Too Many Choices--No Perfect Solution

As a district, we have all these online collaboration tools now; some are paid for sites, and some are free: online grading software, learning management system, and filtering software.  Even textbook companies have created online environments for teachers and students to share ideas--collaborate.

We can barely manage our own activities, how can we keep up with all these online solutions.  Students should be expected to 'create an account' each and every time they have a new teacher.  Teachers today must think about the digital footprint of their students, just as parents do.  Why can't there be a solution to meet all our needs?

Districts need to consider this:
Teachers must have the ability to share photos, announcements, school and classroom discussions or communications.  It must be private.  It must have private message features, maybe even a chat feature. Should students be able to network with each other--yes at certain grade levels and for certain activities.  Teachers should have the ability to control this.

Students should be able to comment on other student work

Why isn't there a perfect solution?!

Minecraft - The Documentary

My son is 9-years old, and he IS a gamer.  Not everyone in the younger generation loves to just sit around and play video games all day--but he does.  As an instructional technology specialist and educator, I battle the stigma that all young people are tech savvy, and just want to play video games.  Young people are individually different.

Bottom line is this...give me something challenging, and I'll do it all day.

For some video games are challenging and entertaining.  At age 7, he received the Wii game Kirby. The goal of this video game was similar to that of many other video games we purchase today.  You work your way through the levels, until you defeat all levels and ultimately, defeat the world.  It only took my son two days to do this.  TWO DAYS!  A $50 game, and he was done in two days.  Mind you, it was a weekend of playing for couple of two-hour stints.  That was probably my fault for not pacing him.  It was his birthday, what can I say?!

Now his passion is Minecraft.  At first I thought Minecraft was 'just another game', but now I'm seeing it's more.  Just as in any game, it has a full community.  Adults are podcasting techniques, college students are posting videos of their play, and yes--9-year olds are creating their own servers with this very simple, block-style game.  The premise is easy, as you enter a world, collect (or mine) for materials to create your own house, weapons, and food while creepers, zombies, and spiders try to kill you.   Oh, and the lava, high ledges, and lack of food could kill you as well.  Just survive.  Play with others online and they could kill you, or work with them as a team to provide for the collective.  

In the Minecraft documentary, Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, software developers of this game compare it to Lego when they first came out.  Lego use to be a box of blocks, and you were to use your imagination to create.  Even now Lego is a box with specific pieces and detailed instructions to create a specific object, be it jet, helicopter, or the White House!  Where is the challenge in that?

Minecraft is a world created from blocks. There are twelve different biomes for your player to play in: forest, desert, plains, swampland, jungle, ice plains, taiga, extreme hills, ocean, mushroom island, Hell, and sky.   I haven't created my own Mojang (user), but it is the goal of my 9-year old to teach me how to play this summer.   I am tech savvy, but I'm worried my adult-trained mind will not be creative enough to share the fun.  I'll let you know.

Don't Forget They are Still Kids

Children are constantly looking for affirmation.  I always forget.  I always forget it matters.  Sure I look to see if anyone commented on my posted photo or status on Facebook, but it doesn't really matter to me.  My life will go on, and I will feel just fine about myself.  For children, they don't have 'adult' matters occupying their minds.  They simply want to know--did you see my photo?  did you like it?

Common Sense Media reminds me with this article, My Kid Wants to be 'Liked on Facebook, how important it is to have these conversations with our children.  How to find affirmation from the concrete events in our lives that make us feel important.  We, as parents, should also remember to notice their accomplishments--no matter how small, and model for them a no obsessive attitude with our social networking connections.

What parents need to know (and model)...

My son's 9th birthday party was this past Tuesday, and my parents were at the house before we arrived home from school (because that's what grandparents do--it should also be noted that they were at the hospital 9 years ago BEFORE we were).  Well immediately upon arriving, my son goes to get on his Minecraft game, which I've permitted on days we don't have any other after school activities like piano, soccer, Tang Soo Do.

"No son, you need to use your eyes and go be with mama and papa.  They are here for you," I said calmly; even though I was burning anger inside that he didn't instinctively know better.

An hour into our birthday celebration, I started hearing the 'ding'  'ding' of a phone chiming from a received text.  I look at my phone, because my brother had yet to arrive. He was stuck in traffic.  It was not my phone.  My husband looks at his phone, because he left work a little early to join us. It was not his phone.  So then I look at my 12-year old's phone...

"Sweetie, we are visiting with family.  It is proper etiquette to either tell your friend you cannot talk now, or at least turn your phone to vibrate.  Your little cousins would like your attention."

Again,  I was a little peeved that this knowledge of etiquette was not instinct.  After all, we have taught our children to use their eyes to say thank you for a visit at a friend's house, or when someone gives them a gift.  Do I do this?  Do I stay engrossed in my device at home?  I feel I purposefully shut down at the end of the day.  Sometimes I even give myself a moment in the car before going inside to pick them up to finish any immediate needs--that simply can't wait until the next day.  But is there such a thing?  Everything can wait, right? There will be another day to get work done, schedule time to finish that lesson, take a run, or help a colleague.

Inspired by the article from CommonSenseMedia.org:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/rules-road-parents-digital-age

Helping Students Choose a Good Username

Choosing a username can be tricky nowadays.

What you ideally would like to use may already be taken. This is very frustrating for students.  My daughter has been begging me to permit her on Instagram.  I'm a rule follower, so I keep telling her to wait until she is 13 yrs-old, the age permitted on the Instagram policy, and recommended by Commonsensemedia.org.

Months and months of, "Everyone else is on Instagram!  You don't trust me!" Well, this is another conversation... Now that I do feel she is ready, we've spent days thinking and talking about the best username.  Something cute, that reflects her personality, but that will be short so peers can find her.  The parental voice coming out, "No, you cannot be 'cupcakelover'!"  The word lover anywhere in username makes one a target for sexual solicitation.  Everyone knows that 12-17 year-olds are targets for sexual solicitation by the age group of 18-25 year-olds (thank you, commonsensemedia.org), because they are curious and vulnerable.

What does make a good username?

One can create a username based upon the online tool.  For example, I use betweenthewires when I assume the role of being a community service provider about technology integration.  At work, I'm kboswell.  As a mom, I'm also kboswell, but kboswell2, because kboswell was already taken, and I'm 2nd in command at the Boswell household.  I found an article that addresses the audience of one searching to brand oneself.  It seems that moving back to just your name, instead of 'handle' is becoming more popular.  We are more mature as digital citizens, (How to pick a good username, @eschmidt0).

Another site called reputation.com (How to Pick the Right Username), also toot the horn of using your real name, but if it's not available--be professional.  Don't pick a name that is vulgar or offensive.  Here's where you, the educator, the adult, can help a student.  They don't know connotation that well.  It's not part of their thinking yet.  We can simply explain how some words 'give a certain connotation or feeling'.  For example, if I say 'poop', you have a negative connotation from this word --yucky, gross might even come to mind.  If I say 'meadow', you might think --calm, peaceful, beautiful.  We have to tell them that 'lover' or 'kimxoxo' give off a sexual connotation that might attract unwanted attention.  Now, if the child is too young for this conversation, maybe they shouldn't be online at all.  Because the reality is this...newspapers and television of 'the day' even follow a certain protocol to keep viewers, to maintain a family reputation.  

The internet doesn't follow protocol.  We have to be mindful watchers and protectors of future.

Internet Manners

Being a digital citizen is to simply conduct yourself appropriately while accessing the internet; conduct yourself as you would in public. Don't: whisper, make negative comments, shout out profanity, walk around naked, slander people, push people, provoke people, or cut people off.

Just as we train students to 'play nice' with each other in the classroom and on the playground, we have to teach them to conduct themselves appropriately on email. Netmanners.com is great site filled with all the E-mail etiquette one could possibly need to train students (and adults) on appropriate E-mail use.

Do you have an Elmo?

ThenElmo document camera now has a slate. The slate is cool in and of itself, functioning as a remote for the document camera, but with the accompanying software, you can write on the screen with interactive board-type pens and highlighters.

The software is so advanced, ELA teachers can split screen and freeze one paper, then display notes or revisions on the other side. All you need to work the ELMO or document camera is a laptop or computer, the slate a screen, and data projector.

The software will also do screen recordings or experiments or revision steps, problem-solving, etc. I'm going to encourage my Science and ELA teachers who already use the document camera to get the slate now. They will not necessarily need an interactive board.

Using Blogs in the Classroom - Still

So if you've been using blogs in the classroom, it is not passé. If fact, it is easier than ever before to keep a website going that is fresh and student-created.

Posterous is free online blogging software where the user can create more than one blog or space on every topic in the classroom. To differentiate, students can post to the blog or space associated with the group in your class, like a book circle based on their reading level or a project based on their interest level.

Vocaroo permit the user to go to a website and record their voice. No need to have an email account -students can send voice capture to a blog. It will show up as a link.

To make this recording into a podcast that will appear in the subscribers iTunes library simple post the link but change the http:// to itps://. When the subscriber clicks on the link from the blog, it will open in their iTunes.

More tips like the above from Tony Vincent @ tonyvme.posterous.com