Techie in Primary

Promotional Poster Copyright belongs to the film's distributor Image source:  http://www.impawards.com/tv/social_dilemma.html The Power of Social Media The internet has been a frontier for new forms of communication and connection. Now social media has become a permanent fixture in our daily lives and its influence is felt in nearly all daily activities.  We can establish communities, enhance our knowledge, and even find lasting companionship through various social media platforms.   However, all new frontiers come with inherent risks and pitfalls. Social media is very captivating and these companies are getting very rich off of its users.  These themes are explored in the 2020 Netflix docu-drama The Social Dilemma . This is a film that looks to unpack the darker side of social media. Using a combination of testimonials, expert commentary, and dramatic reenactments, it delivers its message at a time when social media’s influence is undeniable. What's the Message?...

Image by iStock/axel2001 What is Media Literacy? Media literacy is a term that describes a set of skills needed in order for individuals to access, understand, and decode media messages. This involves critical thinking skills, as well as having an understanding of how messages shape who we are and how information bias works. Media literacy does not just involve the consumption of media but the creation of it as well, which comes in a variety of forms and often combines text, images, video, or sound.  Why is Media Literacy Important? These skills are more important now than ever before in the 21st Century. It is estimated that the average person consumes over 7.5 hours of media in a day. What we know about the creators of media is that very few companies are in charge of a large percentage of the media we consume daily. According to Tech Startups 37 years ago 50 companies controlled American media but today 6 "media giants" control 90% of our media - what we watch, listen to,...

Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages is marked  CC BY-NC 4.0 CIPA and COPPA There are several federal laws that work together in an effort to keep children safe online. One is the Children's Internet Privacy Act, or CIPA. CIPA works to protect children from accessing obscene and harmful content on the internet by requiring schools and libraries to use internet filters. This law is tied to federal funding - in order for an institution to continue receiving federal funds that help pay for Internet and hardware, they have to use internet filters. I think that this law is effective in helping keep our students safe. At my school district we use Securly as a web filter in our schools. We have found this to be effective in catching students trying to access inappropriate content online. Another aspect of CIPA is  the  Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act which states that schools have extra requirements: "they must provide for educating minors about appropriate online...

" It's a digital TATTOO. "  by  ditchthattextbook  is marked with  CC BY-NC 2.0 . A few years ago I did a data mine on myself to determine the extent of my digital tattoo. You can check out the details of that search in this blog post. If you're not familiar with the term digital tattoo, (sometimes referred to as a digital footprint - see Ditch That Textbook 's image above), it refers to the information about you that exists online. As an educator it's important to me that my digital tattoo does not hurt my reputation or my image as a professional. It's also important to teach our students about digital tattoos and how their content online can stay around forever. When I did the data mine on myself over two years ago, I was nervous about what I was going to find but the search brought back pretty basic results. Coming back to this topic two years later, I didn't expect to find much difference in my search results, but I was wrong.  First of all, if yo...

" student_ipad_school - 131 "  by  flickingerbrad  is marked with  CC BY 2.0 . What Are Acceptable Use Policies?  An acceptable use policy, or AUP, is an agreement between students and their school district that outlines how students should stay safe while learning online. AUPs are also sometimes called responsible use policies or responsible use expectations. The purpose of these documents is to outline how the district's internet and devices should be utilized by students. They may also be considered codes of conduct. If students do not follow AUPs there may be consequences ranging from loss of privileges to removal of devices. The tone of a AUP is critical in conveying how a school district trusts its student body and embraces digital learning. Student-centered language makes students assume responsibility for their actions, for example "I will not eat or drink while using technology."  This story from the Office of Educational Technology shows how Bost...

" data privacy "  by  stockcatalog  is marked with  CC BY 2.0 . This week I've been exploring the topic of privacy. I don't know anyone who is not online in some way. For most of us, the online world is an integral part of our every day lives, whether we are using Google Maps to safely arrive at a destination, checking in with loved ones on a messenger app, or receiving an email from work. Whether you grew up on the internet or not we all need to be aware of what happens when we step foot online and give away information about ourselves. As an educator of young children I feel it is my responsibility to teach my students digital citizen skills, which includes navigating online spaces safely. These will be lifelong skills for this generation. It is also my responsibility to keep my students' data safe while they use school devices. This year we actually came across a problem with a popular literacy app called EPIC! not following Illinois'  Student Online Person...

" orang ramai " is marked with  CC0 1.0 . This week I have been reflecting on Professional Learning Networks, or PLNs. A PLN is a group of educators (that can exist outside your immediate bubble of colleagues) that you can connect and collaborate with to expand your professional learning. Social media has allowed educators to build diverse and expansive PLNs! Torrey Trust, who is a professor of educational technology, identified four different benefits of PLNs: social, affective, cognitive, and identity. You can check out her Thinglink to view videos explaining these benefits.  After watching her videos explaining these benefits, I've concluded that the cognitive growth I've received PLNs has impacted me the most. Thanks to PLNs, I have learned about methods and resources that I've been able to bring back to my students. These include behavior management strategies, new children's literature, tech tools, specific projects, and more. This has helped me to grow...