Online Safety has to be in Collaboration with the home

Remember way back in the day, when getting online could only be done on a computer and you had to use a dial-up modem? And Wifi? What's that? Cellular data? huh? Seems like ancient history now. You also remember the big thing in the internet world back then was chat rooms? If none of those things seem familiar, that means I'm getting too old. (That's another Gen X movie reference, I'd say where it was from but I think we're in polite company, lol...)

Slowly, as getting online became easier and more popular and more kids started hanging out in virtual chat rooms, an interesting but serious threat arose to children's safety. Children were being lured from their homes and families to meet with strangers that they had met in these chat rooms. I remember hearing and listening to news reports about those situations and wondering how on earth that could be possible. Back then, it was thought that the danger loomed only in chat rooms, for it did because back then, that was the only "meeting place" for people to gather and talk. Shortly thereafter, the term "internet predator" was coined. Now the meeting places are social places, social media, online games, video chats, the "DM's", the posts, the profiles, it's all very public. We've coined a new term, "Cyberbullying".

Online safety is a very serious issue. It was back then and it has become an even greater issue now. As our children, schools, and homes become increasingly online, the threat to children also becomes greater. It seems that daily we hear about crimes being committed that are the result of children's online activities. Crimes where the children are lured, kidnapped, abused, assaulted, beaten, or killed. The children are the victims and as a result of cyberbullying many of the perpetrators are children as well.

Cyberbullying is a serious issue. Every school and school district has to address
What to do? Our students are young. They're innocent. And, we have to keep them that way as much as we can. They will get older. They will seek independence. They will seek "freedom". Until then schools must work with parents to teach children to be safe where possible. They will be online at home and at school and most will be online on their way to and from school. Since they will be on devices connected to the online world, we must teach them to avoid dangers.

Schools have internet filters and have set times for when they will be online and most importantly, students are supervised while online. Unfortunately, when they are at home or when they are on their devices, their online activities are not filtered nor is it supervised. This is a real danger. This is where schools, in my opinion, have to work with parents to teach parents how to supervise children, or even how to set filters in place at home and on their devices. Parents are busy, we all are. Even though this is not the purview of schools, I believe school administration needs to take the lead in teaching parents how to protect their children from the dangers of the online world. 

I know this sounds like more work but I think this is something that needs to be done. Parent-teacher conferences can be held to show parents how to keep children safe. Showing parents the tools to filter the internet, set times for their children's internet use, or even simply take their devices at certain times. Directing parents to sites like Common Sense Media and the plethora of resources that are there. I'm sure that many parents aren't even aware of such things. In all honesty, I wasn't even aware of all the site has to offer. I wish I would have known about this when my kids were younger.

Imagine how invested the parents would be knowing how invested the school is in their children.

Students are online all the time. This is an even greater reason to do what we can to monitor our students. We may not be able to monitor what they post, what they share, what they say.  I can't monitor what my own kids might do, say, or act when they're visiting a friend's house, but I can instill in them the values of being good, decent, and respectful. We must teach our students those same values of conduct when "visiting" online. We teach children things like "stranger danger", and we need to do the same thing when online. We teach children to "stop, drop, and roll", we need to teach them to recognize danger and what to do when in danger.

But how do I do that? Thankfully, there are resources for educators to use. One resource that I have used is Kids in the Know program. This program is a must for schools to use. It's an entire curriculum for schools from Kindergarten to Grade 9. The focus of this program is to teach online safety and to reduce the victimization of children. I also like the fact that this is a Canadian resource. I strongly suggest and urge that teachers use this resource. It teaches kids what to do when presented with different dangerous online scenarios.

Kids in the Know is one resource but there are others. Online safety is important. If we want our students, our children to be safe then we must teach them and teach them well. It can't be left to educators only, the home as to be involved, and the administration (conference and/or district) has to take the lead and provide the resources needed.

The Story of Us - My Digital Storytelling

 For this next assignment, Implementation 5, I decided to try and do something different. Something I have not done before, something I have watched others do but never tried myself. I decided to do this assignment strictly using my phone and two apps, Capcut and TikTok. Instead of using pictures I had on my phone, I used my phone to film pictures and film it in a way as if I was using transitions that I would find on a slideshow app. The next struggle was then to place the audio. I had to work through the song, to get that audio in the exact spot and then to place that in the video, and finally fade the audio at the end of the video. That took a while. Once that was done, I used TikTok to do a voice-over and export it to my phone, and then airdrop the video to my computer. I could have finished the whole video in Capcut but I really wanted to try using TikTok. So many of my students use it why not me. 

This was a steep learning curve for me. I had to rely on the mercies of those that have done this already and posted their wisdom on Google and YouTube. I may have had to call on my son and daughter to help me. Yes, I am at that stage where I need to call on my kids to help me with this fandangled new thing. Overall it was fun. I enjoyed doing this. It took a lot of time to get this done. I may have worked through the night to get this done. Like Reels and TikToks, this story is brief.

I hope you enjoy it. Last minute hassle, I tried to upload the video directly to this blog, but it wouldn't allow me for whatever reason. I tried a few times but oh well. Even embedding it was a challenge. Had to google and troubleshoot this issue was a major headache. But I think I got it now. I uploaded this video to my YouTube account. I set this video as private for two reasons,  I'm a private type of guy, and to avoid any copyright issues with the song that I'm using. Another reason, why I'm only using a portion of the song is copyright issues. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it.

The Story of Mike and Bev

Here's a little story I've got to tell...

Digital storytelling is just like the way it sounds, it's the telling of a story but digitally. But the one main thing to consider is that the telling of the story in digital format is capturing more of your senses. It allows the listener to engage with the media, the sound, the voice, the narration, the visuals, etc. To contrast this and to explain my point, have you ever seen the 2009 movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, starring Cuba Gooding Jr? If you haven't go see it. 

There's a scene in the movie where young Ben Carson is saying to his mom, "I don't have an imagination". As the scene goes on, Ben finds himself in church listening to his pastor tell a story. Ben is engaged and involved in the story that he sees himself in the story. His imagination comes to life and he runs home to tell his mom what he saw in his imagination. Here's the clip from the movie.

 

In the same way, digital storytelling further aids the listener to engage with the story. That engagement with the use of audio, visuals and/or dramatic representation of the subject matter draws the listener into the story. This allows the listener to further and deeper into the story or perhaps it takes the listener further away but still connected to the story in some way or another. I believe this is something that neurologists would call developing neural pathways.

The appropriateness of this in the classroom depends on the subject matter and/or how the teacher can use it in the classroom. If I'm teaching science and the different types of soil, perhaps I could give an assignment to tell about the different types of soil from a specific plant perspective. The student would then have to tell what type of soil the plant needs and the nutrient content in the soil for it to flourish and thrive. But this would be done in a story format. Overall, I think digital storytelling is important because it uses higher-order thinking skills such as creativity and critical thinking. However the appropriateness is determined by the teacher. How much class time is needed? What resources are needed? Questions such as these have to be addressed to determine how and when a teacher uses digital storytelling in the classroom.

From The Educational Uses of DigitalStorytelling, I viewed Urban Art vs. Vandalism and The Meaning of My Life. They were both very good examples of digital storytelling. The first one really captured my attention by its use of visuals, the subject content, and the pacing of the narration drew me in. For me, they both would be very good to use in the classroom. If I taught art or even if I were teaching the idea of perspectives, Urban Art vs. Vandalism would be an excellent choice as it highlights the idea of art and/or vandalism is subjective. The Meaning of My Life, would be a great choice if I wanted to teach the vastness of the universe compared to relative smallness of human life or even if I wanted to teach the life cycle of humans compared to the immensity of the universe.  

Do I Have to Work in a Group?

Group projects in some are like the necessary evils of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I love group projects. I love assigning them. I enjoy getting students to work together on projects. When students work together and they're motivated and they're contributing, learning happens and they turn-in amazing work. This is the point where students start to use their higher-order thinking skills. But, it's a necessary evil in the sense, that I have to spend the time to come up with a project (which can be troublesome), assigning students for group work, and ensuring that everyone in the group is participating and contributing.

If I make up the groups, students are not necessarily going to be able to work together or want to work together if they don't have a positive relationship with that person. If I allow students to choose their own groups, then I run the risk of the students choosing their friends and they not using their time wisely, and not getting the work done.

While online tools like Google for Education can really help students collaborate on projects where they can work together in person or remotely, I still run into the same problem as mentioned above with students working together. Online tools are only as good as the people that use them. If the students are motivated and contributing/working together, learning will happen. However, the use of online tools makes it easier for me as the teacher to ensure contributions to the project are happening by everyone. 

As the teacher, I can share documents with students or students can share documents with me, and with the shared document I can regularly view and check on the progress. Because it is a shared document, I can see who is working on the document and who is not. To make that part easier, I can also assign text colours to each student in the group to be able to see quickly at a glance who is working and who is not. This by no means is a perfect solution but it is at least some sort of check.

If I want my students to communicate, collaborate, be creative, and to think critically, then I have to allow my students to interact with each other. Online tools will allow for that interaction but it ultimately depends on the student to determine how far they want to go with it. This then brings up the SAMR model. As the teacher, it is up to me to bring my students to the R level. If I want them to be creative and to think critically, then I also have to put the work in to assign meaningful assignments that allow for that type of learning to happen. 

Google's Playing Monoply

If Google isn't a monopoly then I don't know what is. At first, they were a search engine. Now, they're everywhere. They're a search engine, computer OS, word processing office platform, file share center, and cloud computing mega-giant. You can't think Internet or do anything on the Internet without Google. In many ways Google is synonymous with the Internet. This is one of those things where I don't have a problem with their monopoly...as long as they don't turn into "big brother".

Chromebooks has got to be one of their best brainchild devices. I think it's revolutionizing computers in the classroom. You need a computer for school? No problem, get a Chromebook. It's affordable, it's sleek, it's lightweight, and it will do most everything you need it to do. Considering that most of what we do in the classroom is now online why would we need a more expensive laptop to do the same thing that we can do on a Chromebook? That doesn't make financial sense.

I work in a small private Christian school and we have a small budget to work with. So from our standpoint, using Chromebooks makes sense. We don't have to shell out big bucks for site licenses for operating systems, programs to install individually on each computer/laptop, server computer and software to run the computers/laptop on the network. And, let's not forget having to purchase and install anti-virus software...and having to pay someone to monitor and maintain the computers/laptops. Strictly from a financial viewpoint, Chromebooks are the way to go and the possibility of there being a one to one ratio of Chromebooks to students is much greater.

Chromebooks in the classroom allow the students to go online and do almost everything they need to do. Need a word processor, use Google docs. This simple program rivals Microsoft Word and even my favourite Pages on Mac OS. Need a spreadsheet program, Google sheets. Need a slide PowerPoint type of program, Google Slides. The functionality of these Google programs/software is all most students need. For these reasons alone Chromebooks is the way to go in a school setting.

The biggest disadvantage to using Chrombooks is that they're not specialized to do anything else. If I want to teach a photography class where students get to manipulate pictures using photo editing software, I couldn't do that with a Chrombook. There are apps that I can download but their functionality is limited. Same goes for if I wanted to to teach a film making class, I wouldn't use a Chromebook. I'd rather use an iPad, MacBook or another laptop.

Considering that almost everything is utilizing either cloud computing or Web 2.0, the need to using anything else is limited.

Implementation 3

Time to be brutally honest. I see the value of social bookmarks, podcasts, and the plethora of Google services. I think I will be using something other than social bookmarks and podcasts for teaching. I use Google for education and I use it a lot because it's convenient and fits my schedule for what I need to do. However, I have tried to use social bookmarks in the past but found that it was one more thing I had to do. And as I've said before about Mr. Winkle, "Ain't no one got time for that!"

I have used Feedly in the past. I liked it a lot. It was good. It put all my interests and things that I subscribed to in one place. I even used it with my students. But, it got to be more work than I was prepared to put into it. I also tried using Diigo. It was more beneficial to me and had features like creating outlines and even embedding "sticky notes". Features, that were more like what a teacher would use. However, Feedly is more pleasant to look at, it has that eye-candy flair that Diigo did not. It's like saying, Feedly is pretty, Diigo has a great personality. Both of these services are fantastic if you're willing to use them for what they are actually intended to do. Speaking for myself only, it did not simplify my life or my teaching like I was hoping it would. I am happy that it works for others but it did not for me. It was taking too much of my time.

I thought I could keep up to date professionally with the stuff I care about and want to know about but I'm finding that I will just google what I need and look up and read from many different sources. Bookmarking these sites and reading material in Google alone is serving me better than using social bookmarking services. I really hope I'm not becoming like the adage, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". I don't think I am but I'm recognizing what is and what is not working for me.

In regards to teaching, Google services like Drive, Classroom, and the G-Suite for Education has been much better to use. I can create documents, slides, and folders that can be shared among my students. I can also determine the level of access from viewer to editor to grant the students among the shared items. In Google Classroom I can create classes for each class I teach and I can place all the materials that my students will need in their specific classroom space. Using shared Google docs, students can submit files where I can comment, correct, or edit their work. Students can share documents among themselves and work collaboratively too. To see students share files among themselves and edit, correct, and even share ideas while working is really an incredible site to see. Something like this is moving students to the "Modification" level according to the SAMR model and teetering on the edge of "Redefinition".

Podcasting, I have tried getting students to see the value of creating a podcast as a way of sharing what they know and what they could develop. I like listening to podcasts and I use Apple Podcasts to keep track of the podcasts that I like. However, I'm finding in regards to podcasts I'm going the route of social bookmarking. I typically just use YouTube for podcasts and bookmark or "favorite" or subscribe directly in YouTube. But with students, it has been a different story. They are not into it. If the podcasts were a Reel or a TikTok then they are all in. I have had students create Reels and TikToks to showcase learning and have found that to work very well. In a school setting using social media brings up a bunch of other tech hassles (ie. network filters, student safety, use of bandwidth, etc) that teachers do not have the time to deal with in class. If we can find a way to get around that or make it work in a school setting, then we're looking at another great resource for students to use.

The very definition of technology is to make work easier. If using technology is not making work easier, then something is wrong or perhaps we're not using the technology properly. There are so many tech tools available for teachers and students to use.  Each teacher needs to determine how they will use these tools to further the education of the students and to ensure that learning takes place. 

The SAM what? SAMR

I remember that I once went to a PD about the SAMR model a few years ago. Unfortunately, that's where it stayed in that PD. I am glad to be able to visit this again and put this knowledge into practice.

The SAMR model in many ways reminds me of Bloom's Taxonomy. You have the lower levels that are the basic levels but the goal is to get students to the higher levels, to the higher order thinking levels. To me, the SAMR model is almost the same thing. In the SAMR model, the Enhancement levels (Substition and Augmentation) would correlate to Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application of Bloom's. The Transformation level (Modification and Redefinition) would correlate to Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. However, I find the SAMR model much simpler and much easier to incorporate technology. 

For myself, I would say that I am somewhere between Substition and Modification. In my teaching, I am struggling to get my students to the Redefinition levels. I feel like I'm not getting as far as I would like to take my students to higher-order thinking skills.

I'm going to use an example from a previous post about implementing certain 21st-Century Skills. The students would be working together to solve math word problems. 

Math-based problem-solving challenges. Group students into groups of 2-3 give each group a specific math challenge. This math challenge must be a word problem. It can based on the current unit of study. The students must then work together to solve the problem. Each member of the group must be able to know how to solve their specific problem. Once each group has found the solution to their problem, create a new grouping of 2-3 students. This time give the students the same problems so that one person in each group has already solved the problem but must allow the other members in the group to solve the problem and or show the others how to arrive at the solution. An activity like this could probably be done at least once a week or once every two weeks in class.

I would modify the above challenge slightly to work in this situation.

Substitution - The problem will be listed in Google Classroom in a shared document. Students use their Chromebooks to read the problems. This is essentially the same if students were reading it off a paper source.

Augmentation - Students copy the problem from the document and create another shared document to be shared among their own group.

Modification - As students are working on the problem they re-write the problem in their own words as they are discussing it among themselves. Students can use available technology to discuss the problem. They can use the chat feature or commenting feature or even video-call if they are working remotely. Students are now working collaboratively to find a solution.

Redefinition - Once a solution is found, students create a step-by-step video tutorial that demonstrates how they found the solution to the problem. Students then post their solution video to Google Classroom for other students to view and/or comment. Students could also create their own word problems that they would share in Google Classroom for other students to complete.