Scratch and wix.com - new programs and ideas!

I have been lucky enough to have a technology learning person come to my school to show my students some fun animation programming and a flash webpage builder. Of course I learned as much as the students have, and have seen some really cool uses for it in all subject areas!

SCRATCH
We have been learning about Scratch. Scratch is a downloadable program off the internet - free I believe - and it is a fun way to bring animation and programming together. You create "sprites" and put them on a "stage" and program them to do actions. It is really quite cool. We have done etch-a-sketch, pong games, and we are now starting to do interactive quizzes. I am doing a History 10 and 20 project where they create a 10 question quiz on the unit they are working on, as a pre-test for their tests coming up. Really neat!

WIX.COM
Also, the other program that he has been showing us is wix.com - a free (you can make only so many sites though) - flash website/page builder. I have started to make a To Kill A Mockingbird page for ELA 20. I will share the site so far - it is under construction so be kind!
But the neatest part is that you can create your own widgets, insert videos straight from youtube, etc. He did most of his work with grade 4-6 kids with this program online, but I used it myself, so it is definitely possible to use it with the older kids as well.
The younger kids created small webpages about whales, and sent home the links to their parents - really cool!
My idea, is to create my TKAM site that kids can go to and find their assignments - paperless novel study!!! Other colleagues can use it too as a resource page!
It is a bit novice and limited but works well for a quick gathering of information.

"It's easy people! All you have to do is try!!" -Mrs. Stratton

A few videos -technology in the classroom

Here are two videos I have come across in the last few days that I thought might be worth sharing:
Top ten tips for using technology in the classroom


Why Integrate Technology into Canadian Classrooms?

Media Literacy 101

Media Literacy 101

Students have more information in the last 30 years, than in the last previous 5000 years which means if we follow this trend, that the information supply will double every 5 years.

We need to be "opening the windows to the world", and inserting more technology and more open-ended assignments by infusing technology into our curriculums.
-Media is the 5th element of language and curriculum. We see this in our viewing and representing strands of literacy in Saskatcheawn curriculum.

-We need to develop in our students/children:
Knowledge, critical thinking skills, values (such as empathy), communication skills, and information management skills

Media wants to evoke emotion - Kids need to be aware of triggers

Kids are media...

1. Consumers
2. Creators
3. Distributors of Content

If parents want a good start on how to keep their kids safe when they are on the computer or the internet, they need to start out by being active parents in their child's life. Parents need to ask the hard questions, and discuss with their children what they are doing when on the computer - the typical answer of "just doing my homework" is not good enough, and likely not a whole truth. One of the most important things parents can do is not allow their children to have a computer in their room. Put the computer in a central location where you can see and everyone can use it.

Jerry Seinfeld teaching Senior History...funny parody

Here is a funny video that was shown at my PLC/CIF Day...

It is a funny video of Jerry Seinfeld teaching a Senior History class....such a good parody!
Check it out!

needing some ideas....can you help?

Off to our Teacher's Convention tomorrow and Friday in Stoon, and am looking forward to some of the presentations. There are few good technology ones, and also a lot of good ELA ones I am interested in as well. I will keep you updated as much as I can.

Technology has been at a stand-still for me. I really need better access to computers, and the internet. Also, the lack of updated programs we have here are limiting the students and my abilities to expand. Money is always that mitigating factor that constrains us all into boxes of availability. Even free programs are limiting on the internet most times. I wish you could get full access to free programs for video editing - any good sites? All I have found are ones that seem to konk out when we are just getting somewhere and lead to more headaches than just using Windows Movie Maker. That being the simple solution, I would like to advance to a newer program but am not sure what, or how to use many other programs, any ideas there?

Also, just putting it out there...anyone have any good ideas for teaching History 10? I am finding it really dry and my kids are not really enjoying or understanding it....This is where I am struggling lately, and thought 'why not blog about it. maybe someone can help?' So here I am, putting it all out into the vast information superhighway and hoping for a bounce back!

Blog people! Blog about your problems and solutions, and realize that this medium can be a tool that is useful, not just scary and confusing! Prove me right!

Food-for-thought, and technology advances for me

Hello bloggers!

It has been a while, I know. As I sit here this fine morning, just drinking my cup-o-java and reflecting on what I have been doing, what you would find interesting, and in general, what to blog about this time...I have noticed that the truth is that I have learned little lately. Yep, I admitted it! My brain has not crammed as much in as I would like as of late, but I know also that life has been pretty hectic for me. Let me explain...



I have gotten married. I took the plunge! I am happy and things are going great. I drive about a half hour to work every day, with my husband, who works in the same town as me, and I tell ya - if driving together did not break us apart, then nothing will (it is like that old saying that if you can build a house or renovate together then you can make it through anything?) - same goes for driving together in the morning and after work. What's worse than waking up and realizing you both need the shower, need breakfast, need coffee and one is always running later than the other - sometimes that switches - but then you get into the vehicle, and realize you have forgotten something of importance, turning around you realize that this is not all that much of a relaxing good time to spend with your significant other! But to tell you the truth, I am really enjoying it and life is awesome!

I just thought I would throw in that food-for-thought today! :-)



Back to technology...sorry my tangent was a little lengthy!

My CPT 10 class just finished their first video project - a commercial! They were advertising for a pair of runners. It is pretty funny, and I will post it once it is all ready.

My CPT 20 class is taking a detour from their Game Show Skits and actually doing a "Save Our School" video. Our school is under review for closure, and the students at my school want to voice their opinions. What better way than to express them through an informational video! We will be presenting it to the committee at the meeting after the new year. The kids are taking it quite seriously, and it is hard to keep emotion out of the mix when they are dealing with so many different personalities. That is part of the learning process, but I think we are finding it (at least I see it) as more of a challenge on this project than with others. I will let you know how it all progresses. We have just been interviewing students, now we need to interview selected community members on their thoughts.

The issue with the CPT 10 common drive access has yet to be fixed....ugh....

Other than that? Life is good.

update again

We are working on researching Canada's political parties for the upcoming Federal Election 2008. I have my students reading up on the issues and the promises that are being made by all the parties. They need to make their own decision on how they will vote for our Student Vote 2008, on Thursday Oct. 9. The students will do this research, then discuss as a class why, what, how, when and who - all about the parties and their thoughts. They actually seem really interested in it all and are putting lots of effort into their research. This is step #1 in showing them how to be responsible citizens. Woo hoo!

An update in my CPT class. Lovely technology sometimes I tell you....we are having issues with our common drive - which is what the students use to save their stuff - so their commercial stuff is not found at the moment....lovely. But, I found other things to do with them. Hopefully all is fixed within the next few days. :-)

Life is CRAZY lately. I am getting married this weekend, so needless to say I am SWAMPED with that PLUS school work (marking, prep). Ugh. I honestly will be happy when this is all done this weekend and life can go back to its slower-pace. I am looking forward to also spending more time in planning and being prepared for my classes and putting more effort into my school. I have been through a lot this year; moving to a new town and house, starting a new job, getting married.....wow! I know - people are surprised that my head has not exploded yet.

What inspired me today...

Relating to what some other bloggers are posting about...

I was watching my students do research on famous philosophers for a History 10 research report today and again am amazed at some students abilities to show me just how valid Internet tools can be in a classroom.

I walked over to a students computer to see that he was watching a video on youtube.com. Here was my moment - my chance to discuss proper use of youtube to the class - when I noticed that he was not watching junk! He was watching a project that other students his age have done; a "Interview with Dead People: Thomas Hobbes" video. In which the students in the video were portraying the philosopher Thomas Hobbes while another student interviewed him (He could have dressed the part - but that is beside the point). I thought to myself - "WOO! PERFECT!" Not only did I get an awesome idea that becomes cross-curricular for my CPT and History course, but I have a new fun activity for my students!!! It also validaded that student's use of youtube for research. He was checking facts that the students were saying in the video and making sure he did not miss a word. It was gratifying to watch, even though it was not my kids in the video (soon maybe!?).

Here is the video that inspired me today!

An update and a food for thought....

I hope everyone's school year is going well, as mine is shaping up to be a good time. I am teaching - like I said - a bunch of new subjects, but am enjoying it all. I started teaching the Communication Production Technology 10 and 20 courses, which are a lot of fun but kinda scary at the same time for me. I am not too familiar with the in's and out's of film editing or shooting films but I am a work in progress, learning along with the students; as we all know that sometimes that is the best way (let them teach you and save yourself the work!) But seriously, I am enjoying it. Does anyone have any good ideas for CPT 10 or 20 assignments that have worked for them? Let me know!

My CPT 20 kids are starting off with a 5-10 minute game show skit, and my CPT 10 students are starting off with 60 second commercials. I am excited about working with "new" technology (new to me that is!), and applying all I have learned and heard about from our ISITS committee last year. Even though I am no longer in Lsky I am still there in a virtual world community sense.

We are doing PLC's across the division and they are talking about setting up wiki's for each group if they want - I love the idea but worry that some may not enjoy it as much as I. As a fan of wiki's, I am advocating at how user-friendly they are compared to some other options out there. Any ideas to help me get through? :-) I know, I know, charm the pants off them with my own amazing wikispace....I know that is what you're all thinking! :-)

I still struggle with "pushing" people to accept technology in classrooms and actually use it to enhance learning - not as the "easy way out" by giving them an assignment and just letting the students do whatever they want for it. For example: If you allow them to use powerpoint but they do not really know the program, and what a good presentation looks like, then for goodness sake show them some examples of what you want! Modeling is the best method when it comes to technology. From our digital citizenship presentations that we should all hear (our students included), digital citizenship does not just have to mean the internet - it can encompass all areas of technology (including programs, tools, methods, etc.)

I think we as teachers need to keep up to date on what is going on in current technological initiatives in not only your division but province wide, nation wide and globally. Each will impact you and your students, and as teachers it should be if it is not written somewhere already that our professional responsibility has reached a new height - not only do we have to give students breakfast, monitor their work, coach them sports, model good behavior and/or whatever else falls under the list -but we must include technological responsibilities. Keep up to date, maintain a blog and/or webpage, keep contact with parents and students through mediums of the 21st century, have a bloglines (or similar) account to keep updated on growth of others who are influential voices in technology such as the Vicki Davis's Cool Cat Teacher, Dean Shareski's Ideas and Thoughts from an Edtech or Clarence Fisher's Remote Access (Just to name only a few!). Big task? Maybe, but I think it is a worthwhile investment in our futures and a will make a large impact on our students and their employable abilities.

What do you think?

update info, and COOL TOOLS!!!!

To answer a few questions to my fellow listeners.....
Life is good out here. I moved and got a job in the Horizon SD - so I am officially out of the division - which makes me sad, yet excited. I am hoping to keep contact will all of you through my blog and email, so keep in touch all - keep up the comments! I am getting married in the fall and look forward to spending more time with my fiance until then.

Enough about that!

Again and again I am always drawn back to my bloglines account and find the Cool Tool blog really interesting because of their varied and extreme tools and information that they post about. As you may have noticed, I have enjoyed reading about cool new technologies that "help" make life easier. I have been away from my computer for a while - at least blogging, and I have just recently looked at it, only to find more Cool Tool items - a few I would like to share with you:

Cool Tool: GoBidet
-a remote control toilet washer - a high-powered spray attachment that an adjustable arm attachment for your toilet!!! Check it out!!

Cool Tool: Best Home Chemistry Lab Book
-a kid friendly book with tons of chemistry experiments. Enhance your children's learning at home by blowing things up!! haha! Just kidding! :-) Check it out!!

Cool Tool: Sleeptracker Pro
-a watch that you wear to help track and monitor your sleeping patterns - it can figure out when you are at your most rested, when you are starting to wake up, etc. Very neat for people who are frequent travellers - especially across time zones and have trouble adjusting. It is a watch, an alarm and a life saver - Check it out!!!

update and a neat article about the world's oldest blogger

I know it has been almost a month since my last blog post, and a lot has happened in that time to occupy me. I have moved to a new town and got a new job in a town just outside of here. As for my committee - I am going to remain faithful to trying to blog my experiences with technology and teaching as I am teaching a new computer course: Communication Production Technology 10 and 20. New subject for me but still having to do with media and technology so I am thinking I will have a lot to blog about!

Enough about me, on to the good stuff.

I was surfing the net and found this article about an Australian woman was was claimed to be the world's oldest blogger who has died. Olive Riley, a 108 year old woman had done about 74 blog posts and was . What a wonderful inspiration to those who are older and do not think that you can "teach an old dog new tricks"! She used it as a way to tell her life tale about living in the outback of Australia. Again, what an inspiration to us all.

Check out the article here

If Facebook was real life...

I came across this funny video about how if Facebook was real life, what it would be like. It is quite funny, and a bit disturbing at the same time. Check it out and tell me what you think!

http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2008/06/if-facebook-wer.html

If Facebook were real life I think most of us would be really annoyed with each other, and likely would stay indoors hiding from certain people like the guy in the video! haha!

Reflecting on the last school year

As the year winds down and I am crazy busy getting assignments in, marking, and getting ready for exams, I am torn with wanting this school year to just be over with to begin summer break, and not wanting to leave my job, but the one thing that stays constant is my love for technology and computers. As busy as I am lately, I still find time in my day to play around with my computer. I take my "me" time and put it towards checking out new things in technology. I think that if a person has a passion for learning and an interest in something (for me it is technology), that you find time/make time for keeping that present in your life.

I am new at teaching computers this year, and I have found my passion. I am a shop teacher (PAA) by trade but have begun teaching computers this year and was also the computer network administrator for the school. Of course I was apprehensive in the beginning, but I have found my new path. You know when you graduate from University with your B.Ed. and you feel as though you have all you need. I thought to myself that I would never want or need to go back to school. I had no intention of becoming an administrator, therefore I thought I would be a shop teacher for 30 years and retire and be merry. Plans have changed. My new-found love for technology has sparked my love of learning again! I have new passions that keep me interested, and make me want more. I have new plans of wanting to go back to University and pursue my Masters of Education in Educational Communications and Technology. I am very excited to have come across this area of teaching and happy that it has infected my life. My teaching has improved, my communication skills have improved, and I am generally a more well-connected person. My network has grown tremendously this year and I am grateful for the opportunities that I have received and experiences I have gained this year. Technology has improved my life and allowed me to find a path for my future which makes me happy. All in all, a pretty good year! :-)

funny parody of learning and teaching

I just remembered Pcone's feelings of 21st century learning, and was thinking of a way I could depict the sometimes frustrating, sometimes comical times we teachers have in a class when we are trying to teach some "seemingly" easy concepts to the kids. I remembered how Pcone used a Monty Python video, and I thought to myself - Can I find one? I believe I did find a quite funny parody of what life in a classroom when teaching can sometimes be like.....especially near the end....don't think too deeply on this one! :-)

More high-tech gadgets I saw and thought I would share

The whole high-tech world is quite interesting to me. When will it ever end? When will it be TOO much? Will it ever be TOO much?

Introducing some cool new gadgets:

1. Multi-Coloured LED Shower

Here is a blurb from the article:

"This metal showerhead lights up jets of water using multi-coloured LED and visually indicates the water temperature by the colour. The water jets are blue if the water temperature is under 27°C and red for burning, if the temperature is over 43°C. I found during my tests that 40°C was the ideal temperature, giving off a light purple hue, letting you shower in a futuristic halo...The showerhead comes with an adaptor that connects directly into your water supply pipe. No need for batteries… the showerhead automatically generates the energy needed using water pressure...No more surprises at 6 a.m. being shocked awake during an icy shower. No more yells from burning water scorching your back. You will know the water temperature without even touching the water. Basically, it’s a bit like a traffic signal for the shower: red means stop, and purple means go. Available at Rakuten for approximately $110"

2. Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP! Alarm Clock

A new invention by guess who - the Japanese! "The Japanese are very strict about punctuality. Being late for work is a serious mistake for your career. Surprisingly, society works precisely according to a schedule, and pressures you to do the same", so they have come up with a way to help get you out of bed in the morning.

Here is a blurb from the article:

"I found this wonderful “flying alarm clock” that has a propeller on top and when the time comes to wake up, the propeller flies to a random place in the room meanwhile the alarm beeps like crazy. In order to turn it off, you must find the propeller and put it back on the clock."

It sells for about $40.

3. Autodestruction
"There are days when everything just goes wrong..."

It is a fun invention that serves no REAL purpose but to make you feel a bit better when you are having one of those days when nothing goes right...

Here is a blurb from the article:

"You can now walk a mile in [the name of your favourite dictator]’s shoes during the Cold War. Enjoy the incomparable satisfaction that comes with destroying your problems (like those incomplete or late projects) or anything else you choose to destroy. The destruction is accompanied by a more or less realistic explosion sound effect.
One thing is for sure: pressing the big red button will not in any way affect the contents of your hard disk. Your files will remain intact, and you will feel fresh and revitalized following this little scenario, which is designed to relieve your angst.
Some readers may question the need for such a gadget. In the end, it’s only a funny designed USB hub, nothing more. To these scoffers, I make the following promise: on that day when everything goes wrong – when you feel like you’re at the end of your rope – pressing this button will surely reduce your stress."

I was just surfing the net and found these neat innovative items and they made me want to share them with you. What do you think of them?

High-tech innovations....really interesting stuff!

In the food business? Want to cut costs? Go High-tech!

Check out this video about a High-tech restaurant in Nuremberg, Germany. There are some glitches still but in relation to that article I posted before about Shoppers Going High-tech, it is all just around the corner. I'm excited for it to arrive!




Want to get your students interested?? Students at a UCSD re-vamped a soda machine! Biometrics, scanning, soon to be voice-recognition.....wow! The Jetsons Here We Come!! :-)

Reflections on my Student Digital Citizenship presentation

On Tuesday May 26th I gave my Student Digital Citizenship presentation to the grade 6-10's (the 11 and 12's were at work experience so they will have the presentation another day). The assembly began with the administration detailing our school's new Student Computer and Internet Use Policy. They did a great job describing it and relating back to our moral intelligences. The students were given each a copy of the policy, which gave them the ability to look through the policy and ask any questions that they may have had - getting their input was a good idea. Then it was over to me and my spiel about everything from Internet safety, cyberbullying to critical thinking, responsibility and ownership.

I began on a fairly light note, stating how many of the tools we see and use online can be useful and productive, and how these technologies are being utilized in some other schools and school divisions in Saskatchewan. I thought that keeping a local focus would help the students relate better to the idea of how technology can be implemented in their classrooms as useful tools. I showed the funny medieval help desk video, then went into how technology is being used in Prairie South School Division from the youtube video that Dean Shareski posted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZVfsNMH3XI). I know it is not the 2008 video he posted but this one was shorter and focused enough on what was needed for this presentation. It is likely that my students and staff will eventually see the 2008 video because it is obviously more relevant. The students were shown some of the great ideas and innovative lessons that can be done with the help of technology in the classroom.

I then say to the students that along with the use of technology comes the concerns of Internet safety. With safety in real life as an issue we discuss, the concept of Internet safety should not be any different. It should be and will be something that we will talk about more and more as should be done with the ever-changing technology. I talked about how many of the seemingly innocent and fun websites and especially social networking sites can be a breeding ground of indiscretion and issues waiting to happen. Posting pictures, adding new friends, talking about other people in email, posting comments, etc. these are things that students encounter almost every day on the Internet, and they need to be aware of what to do when they get into situations and what to do when it happens to them. I talked about being critical thinkers; if when you are writing an essay that you only use the first 2 hits on Google, copy/paste and only re-word the sentences, that you are not going to learn what your teacher is hoping for. An essay is not only about the writing format, but the content it involves. You are supposed to be an expert on your topic you write about, be a critical thinker and know what you are talking about when all is said and done! Plagiarism is a serious offence and why people choose to plagiarize is important to recognize. Being lazy is one of the main reasons, and students need to take extra time to make sure that their own reputation is kept in tact by not plagiarizing their work. If your name goes on it, it better be your own work, from your own thoughts. (Hopefully my speech will help keep this type of stuff from happening...)

Some students started laughing during a few of the cyberbullying videos and my teacher-mode broke in, wanting to get mad at them for laughing at a serious topic; but then I thought about it for a minute and realized something. Not only was it a certain few, not only was it mostly from one grade level, but I realized something more significant about this situation. After the video was over, I turned to them and said 'Your laughing is inappropriate, but I get it. It makes you uncomfortable. It is a reaction that can happen when you are nervous or when the subject matter hits home, but I want you to think about how your laughing could affect everyone else in this room. If you are uncomfortable, then maybe some time needs to be given to think about why you are uncomfortable watching these videos.' I gave the teacher 'wait time' and they stopped laughing after that. Many of them put their heads down. I finally hit home. It was a moment of truth for them, and I was glad to see that these videos and this type of presentation could make an impact. It took someone bringing it straight to their faces for them to realize a few points. We can blabber to them during class about these things but it is in these moments that we can make a difference. If my presentation, these videos or my speeches that can help shape my students then my purpose is being fulfilled.

I ended with how this policy, as related to our moral intelligences, may seem restrictive but that nothing is ever off limits in a classroom learning experience. With teacher directed learning, students will never be restricted from learning with using these tools.

I say that "The key thing is that we are all in a school together, and we need to understand that certain items are obviously not school appropriate, and therefore, should not be viewed or accessed from school...As you know, it is always your best option to be up-front with your teachers and be honest about what you are doing when you are using computers...Your teacher will be the guide and you the explorer. Keep the lines of communication open with your teachers and remember that safety and responsibility is the first step in becoming a true digital technology citizen."

All in all? A big success. Needed more time, but don't I always say that?? Ha, Ha!

"A Changing World" of Communication

Thanks to James Herrick and his amazing "synapses firing" that happened, because this assignment was based on his ideas and trial run of this assignment. It was the basis of my own creation of this type of assignment. I am telling you not to re-invent the wheel when you do not have to - especially when you surround yourself with people who have such great ideas all the time! :-)

This is an experiment really. I want to see how well this can work. I am aware that many of the items listed is not a finished list - but I fully expect the students to add to it is introduced to them tomorrow in class. Hence the idea of using the wonderful Google docs application to do this! I have started it off - and we can "tweak" it in class - ensuring that the students have a voice, which is crucial in my opinion. No point in blabbering to them about things they already know about and getting them to find out about tools they already use! I will use this Google doc as the beginning of the assignment and I will make sure it is updated once we have figured out a good direction. I am hoping for some wonderful feedback and constructive criticisms -we'll see!

I called it "A Changing World" of Communication. (Thanks James!)
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfkttrnr_7dfzcmgxj

Check it out!

Student Digital Citizenship Presentation

Here is my Student Digital Citizenship presentation page from my wikispace:
Thank you to all those who have helped with information finding and ideas for formatting and placement of items. :-) Much appreciated! Kudos to those who did research and helped me save time by sharing what they did!

http://fjeldstrom.wikispaces.com/Student+Digital+Citizenship

"We Think" - and the reply done by a student...

I just saw the video called "we think" on youtube.com, then I happened to have seen this reply of this video made by a student - a 21st century learner! She shares her thoughts on the video and how she was really impressed. We can take a lot from this - if she can post her thoughts in a forum like youtube, and I can view them and take significance from them then it really shows how our world has evolved. What an exciting time! It also leaves the question and issue of responsibility - because what if she hated it and posted rude ideals - then it would be on the web forever! Thinking before posting is extremely important - and I think this all just re-enforces what we have been saying - that these values need to be brought to the attention of our students. Check it out!

Video 1 - We Think


Video 2 - Re:We Think



What do you think about this type of technology - giving the power to students to verbalize and visualize their thoughts in a powerful medium such as youtube.com??

21st Century Pedagogy

21st Century Pedagogy:
Very interesting....

Alec Couros and Rob Wall - Open. Connected. Social. - May 16/08 1:00pm

Alec Couros and Rob Wall - Open. Connected. Social. - May 16/08 1:00pm

Check out my notes - sorry my computer started to die so I stopped taking notes part way through.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfkttrnr_6dcr3ghfc

Great Presentation Guys!!!!!!

"Shoppers ready to go high-tech" - article - a must read!

Neat article I just saw in my bloglines. It caught my attention with a headline saying:
"Shoppers ready to go high-tech" - which of course peaks my interest when I realized that it may be something that combines what I love - the internet and shopping! :-)

Check it out!!!

Shoppers ready to go high-tech

Sum it up? I can't. Read it. But I will share my favorite paragraph:

"The technologies included biometric fingerprint payment (using your fingerprint to pay by placing it on a sensor that links to your bank account); interactive dressing room help; smart carts (shopping carts with an onboard computer); 3D body scanning that would make recommendations about clothes and brands likely to fit; interactive dressing room mirrors; holographic sales assistants, networked home appliances that do such things as create shopping lists and arrange deliveries; and cellphones that can be used to pay for purchases or receive ads and product information."


WOW! What do you think? Comment!

Kelly Christopherson - School-Wide Integration of Technology

Kelly Christopherson - Integrating Web 2.0 - School-Wide Integration of Technology - May 16/08
Kelly Christopherson is the principal in Eston.

The website he recommends:
http://www.go2web20.net/

Check out my notes from his presentation!
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfkttrnr_5csxnc8gp

What a passionate speaker!!!! Great presentation!

Stephen Downes - 10 predictions for the future

Here are my google doc notes from Stephen Downes keynote presentation (May 16/08 @ 9am):

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfkttrnr_4w8q4wggq

I found his presentation a bit "out-there" but nonetheless interesting and thought-provoking. His ideas may not all be "out-there", but I still have a difficult time seeing them happening within the next say 5 years or so. I want you to be aware that a lot of these predictions have a basis of theory and a basis of research. If you do any reading on these subjects, you will see that he has a lot of relevance to today and I can see how he can predict these things for the future. I can tell you that a lot of what he says are not things that are crazy - but more understandable and possible than you may think.

He used an online powerpoint that allowed audience members to contribute the presentation, but it did not seem to help his presentation, but take away from it. Don't get me wrong, it was funny, but maybe not appropriate when we were supposed to be thinking and considering his 10 predictions for the future. :-) It's all good though! Enjoy the notes!

In Conclusion:
Focus on the abstract and the metaphorical - because it will become a reality. It may not replace what we have now, but it will change how we create our values in our society and our concepts of reality.

the "digiteen" project wikispace

On the Cool Cat Teacher Blog - by Vicki A. Davis, she has been working on a "digiteen" project with students and educators. She has started a wikispace and been adding to it throughout the year (beginning at April of this year). There are videos, statistics, etc. on everything from digital citizenship to internet safety to teaching strategies. It is very informative and has some really great resources. I was impressed how she has included students in this process - which I believe makes it more valid and current.

The beginning of the wikispace starts out by her saying that this wikispace is:
"A web page for a digital citizenship group project between Qatar Academy, Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia USA and Vienna International School in Vienna, Austria."

WOW! What a novel idea! Global collaboration! How exciting!!! This is not innovative - despite what you may think - but it IS something that needs to be explored more often. Lots of work? yes. possibly less if you give your students more creative control. but yes. work. (Vicki was great enough to comment - check it out! ! She says it really was not that much work; "The students wrote the wiki themselves -- not the teachers! They did it all! They came up with the action projects to teach the other students. As for it being a lot of work, it really wasn't at all. We started off watching the PBS series "Growing up online" and then moved into this.")

What a build up, huh? I hope that you all take a chance to check this out and really look at the items on the navigation bar on the side - see what other people are doing, and maybe come up with some ideas to help you teach your students internet safety - hopefully in a more exciting way than barking at them at the front of the room!

Check it out:
http://digiteen.wikispaces.com/

If you want more information on what Vicki Davis' thoughts are - and more specific information on this project, check out her blog:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2008/05/digiteen-teaching-digital-citizenship.html

PS - Thank you Vicki Davis for leaving your comments/thoughts! I really appreciate your touch on this post - I just read your blog and was "wowed" - I had to tell everyone as soon as I could! And thank you for fixing my much needed corrections on the timeline and who is really doing all that work! Thanks again! :-)

Alan November and Web 2.0 tools for Teachers!!!!

Alan November Presentation Notes made by ME!- a must see!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfkttrnr_22rdjcgg2

He is a wonderful presenter that has a lot of forward-thinking ideas. He is a big-picture kind of guy and he focused on having the students really understand how the internet works. Check it out! Lots of really good ideas that are practical and fairly easy to implement!

Oh and here are some more great tools - Allison went to this presentation while I stayed for the Alan November Presentation. - It was about giving great Web 2.0 Tools For Teacher!

http://protopage.com/web2point0forteachers#Web_2.0_For_Teachers/Welcome
-There are many items including communicating tools, organizing tools, etc. WONDERFUL!

Digital Citizenship Presentation Review

I held my digital citizenship presentation on Friday May 2nd and it went really well. I presented the page on my wikispace to my staff and went through as much as I could. I was slotted to have a half hour but ended up taking a full hour, and did not even have sleepy eyes from my audience when I was done! ha ha!

I started off showing the "help desk" video and it was a big hit! We all loved the video and laughed - so the presentation started off big and it kept up that way throughout. We discussed a lot of the different aspects involved in web 2.0 and how these different changes can improve our teaching and enhance students skills for the future. We discussed resources and they were happy to see that there were a lot of them available for both teachers and parents. As many teachers are also parents they were happy to have some ways of checking on their kids and on themselves!

Allison's quote I used was useful - we talked about how the difference between face-to-face interactions and items that are discussed online are a lot of times dangerous for students because they tend to forget (or not realize) the issues of how they speak or share information online. How yes we need to teach/tell the students, but that we cannot always show them because of safety issues - for example - me taking students on a facebook account and showing them all the bad things that they could do - would not be the smartest thing I could do! Rather, just discuss these things and hopefully they can realize why it is unsafe and a lot of times inappropriate. From this I lead into Internet Safety. This issues was one we talked about a lot, although it was not supposed to be my main focus it seemed that many people on staff wanted to discuss this because of the policy we made for Internet use. It was fine with me because as I have been saying, it is best to have everyone on the same page.

They really liked the Ad Council's short videos (Talent Show and Kitchen) and also the Think Before You Post video. They are extremely powerful and I lead into it saying how disturbing you may find these but that it is important to understand the concept behind it and why this is such an issue - although it may be kept hidden by many of our students. I did not get a chance to show them all of the articles on "Be Safe" because I wanted to do a jigsaw with the staff and did not have the chance - but now they know where the articles are if they are interested.

After much discussion of cyberbullying I gave a change of pace - I moved onto policies. Since I have talked and talked and talked about the school's policy; I just put a link in my wikispace. I chose to quickly discuss the fact that our current Computer Use Policy for the division is completely outdated and that this is the new draft policy for the division. I discussed in overview of what it is about and where the division is heading. I also discussed how it is going to affect teaching in all areas, especially if you use technology of any sort in your classroom.

The last part of my presentation really focused on digital citizenship and this is where I wanted to end off because of how important it was, for us to come to an understanding of what it is and what it entails. I showed a few videos, one made by a group of students in Alaska, and another with professionals talking about Web 2.0 and how it is impacting the world and specifically education. The staff were surprised to see how much information there is available on this topic and how current/relevant it is to their teaching.

In not so many words I told them that "Incorporating technology can be scary, but it is important that your classroom teaching is diversified. This will allow your students so many opportunities that they deserve. It will enhance their quality of education they receive from you and build on your growth as an individual life-long learner."

All in all the response was great. They actually want me to present a shortened version to the students - we'll see how much I can slim it down... They were still talking about it days later and I was happy to have had yet another successful workshop on technology. Reflecting back I seem to think that my enthusiasm and knowledge about the subject has a lot to do with my good responses from staff members. I show how exciting it can be, talk about all the possibilities and give them real life examples from people they know that are using technology in their classrooms; this is what gets them believing that it is possible to accomplish these things and how easy it may just be to diversify their learning strategies.

One of our goals as a staff this year was to keep track of different teaching strategies that we use throughout the year and if not for anything else, it is to keep track of our own teaching - to ensure that we are reaching all students by varying our teaching strategies. I wonder how many teachers in my school are using technology based assignments, or varying their teaching methods by using technology in some way? I hope to have an answer to that by the end of the year. I know this year has been a lot of running around and figuring things out (my first year teaching computers and being tech admin. and being on the new committee) but I think hopefully I have pushed some more staff members towards the technology route. Definitely next year I will give a bigger push and be able to offer more in-class supports now that I know more myself. :-)

Presentation on Digital Citizenship

If looking for a presentation on digital citizenship......

I made my presentation that I am going to be presenting to my staff on Friday May 2nd. Thanks A LOT to Eldon Germann from Macklin.... :-) who did all the work...I just decided to not re-invent the wheel.... :-)

http://fjeldstrom.wikispaces.com/Digital+Citizenship

Cool invention....drum machine

Here is a really neat video - I love building things as most shop teachers do, and this is really quite amazing....
It is a drum machine and the description is as follows:
Matches are activating lever-matches by rotating the cylinder. Lever-matches are kicking on several percussions.

Check It Out!

Draft #3 and hopefully the last one.... :-)

Here is draft #3 - there were modifications made to #4,5,6 and there was a section added at the end dealing with computer use in the morning before 9:00am and during noon hour (lunch). These things were brought to my attention by fellow staff members and we came up with this as the modifications.....


Student Computer and Internet Use Policy

Luseland School
May 2008

Rationale
Internet safety and responsibility is the key. As a generation who is constantly using technology, we must be aware that there are items that are not school appropriate and are not safe to view on the internet. We can work together to become digital technology citizens and become responsible for what is viewed in our school. This is the first step to making and keeping our school a safe place for students of all ages. Always navigate away from the inappropriate websites and report it to a teacher to avoid consequences and misunderstandings.

These policy items will be in effect as of May 1, 2008:

1. There will be no unsupervised use of any video websites.*
This includes websites such as:
· Google Video
· Youtube.com
o These above websites are not to be used unless under direct teacher supervision. This involves the teacher being physically present while they are being used.
· Any other video websites
The only exception to this rule is the Discovery Learning (Streaming Video) website, which is directly education based.

Reasoning
a) Video websites slow down bandwidth of our school’s internet, making the computers’ internet slow for all users.
b) Some videos may contain school inappropriate content such as:
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves


2. Any gaming websites are only to be used to view or play school appropriate items. Use of gaming websites during class time is under the discretion of that particular teacher. Students are not allowed on gaming websites unless the teacher gives permission.
Many games are school appropriate, so use your common judgment and know that any games that include the items listed below will not be tolerated and will result in loss of privileges.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

3. “Social networking” websites are allowed only for teacher directed learning, under direct teacher supervision. Wikipedia’s definition of a social network:
“A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.
Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, etc.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service
This includes websites such as:
· Facebook.com
· Hi5.com
· Myspace.com
· Bebo.com
· Any other social networking websites
These items are to be used with discretion, on a student’s own personal time in a home setting, where they can be monitored by an adult such as a parent or guardian. School is a place where academic growth is the main focus. These types of websites are blocked at our school, as they do not need to be accessed and used by students.
Websites that are blocked from use are not allowed to be viewed. If a website is blocked by our school’s content filter and you have gone around the content filter to view that website, it is against school policy and is in direct violation of the computer use policy put in place by the division. Suspension of computer privileges will be immediate.


4. Websites used for music listening purposes are to be used with teacher permission during classes and only with headphones during student spares (when using a computer with a supervising teacher present).
All music must be school appropriate.
These websites include:
· Deezer.com
· Any other free music listening (not video) websites as okayed by the classroom teacher
Reasoning
a) Music is acceptable if the teacher deems it appropriate. It is up to the teacher’s discretion as to if it will be allowed in their classroom. Ask your classroom teacher before putting on music during class.
b) It is a respectful gesture to listen to music with headphones so it is not a distraction to others.

5. Any websites containing the following information listed below is forbidden. Any students caught on websites containing any of this information without direct teacher supervision will have their computer privileges removed. Items used in research for information in reports, essays, etc. are only acceptable if being viewed under direct teacher supervision, or with written consent from a teacher. If a student wishes to do research on their own time about these topics, they need to obtain written permission from a teacher.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

6. No computer use in the library and any other areas that are unsupervised during student spares. Spares are to be in held in the lunchroom or library (without using computers), from this point forward.
If a student needs to use a computer, it may only be used for educational purposes. No items containing the items listed below may be viewed at any time.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves
Students may only use a computer if they are in a supervised classroom, and only with a present teacher’s permission



Consequences
Students caught violating these items will be facing consequences. They will include:
First Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended for one full school day and will remain off of all computers for the rest of the day.

Second Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer for the remainder of the day, have their computer privileges suspended for 2 full school days, will have an office referral and be placed on the discipline cycle.

Third Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended for 2 full school days, will have an office referral, will move up a step on the discipline cycle, parents will be contacted and a meeting between the parents and administration will be conducted.

*Computer use during student spares
Students must understand that although spares are unsupervised, these consequences will still be in effect for any student who is in violation of them. Any items that need direct teacher supervision (a teacher physically present) will not be allowed on spares unless there is a teacher directly monitoring your activities. Although spares are frames of time to be used to your discretion, computer use is not a requirement for those times, and therefore must be used accordingly or computer privileges will be removed during spares.

*Computer use in the morning before 9:00am or during noon hour (lunch)
Students who with to use computers in the morning before 9:00am or during noon hour, must follow the student internet use policy, or you will have your computer privileges suspended during these times for:
1st offence – For a period of one full school week
2nd offence – For a period of one full month
3rd offence – For the remainder of the year

If you have your computer privileges suspended and:
A) You are supposed to be using a computer for a class that you are currently in; you will still have your computer privileges suspended until the teacher whose class you are in can discuss the issue with you and give you appropriate discipline. You are to remain off the computer until the time that your teacher whose class you are currently in can attend to the issue.
B) You are on a student spare; then you will have your computer privileges suspended for the remainder of the day. Computer use during spares is a privilege and not a necessity so use it according to the school’s policy.

CD Cover Meme

CD COVER MEME

The rules are:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Here is my attempt:

Issues arising from Draft #2 and beyond...

I hope those of you that are keeping tabs on the Student Internet Use Policy are going to let me know what you think of it all. By no means do I assume to have all the right answers or have it all worded correctly. I seek advice all the time and encourage you to give opinions. I want you all to know that this is just a beginning and is not the final word in terms of editing the policy. I know there are some issues.....such as the students who want to take their own initiative and do research or learn something on their own (weird! haha) but I would enjoy some help in those matters of wording or suggestions on how to modify it!!

I also know that some of you believe this policy to be restrictive and well I know it is not exactly what we (as tech supporters or "tech jocks") are trying to promote (not restriction), but please help me to find a more meaningful way to show the students how these things are inappropriate for school use (looking up or posting pictures from the weekend party on Facebook - which is what they are doing!). I am not sure that at this point in beginning to promote instead of restricting, that the students (at least in my school) fully understand and care about the responsibility of it all. I have had many of conversations with students in my school about these things, and every time I do, I hear the same things - "what's the big deal?", "ya so?", "I'm not doing anything wrong", "It's not that bad", and the list goes on. Of course when they say "It's not that bad", is when I am telling them to log out of computer at noon hour when they are playing a game where they are holding a gun in the middle of the screen and are shooting at another human being (character) on a computer game. My typical response in this situation is "Do what you do at home, but at school it is inappropriate". Once I say that to the student and give them a little explanation , I typically notice that student realizing the point of it all and they say "ya I get it" or "ya I know" and I have no more issues....but it took me taking action for them to realize it!

They are not "there" (meaning at the point of pre-understanding, before I have to tell them), yet. They are not quite understanding (or at least displaying any knowledge) as to why it is inappropriate looking up specific 'bad' items, playing violent games, etc. at school until they are given trouble from a teacher. This is my teachable moment and I have ones similar to this everyday! I take these opportunities to talk to that student about what, why and how things can be resolved, how it should be dealt with in the future, etc.

In the last 2 school days I have caught 2 different students on Facebook. Facebook is one of the only websites that is actually blocked and they are on it. As many times as I have told them that it is blocked (oh they knew believe me), and why it is inappropriate to be on it at school (especially since it is blocked, but also in general), the students still seem to be on it - looking up pictures of them all drinking at a party on the weekend I might add. They instantly knew they were not supposed to be on there, and as soon as I walked in the room, they tried to exit out of the website - of course me being the savvy smart lady I am, I knew they were up to no good and happened to see the picture of them drinking as they were minimizing their Internet explorer. They knew it was wrong and I told them to log out of the computer (and following the policy, told them that they were to have their computer privileges removed for 1 full school day). No arguing came from this student. Surprised? I'm not. I should hope they know by now that if a website is blocked, and they are on it, that the consequences could be much much more severe.

I hate restrictions. In my own life, restrictions frustrate me to no end. I am a free-spirit, a creative mind, an easy-going individual. I do not want to impose restrictions, but the fact that the student I caught looking up pictures of them drinking on Facebook, had a student who was under the age of 10 sitting nearby, I am left with the understanding that the student looking up them drinking did not care if the younger student saw it. Is that an influence we need? Are they not exposed to it enough? Do they need to see that at school - where it is supposed to be a safe haven for them to learn and be themselves? Without some supervision while on computers (while on these websites), and without the guidance of the teacher, I have only seen students use this type of website for school inappropriate reasons.

UGH! Am I doing anything right? Am I on the right track? How can I help them to see the better side/responsible side of the Internet tools? How can I be less restrictive but still hold some ground? UGH!!

5 Easy Ways To Save The Planet....

Since today is Earth Day......check out this cute video from Youtube.com.....

How do you feel technologically overwhelmed? Heard this story before?

Since the invention of the computer, life has become extremely fast-paced and technological. If you are one of the people who did not catch on to the computer, who waited until the last possible minute to learn its finicky ways, then it is likely that you did not ever really catch on! Sure you have probably been showed a few times how to turn it on, how to access the Internet, look up something on Google, or check your email. But likely you do not remember any of it, 10 minutes after doing it! It becomes a frustration, you do not know what to do, you stop trying and eventually give up on trying to understand it all, and say "I've tried it, but I am going to leave it up to you all that understand things like that. I am fine with your "snail" mail as you call it!" And it is left at that. You do not venture to the computer sitting in the corner of the office any more. It collects dust and goes out of date. You get older and your grandchildren come by and chuckle that the old computer is still around and collecting dust. You get asked why it never got used and your response is that it was too many things to learn at once.

Sound familiar? Can you relate to this story? Even I can! I want you to stop and imagine what your life would be like without computers....you would never have the opportunity to read this....you would never experience technology to its fullest extent.....you would not be able to communicate as much as you do today, with the likes of Facebook, Email, Blogs, Myspace, etc. it has become common place to be involved in every one's business (or at least keep on top of their items they post/email/blog), and to keep in close contact with people you know. I enjoy being able to talk to people I have not seen since high school or college, and see what they have been up to, and where they are now. Without the power of the all mighty Internet, this would never have been possible to keep in contact with the close to 400 friends I have on Facebook. Sure most are just acquaintances but nonetheless, it is great to be able to keep in touch and grow better friendships with people, and possibly meet some new friends as well!

The invention of the computer, no matter how many frustrations you can tell me about, has many many positives about it. There are always issues with technology and it is likely going to be like that forever, but knowing that computers are the tool of new-age communication, it is hard to undermine the importance of computers and how they have impacted our lives in the positive way. Do not think I have forgotten about all the Internet safety issues that are occurring (even in our school, let alone in the whole world), but I think we need to concentrate on the positive and not let the bad seeds who use the Internet for bad things (like pornography or to endanger others/children/etc.). The people who do those things give the Internet a bad rap, and people then tend to overlook the good things about the Internet.

Let it not affect us, and let us relish in the communication benefits and world-wide collaborative bonus' that the Internet has given us, and let us use it for the good of the world; to make the world a better place, not an unsafe place to hide.

Draft # 2 of policy...hopefully the last....please let me know what you think...

Here is Draft # 2 - Hopefully the last draft for now....I know it seems quite restrictive, but if we can start here, get the kids on board, then maybe re-visiting this next year will lead to giving students more freedom and keeping the policy more generalized so it does not have to get re-vamped every year.

Draft #2

Student Internet Use Policy

Luseland School
April 2008

Rationale
Internet safety and responsibility is the key. As a generation who is constantly using technology, we must be aware that there are items that are not school appropriate and are not safe to view on the internet. We can work together to become digital technology citizens and become responsible for what is viewed in our school. This is the first step to making and keeping our school a safe place for students of all ages. Always navigate away from the inappropriate websites and report it to a teacher to avoid consequences and misunderstandings.

These policy items will be in effect as of April 7, 2008:

1. There will be no unsupervised use of any video websites.* This includes websites such as:
· Google Video
· Youtube.com
o These above websites are not to be used unless under direct teacher supervision. This involves the teacher being physically present while they are being used.
· Any other video websites
The only exception to this rule is the Discovery Learning (Streaming Video) website, which is directly education based.

Reasoning
a) Video websites slow down bandwidth of our school’s internet, making the computers’ internet slow for all users.
b) Some videos may contain school inappropriate content such as:
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves


2. Any gaming websites are only to be used to view or play school appropriate items. Use of gaming websites during class time is under the discretion of that particular teacher. Students are not allowed on gaming websites unless the teacher gives permission.
Many games are school appropriate, so use your common judgment and know that any games that include the items listed below will not be tolerated and will result in loss of privileges.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

3. “Social networking” websites are allowed only for teacher directed learning, under direct teacher supervision. Wikipedia’s definition of a social network:
“A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.
Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, etc.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service
This includes websites such as:
· Facebook.com
· Hi5.com
· Myspace.com
· Bebo.com
· Any other social networking websites
These items are to be used with discretion, on a student’s own personal time in a home setting, where they can be monitored by an adult such as a parent or guardian. School is a place where academic growth is the main focus. These types of websites are blocked at our school, as they do not need to be accessed and used by students.
Websites that are blocked from use are not allowed to be viewed. If a website is blocked by our school’s content filter and you have gone around the content filter to view that website, it is against school policy and is in direct violation of the computer use policy put in place by the division. Suspension of computer privileges will be immediate.


4. Websites used for music listening purposes are to be used with teacher permission during classes and only with headphones during student spares.
All music must be school appropriate.
These websites include:
· Deezer.com
· Any other free music listening (not video) websites as okayed by the classroom teacher
Reasoning
a) Music is acceptable if the teacher deems it appropriate. It is up to the teacher’s discretion as to if it will be allowed in their classroom. Ask your classroom teacher before putting on music during class.
b) Music listened to during spares is likely to be listened to in areas such as the library or in another classroom, and it is a respectful gesture to listen to music only with headphones in these areas during student spares.

5. Any websites containing the following information listed below is forbidden. Any students caught on websites containing any of this information without direct teacher supervision will be have their computer privileges removed. Items used in research for information in reports, essays, etc. are only acceptable if being viewed under direct teacher supervision.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

6. No computer use in the library and any other areas that are unsupervised during student spares. Spares are to be in held in the lunchroom or library (without using computers), from this point forward.
If a student needs to use a computer, it may only be used for educational purposes. No items containing the items listed below may be viewed at any time.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves
Students may only use a computer if they are in a supervised classroom, and only with a present teacher’s permission



Consequences
Students caught violating these items will be facing consequences. They will include:

First Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended for one full school day and will remain off of all computers for the rest of the day.

Second Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer for the remainder of the day, have their computer privileges suspended for 2 full school days, will have an office referral and be placed on the discipline cycle.

Third Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended for 2 full school days, will have an office referral, will move up a step on the discipline cycle, parents will be contacted and a meeting between the parents and administration will be conducted.



*Computer use during student spares
Students must understand that although spares are unsupervised, these consequences will still be in effect for any student who is in violation of them. Any items that need direct teacher supervision (a teacher physically present) will not be allowed on spares unless there is a teacher directly monitoring your activities. Although spares are frames of time to be used to your discretion, computer use is not a requirement for those times, and therefore must be used accordingly or computer privileges will be removed during spares.


If you have your computer privileges suspended and:
A) You are supposed to be using a computer for a class that you are currently in; you will still have your computer privileges suspended until the teacher whose class you are in can discuss the issue with you and give you appropriate discipline. You are to remain off the computer until the time that your teacher whose class you are currently in can attend to the issue.
B) You are on a student spare; then you will have your computer privileges suspended for the remainder of the day. Computer use during spares is a privilege and not a necessity so use it according to the school’s policy.

Internet Use Policy - questions and items arising from draft #1

I think I may have been a bit pre-mature about using that definition of social networking. I do not think it was the best definition to use - maybe there could have been a better one than the one I used (anyone know of one?). Gary was right when he said that banning social networking sites also bans blogging - which is no good.

I know that a lot of these items in this policy came about as a result of issues that directly effected our school. We have had some issues and this is step one in making our school a more safe environment for students of all ages. This is going to be a trial run - until the end of this school year, and will be re-visited again at the end of this school year or at the beginning of the next school year. Of course there will be issues, and I never expected there to be a policy that is loop-hole and error-free. I appreciate your comment(s) and will use them to help modify as we go along.

We had a staff meeting today and I presented this draft to them. We came up with a few suggestions. One was actually similar to what Gary had said in his comment - Needing a different beginning to the social networking point. We had made the suggestion to fix it to read something like -"Social networking websites are allowed only for teacher directed learning, and are not to be accessed without direct teacher supervision." I believe this will clear up some of the technicalities of the wording - not 'dis-allowing' these websites to be used, but rather to have them used for specific purposes. As I have had talks with Allison, and others, we have come to the reality that these websites are not "bad" but just used in 'bad fashion' during school time. We can see the validity in using things like Facebook (or whatever) as a means of communication - such as fundraising, spreading the word about a specific event (ex - 30 hr famine), but that most times students are using it as a means to post or view pictures of themselves or others and see what happened at the party on the weekend (which is obviously NOT school appropriate!) or cyber-bullying. Therefore, the wording has been changed. Just like I said before, it is not to TRY and place restrictions but to try to combat some issues that have arisen in our school.

The consequences section was found to be good but we made it a bit more specific - for example we changed the wording to say 'one full school day' - instead of 'for the rest of the day', and so on. You can check out Draft #2 when I post it.

The last thing - which may not have to be implemented in your schools - but needs to be in our school, at least until the end of June - was a #6. This is something the staff wanted to try until the end of June because of the issues we have had. It included no unsupervised use of computers during student spares. If they need a computer they must get permission to go into a classroom where there is a teacher present to use a computer and only if it is for school related work. This just comes from students abusing the computers in the library and being unsupervised (minus our librarian) during spares. We are doing this as a trial run - thus it must go in the policy but it is likely that it will be taken out of the policy at the end of this school year.

Ultimately I believe the staff response to be very, very positive. They had made good comments and had valid points. It was good to get them all involved and present it so that we could all be on the same page. Students will not be able to play us off of each other if we are consistent, and this is the key to successfully implementing this new policy. I believe that this could work; it may need 'tweaking' but that is to be expected of any new policy. So a trial run, then possibly an amended policy for the new school year.

We want to keep it positive, but in some ways the issues we had dealt with makes it harder to make it a positive resolution. For the most part I wanted to focus on putting ownership on the student and put the responsibility into their hands. We need to teach them, help them and show them how to use the Internet as a proper tool, not a thing to abuse. We will hold a short assembly to introduce this new policy to the students and hold a short dialogue session about these things. Hopefully this can be a step in the right direction. Time will tell.

Internet Use Policy - Draft One is now complete....

Internet Use Policy - Draft One is now complete.
I will be presenting this to my staff at the staff meeting tomorrow. Once I present this we as a staff can discuss if there are any modifications that need to be done. By no means do I want to be, or claim to be known as the know-it-all of the Internet and Internet use, but this policy has come about as after much discussion, idea throwing and issue resolutions that have occur ed in our school. The like-minded group of teachers (including myself) have met and come up with this policy.
I had first off , sent out another note to my staff - as I normally do with updates, etc. - and had given the beginning of the policy, as far as it was made at the time, for their use until a more concrete policy could be decided upon. This actually settled a lot of confusions and issues that we did have in the school but was only the beginning. Now that we met and discussed a more specific plan of attack on this issue, there is a better worded policy that can be read to the students and staff and can be used as a new school policy.

Here is draft #1:

Internet Use Policy

Luseland School
April 2008

Rationale
Internet safety and responsibility is the key. As a generation who is constantly using technology, we must be aware that there are items that are not school appropriate and are not safe to view on the internet. We can work together to become digital technology citizens and become responsible for what is viewed in our school. This is the first step to making and keeping our school a safe place for students of all ages. Always navigate away from the inappropriate websites and report it to a teacher to avoid consequences and misunderstandings.

These policy items will be in effect as of April 7, 2008:

1. There will be no unsupervised use of any video websites.* This includes websites such as:
· Google Video
· Youtube.com
o These above websites are not to be used unless under direct teacher supervision. This involves the teacher being physically present while they are being used.
· Any other video websites
The only exception to this rule is the Discovery Learning (Streaming Video) website, which is directly education based.

Reasoning
a) Video websites slow down bandwidth of our school’s internet, making the computers’ internet slow for all users.
b) Some videos may contain school inappropriate content such as:
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves



2. Any gaming websites are only to be used to view or play school appropriate items. Use of gaming websites during class time is under the discretion of that particular teacher. Students are not allowed on gaming websites unless the teacher gives permission.
Many games are school appropriate, so use your common judgment and know that any games that include the items listed below will not be tolerated and will result in loss of privileges.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

3. No “social networking” websites are allowed to be used in the school. Wikipedia’s definition of a social network:
“A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.
Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, etc.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service
This includes websites such as:
· Facebook.com
· Hi5.com
· Myspace.com
· Bebo.com
· Any other social networking websites
These items are to be used with discretion, on a student’s own personal time in a home setting, where they can be monitored by an adult such as a parent or guardian. School is a place where academic growth is the main focus. These types of websites are blocked at our school, as they do not need to be accessed and used by students.
Websites that are blocked from use are not allowed to be viewed. If a website is blocked by our school’s content filter and you have gone around the content filter to view that website, it is against school policy and is in direct violation of the computer use policy put in place by the division. Suspension of computer privileges will be immediate.


4. Websites used for music listening purposes are to be used with teacher permission during classes and only with headphones during student spares.
All music must be school appropriate.
These websites include:
· Deezer.com
· Any other free music listening (not video) websites as okayed by the classroom teacher
Reasoning
a) Music is acceptable if the teacher deems it appropriate. It is up to the teacher’s discretion as to if it will be allowed in their classroom. Ask your classroom teacher before putting on music during class.
b) Music listened to during spares is likely to be listened to in areas such as the library or in another classroom, and it is a respectful gesture to listen to music only with headphones in these areas during student spares.

5. Any websites containing the following information listed below is forbidden. Any students caught on websites containing any of this information without direct teacher supervision will be have their computer privileges removed. Items used in research for information in reports, essays, etc. are only acceptable if being viewed under direct teacher supervision.
i. Violence (guns, killing, injuring, punching, kicking, etc.)
ii. Alcohol abuse
iii. Sexual content
iv. Drug abuse
v. Manipulation
vi. Profanity (swearing)
vii. Harming of others/themselves

Consequences
Students caught violating these items will be facing consequences. They will include:

First Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended and will remain off of all computers for the rest of the day.

Second Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer for the remainder of the day, have their computer privileges suspended, will have an office referral and be placed on the discipline cycle.

Third Offence:
Ø The student will be removed from the computer, have their computer privileges suspended, will have an office referral, will move up a step on the discipline cycle, parents will be contacted and a meeting between the parents and administration will be conducted.

*Computer use during student spares
Students must understand that although spares are unsupervised, these consequences will still be in effect for any student who is in violation of them. Any items that need direct teacher supervision (a teacher physically present) will not be allowed on spares unless there is a teacher directly monitoring your activities. Although spares are frames of time to be used to your discretion, computer use is not a requirement for those times, and therefore must be used accordingly or computer privileges will be removed during spares.


If you have your computer privileges suspended and:
A) You are supposed to be using a computer for a class that you are currently in; you will still have your computer privileges suspended until the teacher whose class you are in can discuss the issue with you and give you appropriate discipline. You are to remain off the computer until the time that your teacher whose class you are currently in can attend to the issue.
B) You are on a student spare; then you will have your computer privileges suspended for the remainder of the day. Computer use during spares is a privilege and not a necessity so use it according to the school’s policy.







There you go! Please do not pay attention to the formatting - it was done in MS Word and then copy/pasted into my blog and remember that this is only the first draft. Let me know what you think - your experiences and ideas can help shape this to be the best policy available!