On the Go: Mobile Learning

Until recently, schools banned the use of cell phones and other mobile devices by students during class hours. While some students argued that the devices could be helpful to the learning process, teachers and administrators focused instead on those students who used the devices for non-learning related tasks, such as texting their peers and trolling the Internet.  Although the abuse of mobile devices by students is still a valid concern, some enterprising educators have embraced mobile technology and are increasingly incorporating it into the curriculum.

Mobile learning, or m-learning, is related to distance education and e-learning in that each method uses forms of technology to enhance the learning process. Mobile learning, however, focuses particularly on learning with mobile devices such as tablets, cell phones, and iPod Touches. Mobile devices have the advantage of being small, easily portable, and familiar to the vast majority of teachers and students alike. Their inclusion in the curriculum opens a wealth of possibilities, as students don’t need to be tethered to workstations or even a classroom as they explore concepts relevant to their learning anytime, from just about any location.

Last fall, Project Tomorrow released a report about technology and education at a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC. Their research found that 64% of teachers surveyed believe that mobile devices could be beneficial for increased communication among parents, teachers, and students, as well as be used to access online textbooks at any moment. The same study also asked K-12 students to envision what going to school would be like in 2015, and many foresee classes where mobile devices are integral to the teaching and learning process.

There are numerous accounts of teachers effectively using mobile devices in their classrooms, and perhaps more schools will ease their current restrictions on use of the devices during school hours. Using devices such as iPads and smart phones can help address the need for students to acquire 21^st century skills, and also help to foster increased student-directed learning.  This week, I’ve selected three resources that bring mobile technology into the classroom in meaningful ways. Each of the featured resources below is from Apptivities, an organization that aims to support teachers in using mobile applications effectively to improve student learning. We’ll also be featuring lots of new lessons and resources on mobile learning each day throughout the week on our Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to check those pages regularly.

Historical Detectives

http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-09-28.1656118109

Subjects: World History

Grade: 1-6

Using iTouches or iPads, students will use images to draw conclusions about ancient civilizations. In addition, the students will add captions and speech bubbles to ancient civilization images in order to explore their background knowledge on the subject and/or to summarize information they have learned from the chapter.

Dictating Foreign Language Fluency

http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-09-28.9585057880

Subjects: Foreign Languages (also ELL)

Grade: 6-12

An essential part of improving student’s fluency in a foreign language is providing practice in speaking. However, for practice to be effective, students have to receive feedback on their pronunciation skills.  This apptivity is designed to give students an opportunity to document their fluency improvement.

To Kill a Mockingbird

http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-09-28.4540014188

Subjects: English

Grade: 9-12

In this To Kill a Mockingbird project idea that uses iPads, the importance of perspective is first introduced through Dorothea Lange’s iconic Migrant Mother photograph and is reinforced through images of the Jim Crow era.  As a final project, students are asked to personalize Atticus Finch’s famous quotation about the importance of “walking in another’s shoes.”  By shadowing an acquaintance for a two-hour period, using the pedometer and GPS features to track their physical movement and voice memos and notes to create an interactive diary, students will develop their own sense of empathy and reach a deeper understanding of Harper Lee’s famous novel.

~Joann's Picks - October 13, 2011~

The Social Network

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It can be a great way to keep current with certain events and individuals, but it can also become yet another demand on one’s time. There has been a flurry of news articles lately on how many social media users feel obligated to stay online; indeed, many feel compelled to constantly tweet or update their Facebook statuses, even while on vacation or during the night. Adolescents and teens are the heaviest users of social media – a 2009 Pew report found that 73% of kids aged 12-17 used social media regularly. It’s no wonder, then, that some teachers have decided to shake up traditional lesson plans a bit by incorporating social media in their classrooms.

Many parents, educators, and administrators have reservations about using social media in school. In many schools, access to sites like Facebook, Skype, and YouTube are blocked. Granting students access to social media sites in the classroom may seem like playing with fire – we all know how good intentions can be easily abused by some kids, which can quickly sour the experience for everyone. In granting classroom access to social media sites, students need to clearly understand the class rules surrounding its use in class, and the ramifications if the privilege is abused. Monitoring by the teacher, especially in the beginning of such activities, is likely necessary. But the use of social media in lessons can be an effective way for students to collaborate, quickly share information, prompt discussions, create content, and lend insights into class work that might not otherwise occur.

The use of social media can level the playing field for many students. Students who are shy and reluctant to speak in class are often more likely to participate in discussions and offer critiques online. When used creatively, it can be a powerful learning tool for many classrooms. Foreign language students, for example, can use tools such as Skype to connect with native speakers and practice their conversational skills and proper pronunciation. Teachers of ELL students can use the Add Video feature on Facebook to record words or phrases that his/her students mispronounced during that day’s class. In addition to using Twitter and Facebook to communicate with parents, some enterprising teachers also use such social media to recap lessons for their students – a technique that appears to be very successful with younger students in particular.  One teacher had his students tweet chapter summaries of Gary Paulsen’s novel Hatchet -- an effective exercise in concise writing and summarization in 140 characters or less.

The inclusion of social media in the classroom can be a vastly rewarding experience, but it’s clearly not suited to every teacher. Nor should it be. Everyone has their own pedagogical strengths and weaknesses, and the academic world will hardly come to a standstill if you decide that social media isn’t appropriate for you and your classes. In the right hands, however, social media can be an engaging, inspirational, and motivating tool for students. This week I’ve featured three resources that all make use of social media in creative ways. Please be sure to also check Peggy’s companion column, which features many more ideas on how to incorporate social media into the curriculum. As always, we’ll be featuring several new lessons and resources on this topic each day throughout the week on our Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to take a look.

SKYPE PALS Project Share NC

http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-08-07.8720126849

Grade: 4-12

This lesson uses Skype and digital storytelling technology to communicate and exchange cultural and language information with students in another country. While this lesson was written for students in North Carolina, it can easily be adapted to students in other regions. This lesson is a product of Digital Wish, a non-profit organization whose mission is to modernize K-12 classrooms and prepare students for tomorrow's workforce. Teachers create wish lists of technology products for their classroom, and donors then connect with their favorite schools and grant classroom wishes through online cash or product donations.

Less is More: Using Social Media to Inspire Concise Writing http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-08-07.6981607066

Subjects: English, Technology

Grade: 6-12

How can online media like Twitter posts, Facebook status updates and text messages be harnessed to inspire and guide concise writing? In this lesson, students read, respond to and write brief fiction and nonfiction stories, and reflect on the benefits and drawbacks of “writing short.” This lesson was produced by The New York Times Learning Network, which offers free lesson plans and other educational materials. Also offered at the site are videos, podcasts, photographs and graphics, daily interactive news quizzes, and other resources for use in the classroom or for homeschoolers. Lessons are aligned to national content standards.

Social Media: An Introduction

http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-08-07.0731220691

Subjects: English, Sociology

Grade: 8-12

In this lesson, students discuss various social media sites, and their potential impact on future job searches and employment. The lesson includes topics such as students’ digital reputations, online privacy, and the importance of using social media privacy controls. This lesson was published on Scribd, a social publishing site where people can share original writings and documents.

~Joann's Picks - 8/18/2011~

What the Tech? Why Implement Technology in My Classroom?

Cell phones at each desk? An iPad for every student? Students solving math problems on computers instead of with paper and pencils? Classes going on virtual online field trips to all kinds of exotic locations? Technology in the classroom can look like all these scenarios and more. Implementing new technology in schools is a hot topic right now, but how important is it?

Educators have the important responsibility of teaching students to embrace lifelong learning by surrounding them with opportunities to learn in many different ways. Including many types of technology in your curriculum can bring you closer to this goal by helping equip your students with the knowledge to use these tools, in school or at home. After graduation, students will have plenty of opportunities to continue learning as long as they have the skills to access the learning and the drive to continue to learn. Implementing new technology tools may feel overwhelming, especially if you are wary of teaching your students with tools that you may not fully understand yourself.

The National Technology Education Plan from the U.S. Department of Education outlines the importance of using technology in education and includes a variety of examples of ways educators have successfully integrated technology throughout different subject areas. If you are like many busy teachers today, you have aspirations of bringing all kinds of great tools and technology into your class…if you could only find the time. Reading the “Learning: Engage and Empower” section of the plan is a very good place to start. It won’t take long, and it may even have some ideas you can quickly implement in the small amount of free time you have available. Joann has collected more technology ideas and we will be featuring them throughout the week on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Why should you worry about implementing technology anyway? Here are three reasons that I gleaned from the plan:

1. USE THE TOOLS STUDENTS KNOW AND LOVE. Students are surrounded by technology in just about every aspect of their lives. They love it, and many of them race home from school to spend time on their computers, play on their game systems, text on their phones and more. Why not make these activities part of their school day as well?“ According to a national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 8- to 18-year-olds today devote an average of seven hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media in a typical day—more than 53 hours a week (Kaiser Family Foundation 2009). The opportunity to harness this interest and access in the service of learning is huge.” National Technology Education Plan

2. IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO TEACH A CHILD. Educators are not always experts in every subject they teach. They can teach their students everything they know, but there might be someone else out there who can bring a different insight into the subject for your students. “Technology provides access to a much wider and more flexible set of learning resources than is available in classrooms and connections to a wider and more flexible set of "educators," including teachers, parents, experts, and mentors outside the classroom.” National Technology Education Plan

3. STUDENTS TAKE OWNERSHIP OF REAL-WORLD, PERSONALIZED LEARNING. “Personalized learning supports student learning in areas of particular interest to them… Technology also gives students opportunities for taking ownership of their learning.” National Technology Education Plan

Now you have some reasons to implement technology into your teaching, but how do you figure out what kind of tools are right for you and your students? I enjoy reading blogs by other educators and being involved in discussions with other teachers on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. I have come across so many great tools this way. It’s amazing how much you can learn from other people who you may never meet face to face.

One blog, Free Technology for Teachers, by Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) features free resources and lesson plans for teaching with technology. His blog was especially useful to me this week, since he featured 11 tech resources for a particular subject each day. I was especially intrigued by his recommendations of 11 science tools to try in 2011, but his resource suggestions in the other subject areas are definitely worth checking out, too. Be sure to browse through his blog to find tools that might work for you.

Another blog where I often find great websites, resources, and tools is iLearn Technology by Kelly Tenkely (@ktenkely), an educator with a passion for integrating technology into every classroom. She is constantly posting new ideas to try with students of all different ages. I have found games, ideas, and web tools on her blog that I might not have discovered otherwise.

I may be biased, but I think The Gateway to 21st Century Skills: Making the Most of Online Resources is also a valuable blog to follow in your journey to bring more technology into your classroom. Our blog is an archive of the columns we post on The Gateway every week. Each weekly topic includes free resources to support learning in that area. If you follow us on Facebook and Twitter, you’ll get even more resources and tips every day, and you can request topics that you would like to see us cover. We are here for you, and we want to make your teaching journey productive. We will continue to post, re-post, tweet, and re-tweet great technology ideas on our social networking sites. When Joann comes across good resources for technology integration, she catalogues them on The Gateway as well so you can always search for them there.

In Joann’s post this week, she urged educators to get “ConnectED.” What better way is there to do this than to connect with other teachers online through blogs and social networks? This type of collaboration brings you a much wider community of educators than you can find in your school or district alone. In his interview with Tech & Learning, John Wilson, NEA’s Executive Director, stressed the importance of working together to bring technology into our classrooms. How do you feel about the technology in your classroom right now? Where do you look for support when you are trying to implement new tools? Do you have any advice for other teachers who want to connect with other educators to bring the education of their students to a new level? Please join our conversations and help us all learn to use tools that make our classrooms an ideal learning environment for our students.

~Peggy's Corner - 1/6/2011~

ConnectEd

Over the past few weeks, Peggy and I have been writing about topics raised in an interview with NEA’s Executive Director, John Wilson. We discussed global literacy and methods to stretch school dollars in a challenging economy. This week, we’ve decided to focus on another of the issues raised by Wilson – the importance of technology in education.

The Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education recently released the National Education Technology Plan, a document that outlines recommendations in five major areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. My interest was most piqued by the concept of “connected teaching,” where teaching is a team activity unrestricted by physical constraints. Connected teaching demands full classroom connectivity, so that educators and students can truly connect in real time to digital resources, other classrooms, other teachers, and professional experts. For example, learning about dinosaurs is fun, but learning about dinosaurs using an online video feed from an actual dig, and having the ability to ask questions of a real-life paleontologist in real time is invaluable.

We all know that technology changes at a breakneck speed, and classroom work, preparation, and grading often don’t leave a lot of extra time to invest in staying technologically current. Yet technology is increasingly at the core of our daily lives, both at work and at leisure, and this is especially true for students. It makes sense, then, to use current technology in as many innovative and effective ways possible to engage our students. Teachers can foster collaboration by using class wikis, blogs, learning management systems, and custom social networks such as Ning or Grouply. Some teachers are using in-class surveys and polling tools such as http://www.surveymonkey.com SurveyMonkey, Polldaddy, twtpoll or clicker to encourage more class participation and to encourage increased student engagement with the content. Polls, for example, can be used to stimulate class debate about class subject content or current events.

Mobile phones, once thought to be the nemesis of every teacher, have turned out to have some great benefits to the classroom. Teachers can record study guides, lessons, foreign language pronunciation drills, and other material using free applications like iPadio. Some enterprising teachers have used iPadio to deliver content to their students even when school is closed for a snow day. In turn, students can create podcasts (phonecasts) from their cell phones on a host of topics, including interviews, oral readings, music composition, and the like. Cell phones can also be used in art class – renowned artist David Hockney is currently using his iPhone to create paintings using the Brushes application.

There’s a lot of current buzz about QR codes, which are those little black and white squares that look like miniature crossword puzzles. They are increasingly cropping up on courier packages, magazine ads, catalogs, museum plaques, and a host of other items. Using cell phones, users can scan the QR codes to place an order or connect to additional information about a product or place. Some smart phones are already QR code-enabled; if not, you can download an application for free from various Web sites. The possible applications for QR codes in the classroom are endless: add QR codes to maps to quickly access additional information about a geographical region, its economy, and its culture. Increase vocabulary knowledge in your foreign language or ESL classroom by affixing codes to objects, so that when the students’ phones read the codes, up pops each item’s name in the target language. Add the codes to Powerpoint presentations to increase interactivity and connect to additional information, and so on and so on.

Connected teaching demands increased use of technology in the classroom, and the resources below can help you get started. We’ll also be featuring many more lessons and ideas on this topic throughout the week on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Have fun!


Tales of Things
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-12-17.3792780075
Subject: Language Arts, History, Social Studies
Grade: 4-11
This lesson plan uses QR codes in the classroom as a social studies/history/literacy project. Students can use QR codes to link any object or image directly to a 'video memory' or an article of text describing its history or background. The goal is to help preserve memories and information about various objects or images. Their movements can then be tracked, as well as any subsequent stories. This lesson was produced by INTERFACE Magazine, a publication for educators to learn about information and communication technologies.

The Science of Fringe #309: Exploring Protein Modeling
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-12-17.7851378410
Subjects: Forensic science, Biology
Grade 9-12
In this lesson, students learn about 3-dimensional protein models and how their use allows scientists to predict biological behavior. They will also use computer visualization and online resources to guide them in constructing physical models of proteins. Smartphone users can simply point their devices at the QR codes embedded in the lesson plan for a quick link to the show. This lesson was produced by Science Olympiad in conjunction with FOX Broadcasting Co. Science Olympiad is an American science competition that provides challenges to nearly 6,500 students.

The Wonder of a Wordless Book
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-12-17.7437062435
Grade: 3-5
In this lesson, students will develop and write a creative story from a wordless book. They will record the stories and export them into podcasts to be presented to the class. This lesson was produced by Digital Wish, a non-profit whose mission is to modernize K-12 classrooms and prepare students for tomorrow's workforce. Teachers create wish lists of technology products for their classroom, and donors then connect with their favorite schools and grant classroom wishes through online cash or product donations.

Joann's Picks ~ December 30, 2010

Giving Thanks

I pretty much haven’t met a holiday that I didn’t like, but Thanksgiving is kind of special. It’s relatively low-key, and the notion of taking some time to really appreciate what we have – and to give thanks for it – is a winning notion. Each day most of us relentlessly multitask in order to wring the most benefit out of every possible millisecond. Some of us juggle work that needs to be reviewed and graded, attend to student needs, coach sports teams, and oversee a host of other activities. Many of us live from deadline to deadline (and paycheck to paycheck) and generally run on all cylinders from dawn to late night. It’s hard – modern life is hardly the days of leisure predicted by 19th century futurists. Yet despite the stress and the constant need to always be “on”, available, and present, most of us have much to be thankful for.

Yesterday in the classroom, the teacher asked her students to write down what they were thankful for. There were some of the predictable third grade answers, such as “candy,” and “my Xbox,” but some were quietly profound. “I’m thankful for my granpa’s keemotherpy” was one. Another student wrote that she was thankful for her family – not an uncommon entry in the class, except that her father had recently rejoined his family after several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the perfect time of the year to perhaps ask your students what they are thankful for. What are you grateful for?

In addition to lessons that ask students to consider the concept of gratitude, many schools also focus on traditional Thanksgiving themes, such as the Pilgrims, Wampanoags, the Mayflower, and so forth. The Gateway has a rich collection of lessons and activities that can be used in the week leading up to Thanksgiving; three lessons are highlighted below. The resources that I’ve featured this week ask students to think about Thanksgiving in different ways and perhaps from a different perspective than they have previously – a good pre-holiday exercise in critical thinking skills! As always, I’ll be featuring a multitude of lessons, activities, and other K-12 resources from The Gateway and other entities on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please take a look.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Become a Thanksgiving Historian
Subjects: US History, Technology, Research skills
Grade: 2
Students may be surprised to find out that some ideas they have about the history of Thanksgiving are actually myths. In this lesson, students become true "Thanksgiving historians" by completing a Venn diagram about the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims with information acquired through Internet searches. This is a great lesson to help students develop online research skills, as well as separate historical fact from fiction. This resource is a product of the Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX), an award-winning education portal that provides best practices, lesson plans, and educational podcasts. This lesson is aligned to Alabama Content Standards.

Thanksgiving: A Turkey’s Point of View
Subjects: Writing
Grade: 3-5
Things may not always be as they first appear! The purpose of this lesson is to expose students to several stories from different perspectives. They will compare and contrast different points of view on the same topic, and write a story from a character's point of view. This lesson by Laura Beeler is part of HotChalk Learning, a portal that provides an online learning management system and lesson plans to educators.

Thanksgiving Mourning
Subjects: English, US History
Grade: 6-12
Much of the Thanksgiving story focuses on a peaceful, cross-cultural exchange between the "Pilgrims and Indians." While it's true that the Wampanoag and the Planters shared in a harvest celebration, within fifty years, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people. In this activity, students will review two written works by Native American authors. They will examine how diverse groups can perceive shared experiences differently, and review commentary from indigenous writers about Thanksgiving. This lesson is a product of Teaching Tolerance, a division of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving inter-group relations, and supporting equitable school experiences for students. They also provide free educational materials to teachers and other school practitioners in the U.S. and abroad.

~Joann's Picks - 11/19/2010~

Forensic Files

Two summers ago, our local school department offered a one-week forensic science summer camp for older elementary students. Most of the kids were not there by choice, having been enrolled by their parents who thought that the course sounded “fun.” The teacher, having taught this course a few times before, was used to the student foot-dragging and wistful stares out the window at their unencumbered brethren playing outside, blissfully free from the tyranny of overly ambitious parents. The course focused on the investigation of an environmental crisis where local fish were killed by toxins in the water. The course, based on an actual event, asked students to analyze water quality, fish anatomy, business practices, town relationships, and environmental events in order to determine who – or what – was responsible for releasing the toxins into the water supply. Within 30 minutes on the first day, all the students were hooked.

Much credit must be given, of course, to the teacher. She was engaging, thoroughly prepared, knew her science inside and out, and was a gifted storyteller. The kids were captivated. What also captured their interest was the sheer mystery of the case, and how they had to create and recreate various scenarios in order to solve the puzzle of the dead fish. The course offered them hands-on detective work (testing water samples and dissecting perch) coupled with basic research such as reading through police reports, witness accounts, weather reports, and other data. By the third day of the course, all the students fairly blew by their peers on the playground outside in their haste to get to the classroom. That’s what I call success!

Forensic science has garnered much attention recently. It plays a prominent role in TV shows like The Forensic Files, Law & Order, CSI, and Dexter. Forensics is an incredibly diverse scientific field: there are forensic dentists, forensic veterinarians, pathology, and other specialties. At its most basic level, forensic science is a rich melding of modern technology and good old-fashioned storytelling. There’s something appealing about methodically working backwards on a problem – taking the evidence left at the scene of the crime or event – and attempting to retrace and recreate the events in order to figure out what really transpired. As the students discovered in the summer course, forensics also involves presenting or supplying scientific evidence in court cases. It’s possible to include some aspect of forensic science in a multitude of subjects, then, and not just in science class.

My picks this week all focus on some aspect of forensic science. While the resources below are appropriate for upper elementary through high school students, I will be featuring age-appropriate resources for all ages on our our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the week.

Ink Chromatography
Subjects: Physical science
Grade: 5-12
Who wrote the ransom note? This ink chromatography lab uses common household materials to determine which pen actually wrote the note. This activity was created by the Shodor Educational Foundation, a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the advancement of science and math education, specifically through the use of modeling and simulations.

CSI Podcasts
Subjects: Writing, Physical science, Technology
Grade: 6-8
Everyone loves an (imaginary) crime scene! In this lesson, students create a series of podcasts to help them solve crime scenes, and later review the material for tests. They’ll learn about mammals and ecology for a poaching scenario, microscopes, bacteria, fungi, and protists for an epidemiological-type scenario, and genetics for blood typing. This lesson is a product of DigitalWish, a non-profit whose mission is to modernize K-12 classrooms and prepare students for tomorrow's workforce. Teachers create wish lists of technology products for their classroom, and donors then connect with their favorite schools and grant classroom wishes through online cash or product donations.

Crash Scene Investigation
Subjects: Math, Algebra, Functions, Patterns, Physical science
Grade: 9-12
In this online simulation, students virtually help the highway patrol recreate a deadly crash by examining the evidence and calculating the forces. The simulation includes supporting materials, such as real crash scene photos (no gore), a glossary of terms, and a teacher’s guide. This resource is offered by Edheads, a non-profit organization that creates educational web experiences that are free to teachers, students and parents. This simulation is aligned to national and Ohio state standards.

~Joann's Picks - 11/13/2010~

Privacy Please

Do you know anyone who divulges just about every detail of their lives to 350 of their closest “friends” on Facebook or a Twitter user who lets the world know where they are and what they are doing 24 hours a day? They post pictures, report their run times, list the restaurants they frequent, and announce their plans. If these people aren’t careful with their privacy settings, they might be letting the world know more than they intended. As parents and teachers, we need to set a good example of how to safely use these sites and we need to teach our students how to maintain their privacy while they stay socially connected online.

What place do these types of sites have in schools? Many teachers are finding sites like Twitter and Facebook to be useful for conversation and collaboration in the classroom. Unfortunately, these sites are often blocked in schools for student safety. Educators and administrators who support allowing access to these sites in schools argue that we have the responsibility of teaching students how to safely use the sites instead of avoiding the problem altogether. For educators in this camp, there are plenty of resources out there to assist you with teaching your students important safety and privacy concerns involved with posting information on the internet. Joann’s featured Gateway lessons from CyberSmart this week include creative ways to help you teach students about internet privacy and safety. Another resource I recommend looking into as you explore this topic is a comprehensive compilation of resources put together by fellow Twitter user Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1), Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites. He has many links to information, games, and activities related to cybersafety.

How can we help our students discover the long term impact of the things they post online? It is important for students to understand that some employers and colleges check out prospective students’ online profiles as part of the admission or hiring process. When talking to junior high and high school students, it’s a good idea to remind them of this and to teach them how to manage their “digital footprint.” One suggested activity is to allow students with social networking accounts to create a word cloud of status updates or tweets on a site like Wordle. Students and teachers need to know that just about anything they post online can be found later, and a word cloud of things they are posting can give them a good idea of what kind of online image they are creating of themselves. A good piece of advice I heard once is “Don’t post anything on the internet that you wouldn’t want your Grandma to read.” For activities and a better explanation of this topic, please check out Mr. Blumengarten’s digital footprint links. He also has a collection of cybersafety games to add a little fun.

For more information on privacy and safety in social networking, read this article from cnet news about privacy and security on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook also has a page dedicated to safety and a page for ideas about how to use Facebook in Education. You can find some good ideas and tips on these pages to safely and effectively integrate social networking into your curriculum. As always, remember to search The Gateway for more activities about student privacy. There are resources for many different age levels and subjects, and you can use the Standards Suggestion Tool to discover how these lessons can be aligned to your state standards.

~Peggy's Corner - 8/6/2010~

Peekaboo, I C U !

You already have zero privacy. Get over it.
- Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems (1999)

On a recent morning, I spent some time cooling my heels in purgatory – or, in more secular terms – the doctor’s waiting room. Tired of leafing through multiple issues of The American Journal of Orthopedics, I unabashedly eavesdropped on a pair of women sitting beside me. One of the women was complaining about her teenage daughter, who had apparently been grumbling to her parents about the “major” lack of privacy in their house. “So what?” mused the woman’s companion. “That’s entirely normal at her age.” “Yes,” retorted the first woman, “but we found out she’d been posting pictures of herself in her underwear on Facebook!”

While most of us roll our eyes at the ill-considered behavior demonstrated by the teen, the paradoxical attitude she displayed about privacy is one that is increasingly mirrored by society at large. On the one hand, the media is rife with citizen complaints about personal information stored in databases, residential images on Google Earth and Maps, cell phone tracking, and so on. Meanwhile, millions of people divulge their most personal details on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. So, just what is the role of privacy in contemporary society, and how should we educate our students about it?

Privacy is a fundamental human right, and one that is vital to personal independence. Students often don’t realize how compromising their privacy now may come back to haunt them in the future. States, too, often fail to protect student privacy. A recent study found that states frequently collect more student data than is required, and often retain that data long after it should have been purged. In addition to test scores and grades, many systems retain student information such as Social Security numbers, health information, financial data, and disciplinary infractions for years after the student has graduated.

The safeguarding of one’s personal information by both individuals and larger entities is more important than ever, and with much higher risks at stake. Students need to understand that their personal privacy, both in-person and online, needs to be carefully guarded to protect both their safety and dignity.

My picks this week focus on individual privacy, and the difference between personal and private information. The resources below are all derived from CyberSmart!, which is now a part of Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that provides educators and parents with information and tools related to media and technology. I’ve relied on their film and video game reviews for years. CyberSmart! has long been a leader in promoting students’ personal safety and well-being in a digital world; this is a great pairing of two organizations whose mission is to protect kids in a wired world.

What’s Private?
Subjects: Safety, Writing
Grade: 2-3
In this lesson, students learn about how the Internet can foster collaboration among students worldwide. While co-writing a story online, students learn an important safety rule: Before sharing private information in cyberspace, they must get permission from a parent or teacher.

Private and Personal Information
Subjects: Safety, Technology
Grade: 6-8
Students learn they can converse and share ideas and opinions with others in cyberspace. They adopt a critical thinking process that empowers them to protect themselves and their families as they visit sites requesting private identity information.

Online Identity Theft
Subjects: Safety, Technology
Grade: 9-12
Students learn about the methods criminals use to steal identities online. They develop an identity theft prevention tip list and propose ways to communicate their tips to their families.

~Joann's Picks - 8/6/2010~

A Wiki What?

While browsing through the resources Joann highlighted this week in her post, I was struck by two things. First, there is a huge amount of free technology available to educators who want to bring 21st century tools into their classrooms. Second, I will need to do some serious research to figure out some of the terminology associated with these great technologies. If you are already incorporating some web-based tools in your class, good for you! Bear with me as I dedicate this column to the tech-newbie’s among us who still have a little (or a lot) to learn to keep up with our students. The internet is quickly becoming a big part of our everyday lives. Our students are using it outside of school, and web-based technology can keep our daily classroom routines fresh and relevant.


Many of the tools Joann referred to in her column this week are known as Web 2.0 tools. While the original internet was focused around the passive viewing of information, Web 2.0 applications allow greater interactivity and collaboration. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, and Wikispaces are sites based on user-generated content and are all examples of Web 2.0 technology. One application that is used by many teachers is a wiki. This type of website allows for collaboration between many authors, i.e. students in a classroom. Students and teachers in a class can upload files, embed multimedia presentations, and post images on a class wiki as the school year progresses. You can control the privacy settings to allow the content to only be visible to members of your class. K-12 teachers can create wikis for free on sites like Wikispaces. This type of technology and collaboration can be very useful for generating discussion and sharing ideas between students and teachers. Wikis are pretty simple to set up, even if you don’t have any website building experience.

Our Gateway members are at all different levels of technology integration. Have you already created a wiki for your class? Are you interested in creating one, or do you want to focus on other areas of technology? Do you currently use any Web 2.0 applications to augment your teaching? If we can work together and share ideas, we will be able to bring these types of applications into our classrooms much more easily. I will be posting questions on Facebook and Twitter over the next few weeks to see what technology you have incorporated, which new applications you want to add in your classroom, and what might be holding you back from implementing certain technologies. Be sure to follow us there, and chime in to let us know what you think! Your questions, comments, and successes in all areas of 21st century skills are a crucial piece of the Gateway. You are the driving force behind the resources we highlight and discuss every week.

I created a word cloud on http://www.wordle.net/ by pasting in the text of this column.  This is an example of a quick and easy way to integrate technology into a lesson. I discovered the Wordle application on Jose Picardo’s A-Z Internet Resources for Education (See Joann’s column for the link). This is a very interesting exercise to assign, since students will have fun getting creative with the design of the words, and it helps show the important terms in a particular piece of writing. This word cloud only took about five minutes to create, and wouldn’t take very much advance preparation by a teacher.

This week, I challenge you to look over the resources Joann has presented in her Tech Tools post. Find a new type of technology that you might be able to use in class, and think about how you will implement it this week, this month, or even this year. You may want to have your students create a word cloud like the one I created on Wordle to turn in with an assigned essay. You can have your students create a cartoon strip with an application like ToonDoo instead of a book report. If you are thinking about assigning posters, try out Glogster, where students can create multimedia online posters. If you have a class wiki, you can even embed them there! Voki can be neat, too. Students create avatars and record their own voices. The avatars can present the information for them! All of these examples were pulled from this week’s highlighted resources on the Gateway. Take some time to browse through them yourself. I think you will find some really neat ideas.

~Peggy's Corner~

Teacher Tools

Teachers are very aware that education in the 21st century demands time-honored practices coupled with the innovative use of technology. The Internet and the abundance of digital tools available can help facilitate learning in a way that was unimaginable to earlier generations. This week’s picks focus on digital tools sites created by educators who are passionate about using new forms of technology creatively in the classroom. So, tap into your (virtual) inner MacGyver with the arsenal of tech tools offered through these sites, and enjoy the ride.



WSD’s eToolBox: Choosing the Right Tools
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-02-04.5092649244/
Subjects: Teaching, Technology
Grade: Teachers

Need to punch up a presentation or introduce wikis to your classroom? This handy virtual toolkit allows teachers to consult a chart to help determine which types of tech tools or resources they can use for lessons and projects. The eToolBox presents a list of available applications and/or sites with links to those tools, plus a lot more. One of the things that I like about this site is that it’s one-stop shopping for great ideas for integrating technology into the classroom. It’s like a Swiss Army knife of technology tools right at your fingertips. eToolBox is a great example of teachers tapping into the power of wikis and similar media to promote and share creative technology ideas in the classroom. eToolBox is a project of the Wissahickon School District in suburban Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, located about 22 miles north of Philadelphia.


Web 2.0: Cool Tools for Schools
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-02-04.5930943702/
Subjects: Teaching, Technology
Grade: Teachers

This ever-growing list offers educational Web 2.0 tools to help teachers at all grade levels locate resources and ideas for the classroom. Web 2.0 tools are listed under various categories, such as organizing tools, mapping tools, research tools, audio applications, and much more. What I like about this particular wiki is that many of the tools have tutorials or examples on how the resources work, as well as brief comments about the sites themselves. You can scan through the categories, and immediately target those apps that are appropriate for your needs. This wiki is the brainchild of Lenva Shearing, who is Deputy Principal at Bucklands Beach Intermediate School, a middle school in Auckland, New Zealand.


A-Z Internet Resources for Education
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2010-02-06.7985040085/
Subjects: Teaching, Technology
Grade: Teachers

A-Z Internet Resources for Education rounds out my trio of educational tech tools picks this week because of its currency and scope. The site is continually updated, and founder Jose Picardo announces updates via his http://twitter.com/josepicardo  page. Picardo is the Head of Modern Foreign Languages at Nottingham High School in the UK, where he teaches Spanish and German, and he’s obviously passionate about using technology creatively in schools. The resources on the list are mostly free, with brief descriptions provided. There are well over 100 resources listed as of this writing, with plenty of tools to choose from for effectively using technology with your students. I do wish the resources were grouped by category and not alphabetically, but then, the resource wouldn’t be called “A-Z Internet Resources,” now, would it?