A simple click and that contest on facebook has been shared. Another click and that amber alert somewhere in another state or province has been shared. With all of the information available in a few clicks and seconds away we still seem to propogate a whole bunch of junk. Bogus contests, fake reports on deaths of famous people (a la Bill Cosby for one), fabricated amber alerts, speeches that were never made and so on. Why are we so willing to click and forward without even looking if it is real?
I know when the reports of Bill Cosby dying came about I took the time to look up more information, but I cannot remember if it was to see if it was real or to see what happened. This being said, there was an amber alert, supposedly out of Quebec, that came my way and I immediately forwarded it without thinking. A friend of mine on Facebook shared a link with me showing that this was a hoax, and one that had resurfaced on several occasions. Another one was a piece that was supposedly written by Ben Stein about the White House use of the Word Christmas Trees. I liked what was written but it was not the author it was reported to be. I still shared it without checking.
The ability to start and share rumours, make up stories, share false information or hatred in this day and age is shocking. There is more and more a pressing need to teach not only our students, but also the general population about needing to filter the information being shared. There is a tremendous need to change our mindset and not assume that because it is on Facebook or Twitter that is must be real. Deaths of celebrities and amber alerts are usually top news items in google, which are easily verfied. Contests by Disney and Costco are easily checked on their websites. Why don't we do it? Are we still stuck in the thought process that if it is written then it must be true? How do we break ourselved out of this mentality? Is it pure laziness, or based on false assumptions? How do we stop sharing junk, lies and misinformation? It has to become second nature to question all information and to cross reference it before we reference it. If there was ever a day and an age to be mindful about what information we are distributing, it is now.
If only those fake contests and stories werent so appealling!
Showing posts with label digital citizenship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digital citizenship. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2013
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Ed Camp Vancouver
Today was a most interesting day of most amazing professional development. The day was presented as an unconference, no key note speaker, nothing lavish, just a bunch of dedicated people who are passionate about education. It was representative of most stakeholders: parents, teachers, principals and some students. It is hard to describe the day in a way which accurately would reflect the conversations that were held today.
The beauty of the day was the respect for the knowledge of the group that was there, the fact that everyone had something to offer, something to share, something to reflect on, a question to pose and a desire to learn. These were not sessions that were being offered by someone looking to pad a resume, someone who had not been in a school in years and was preaching nor was it someone who had already done the same presentation 25 times in the year and did not adapt it to the group present. These sessions were lead by questions from people within the room. I was looking at the board of potential topics with people putting sticky notes on them to show which ones were of interest.
As we were looking at the board of topics there were other conversations that started and new topics were posted. As new topics were posted some stickies migrated, others added their stickies to the new topics and 16 topics were chosen for the day. 4 sessions per time slot, 4 different time slots. There were conversations around assessment for learning, bringing English LA into the 21st century, Social Media 101, moving away from letter grades, engaging all partner groups, moving away from awards ceremonies, creating online communities as well as many other great subjects. We were there from 9 am to 4 pm, and then some of us went to a pub to continue the conversation afterwards, those who had the long commute home had their continuing conversations in the car, the #edcampvan hashtag continued to be used long after the day was over. It is now 10 pm and that hashtag is still showing up and being used! Talk about powerful pro-d!
I took in 4 amazing sessions, each one passed quickly, with conversations continuing long after the session was over. The discussion were so rich, provocative and reflective. The varying points of view from different districts, levels, stakeholders and experience was so enriching. I honestly feel that I would have happily attended each session for a day instead of just the 45 minutes sessions (which often continued well after the time elapsed unlike other sessions where people were packing up their bags before presentations were over). It just felt as though we were just warming up. To have that many people together is powerful pro-d. There was so much to listen to, so much to share, so much to think about and so much to bring back to schools. As I was driving home I started to wonder how we could make our pro-d days much more like this. Good solid conversations, professional dialogue and getting to the meat and potatoes. Let's get it all out on the table.
I would have loved to have school boards and Ministry of Education representatives there. They need to hear our thoughts without the bureaucratic red tape that can exist when meeting with govenment representatives. Open honest conversations without politics so that they can hear what it is that we are trying to do, hear what our barriers are, understand how it would be better for students and we could hear what their vision is without a podium and a rehearsed speech, what their concerns are, what their barriers are. If we can truly have all stakeholders represented then we can really begin to make magic happen.
There is much to bring home to our schools and a lot to think about how the day was shaped and how we can use this format. Is this the future of pro-d?
The beauty of the day was the respect for the knowledge of the group that was there, the fact that everyone had something to offer, something to share, something to reflect on, a question to pose and a desire to learn. These were not sessions that were being offered by someone looking to pad a resume, someone who had not been in a school in years and was preaching nor was it someone who had already done the same presentation 25 times in the year and did not adapt it to the group present. These sessions were lead by questions from people within the room. I was looking at the board of potential topics with people putting sticky notes on them to show which ones were of interest.
As we were looking at the board of topics there were other conversations that started and new topics were posted. As new topics were posted some stickies migrated, others added their stickies to the new topics and 16 topics were chosen for the day. 4 sessions per time slot, 4 different time slots. There were conversations around assessment for learning, bringing English LA into the 21st century, Social Media 101, moving away from letter grades, engaging all partner groups, moving away from awards ceremonies, creating online communities as well as many other great subjects. We were there from 9 am to 4 pm, and then some of us went to a pub to continue the conversation afterwards, those who had the long commute home had their continuing conversations in the car, the #edcampvan hashtag continued to be used long after the day was over. It is now 10 pm and that hashtag is still showing up and being used! Talk about powerful pro-d!
I took in 4 amazing sessions, each one passed quickly, with conversations continuing long after the session was over. The discussion were so rich, provocative and reflective. The varying points of view from different districts, levels, stakeholders and experience was so enriching. I honestly feel that I would have happily attended each session for a day instead of just the 45 minutes sessions (which often continued well after the time elapsed unlike other sessions where people were packing up their bags before presentations were over). It just felt as though we were just warming up. To have that many people together is powerful pro-d. There was so much to listen to, so much to share, so much to think about and so much to bring back to schools. As I was driving home I started to wonder how we could make our pro-d days much more like this. Good solid conversations, professional dialogue and getting to the meat and potatoes. Let's get it all out on the table.
I would have loved to have school boards and Ministry of Education representatives there. They need to hear our thoughts without the bureaucratic red tape that can exist when meeting with govenment representatives. Open honest conversations without politics so that they can hear what it is that we are trying to do, hear what our barriers are, understand how it would be better for students and we could hear what their vision is without a podium and a rehearsed speech, what their concerns are, what their barriers are. If we can truly have all stakeholders represented then we can really begin to make magic happen.
There is much to bring home to our schools and a lot to think about how the day was shaped and how we can use this format. Is this the future of pro-d?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The need for digital citizenship in elementary
Sometimes trying to follow the different conversations on Twitter is as hard as trying to watch the different scores and news on the sports channels' ticker on the bottom. Blink at the wrong time and you probably missed what you might have been looking for. There is no line-up to enter conversations, it seems as though you just jump in. When the kids are lining up to jump in on the skipping rope, they do so because they have been taught the rules and expectations. This leads to the question of, who is teaching them the rules and expectations online?
I have learned about Twitter by being on Twitter. No one has taught me about the tags or etiquette. I have just been trying to figure it all out. I would go to Google to figure out terminology I was getting like RT and tags. I have mimicked what others have done and what I have seen. I have tried using common sense but sometimes my eagerness may have overtaken me. When two people are having a Twitter conversation, is it appropriate to add your 2 cents? The conversation is public and other people have contributed to a discussion that I have had, so does that make it right? And herein lies the challenge, as a reasonably well informed educator on this topic, I am not sure. Where does that put many teachers, parents and students? Who is teaching digital citizenship and net responsibility?
There is an age-limit, supposedly, for Facebook and yet I have received Friend requests from current and former students who are not yet 13. Their profiles are wide-open and they have hundreds of friends.The information that they have posted pretty much violates every suggestion for safety and privacy I have seen. Their parents have no idea when I talk to them. I have had to delve into youtube videos with highly inappropriate content, and again their parents do not know and were stunned to see the content and see all of the people looking at it. The conversations that I have with the students demonstrates that they do not know. Who is responsible to teach them?
Technology is changing at an insane pace. Kids are seemingly on a technological trip reminiscent of Columbus' trip on the Santa Maria, a time where they thought there was land but no one knew for sure. We are in uncharted water. How can we teach ICT and not address Net Citizenship? The last info tech BC IRP (Our curricular guide) was written in 1996 and is longer considered "curricular" but something that is to be taught within the confines of the other subjects. If there is no guide and the experience at elementary can be limited to word processing and typing tutor are we meeting the students' and society's needs?
When should Net Citizenship be started? Who is responsible for what? What should it look like at each grade? Are schools responsible for teaching the greater community as well? There are so many aspects of Info Tech that impact the safety and emotional well being of the students of the school that it is going to take a crucial partnership with parents that must expand beyond calls about work completion, behaviour and help on field trips. It is a huge journey and to be honest, I am not sure where to start as we are already way behind.
I have learned about Twitter by being on Twitter. No one has taught me about the tags or etiquette. I have just been trying to figure it all out. I would go to Google to figure out terminology I was getting like RT and tags. I have mimicked what others have done and what I have seen. I have tried using common sense but sometimes my eagerness may have overtaken me. When two people are having a Twitter conversation, is it appropriate to add your 2 cents? The conversation is public and other people have contributed to a discussion that I have had, so does that make it right? And herein lies the challenge, as a reasonably well informed educator on this topic, I am not sure. Where does that put many teachers, parents and students? Who is teaching digital citizenship and net responsibility?
There is an age-limit, supposedly, for Facebook and yet I have received Friend requests from current and former students who are not yet 13. Their profiles are wide-open and they have hundreds of friends.The information that they have posted pretty much violates every suggestion for safety and privacy I have seen. Their parents have no idea when I talk to them. I have had to delve into youtube videos with highly inappropriate content, and again their parents do not know and were stunned to see the content and see all of the people looking at it. The conversations that I have with the students demonstrates that they do not know. Who is responsible to teach them?
Technology is changing at an insane pace. Kids are seemingly on a technological trip reminiscent of Columbus' trip on the Santa Maria, a time where they thought there was land but no one knew for sure. We are in uncharted water. How can we teach ICT and not address Net Citizenship? The last info tech BC IRP (Our curricular guide) was written in 1996 and is longer considered "curricular" but something that is to be taught within the confines of the other subjects. If there is no guide and the experience at elementary can be limited to word processing and typing tutor are we meeting the students' and society's needs?
When should Net Citizenship be started? Who is responsible for what? What should it look like at each grade? Are schools responsible for teaching the greater community as well? There are so many aspects of Info Tech that impact the safety and emotional well being of the students of the school that it is going to take a crucial partnership with parents that must expand beyond calls about work completion, behaviour and help on field trips. It is a huge journey and to be honest, I am not sure where to start as we are already way behind.
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