everything is truly on-line.

This may seem like a no-brainer to everyone reading this post, but it continues to be a learning experience for me as I begin my first course. It's funny to me that the mere act of signing up for an on-line course has already taught me so much about technology in education. Perfect!

Marcia

Changing Time, Changing Curriculum?

After reading the article "Backup Education?", by Marc Prensky1, I began to reflect on my own view of the curriculum and the changing needs of students. While I do think that the curriculum should change to reflect the needs of modern students, I don't think that deleting the "fundamentals" is the answer. As teachers, our job is not only to teach students what to know, but more importantly how to think. I think it's possible to teach the curriculum while incorporating the use of technology into the lessons.

As a Math teacher, I have heard the questions from students, "Why can't we just use the calculator", and "When am I ever going to use this?" I think that these are valid questions, and sometimes I do agree with them. The danger is that students have begun to trust the calculator screen more than their own logic. For instance, even if they think that their answer doesn’t make sense, they believe it to be true because the calculator said so.

The article also brought to light the rapid increase at which global communication is available. Students are constantly checking their Facebook and Twitter pages, along with many other forms of communication which allow them to quickly access their peers, teachers, and virtually everyone on the internet. I think there is a need to incorporate these forms of communication (safely and effectively) as learning tools. The "basics" can still be taught to students, while teaching them how to use this technology effectively in a new and educational way.

With regards to the changing forms of communication, I was surprised to read the question, "...should we still spend all those years teaching our kids phonics?" (Prensky, pg. 2). I do agree that technology offers alternative and convenient forms of communication, and allows for the transfer of information to a much larger group of people in a very short amount of time. However I do not agree that skills such as reading and writing should be ignored. It would be like saying no one needs to learn how to play music because they can just listen to their Ipod, or program a computer to compose. There are other benefits to reading and writing other than the necessity to transfer information. Building these skills promote brain function, as well as the ability to organize one's thoughts and sort through given information, which are crucial skills for problem-solving. Furthermore, it's important that students learn how to think on their feet, creatively and with their own ideas, without the constant access to information.

In conclusion, the resistance to new technology will eventually be overcome. I can even remember my own high school experience, when Walkmans were strictly forbidden, and cell phones were nowhere to be found. Now, I would have a hard time finding a student who is without their Ipod, Itouch, or cell phone. As a teacher, I cannot ignore these changes, but embrace the opportunity to teach students on new and different levels, and find a way to communicate with students in formats that have become second nature to them.

Marcia

Sources

1. Prensky, Marc, "Backup Education?". Educational Technology, Vol 48 No 1, Jan-Feb. 2008

First Time Blogger

Hello,

Blogging is a new experience for me, and I am delighted to be composing my first post! Initially, I was hesitant about entering the blogging world, however after reading many interesting and thoughtful educational blogs, I am eager to get started with my own. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it is to get started, and how many great resources there are in this format. Below is a short video summarizing the blog of one technologically inclined teacher from New Jersey.

This is my fourth year as a high school Math teacher, and I have always aimed to incorporate effective use of computers and technology whenever I can. I am very fortunate to have a SmartBoard in my classroom, as well as access to a school laptop for my own use. I often make use of other software including Geometer's Sketchpad, Excel, Fathom, and the Virtual TI-83 (a graphing calculator on the computer). Because I have a SmartBoard, I am able to integrate many websites, games and gizmos available on the internet into my lessons.

The use of technology in the classroom is a topic that I have always been interested in, and would like to learn more about. I am excited to begin this course and to research this topic that is nudging teachers to "plug in" and learn how today's youth uses technology.