Maine Learning Technology Initiative

93% of our students are online.    Our students are living in a world of texting, video chats and social networks but many teachers have not become digital ciitzens.     Without an understanding of the digital world our students are living we can not be role models and help them to understand both the promises and pitfalls of their media lives.

Students are often tech savvy but they are not necessarily smart about their use of technology.    Let’s discuss our role in becoming part of the digital world and helping our students to think critically.   The Common Sense Media curriculum will be highlighted as well as ideas to bring it into your school or district.

This webinar will be offered twice, once at 3:15pm, and once at 7:15pm. Please visit the Webcasts Page for pre-registration and additional information about participating in our webinars.

Follow up to Digital Citizenship Webinar

Below are some resources from the Digital Citizenship Webinar:

Common Sense Media
http://www.commonsensemedia.org

Cyberbullying Toolkit from Common Sense
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/cyberbullying-toolkit

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture

Berkman Center for Internet & Society Youth and Media Project -Intern videos
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/youthandmedia/digitalnatives

YouTube  “Youth and Media-The Vision – Berkman Center
http://www.youtube.com/digitalnatives

Berkman Center Wiki
http://youthandmedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Social Media and Young Adults
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx

Statistic trends for teens
http://pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-for-Teens/Whos-Online.aspx

Millenials-teen internet use
http://pewresearch.org/millennials/teen-internet-use-graphic.php

Teen trends-online activities
http://pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-for-Teens/Online-Activites-Total.aspx

Digital Literacy – The New Normal?

Students are increasingly turning to a wealth of online resources to answer their information needs and according to Amazon, ebooks are outselling print books.    Join me as we look at how this change necessitates the way we need to teach literacy.   What does it mean to be a digitally literate person and how can you guide your students to find excellent information?  We will also learn how to evaluate these sources and explore some of the unique features of digital information that enable students to be successful in school.

This webinar will be offered twice, once at 3:15pm, and once at 7:15pm. Please visit the Webcasts Page for pre-registration and additional information about participating in our webinars.

Follow up to Digital Literacy Webinar

According to the Pew Statistics, 85% of teens ages 12-17 engage in some form of electronic personal communication including text messaging, e-mail or posting comments on social networking sites.  MLTI survey results from last year found that students communicate on their homework most often through texting and the second communication vehicle was Facebook!

Much of the research I discovered while researching Digital Literacy pointed to a lack of advancement of Digital Literacy instruction in education.

Scale of information:
Students can download books from Project Gutenberg, they can create videos and share them around the world and join blog conversations to bring real world excitement to their learning.
Advantages of Digital Information:
Digital resources have many advantages to the printed text.   The ability to enlarge the print, use text to speech and add visuals enable digital literacy development and supports diverse student learning.

A lot of discussion on the chat during this webinar focused on the need to teach better searching skills.   If students use Google to search they might do better using Google Advanced to limit their searches.

Many of the traditional literacy skills are transferable to Digital Literacy.   Teachers need to help students find and evaluate information from digital print sources and to become producers in this digital world we are living.    Online encyclopedias are perfect way to begin a search for information often with several reading levels, visuals and timelines.   Magazine and Newspaper databases such as Marvel have information that is preselected and reputable and searchable.    Web pages provide a wealth of information but need to be evaluated as to authority and reliability and point of view.

There were a few participants who did not know of the State Marvel databases.    You can get directly in from any school or public library.  From home you have to register (once) and you can just log in with your user name and password or a library bar code.  I have my bar code on a sticky and cut and paste.  If you have an MLTI MacBook there is a spring icon on the dock.

MLTI has partnered with Common Sense Media and has easy lesson plans for K-12 on Digital Literacy that can be adapted as needed for your school.  Visit Common Sense Media and register as an educator.    Look for the lessons under Research and Evaluation.   They come with a creative commons license so you may adapt them as needed.
Digital Literacy Lessons from Common Sense Media:

www.commonsense.org/educator

Ted Talk video:
The Filter Bubble by Ed Pariser

Online Citation Sources:
Easy Bid
Son of Citation Machine

Online Web Evaluation Sources:
Five W’s of Website Evaluation

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

Evaluating Webpages: How and Why

“Education Needs a Digital Age Upgrade” Virginia Heffernan NY Times

Learning to Read and Write on the Web Teachervision website

Take a Giant Step: a Blueprint for Teaching Young Children in a Digital Age

Writing, Technology and Teens Pew Research

The Uses of Digital Literacy by John Hartley Google Book

“Books and Literacy in the Digital Age” by Ralph Raab    American Libraries, Aug2010, Vol 41 Issue 8, p34-37

“From Print to Pixel” by Kevin Kelly    Smithsonian Jul/Aug2010, Vol 41, P122-128, 6p

“Teaching Two Literacies” by Joanne Rooney    Educational Leadership, Mar2009, Vol. 66 Issue 6

There were great discussions and resources from participants who joined us on May 12th for the Cyberbullying and Your School Webinar.  My thanks to Rebecca Randall for joining us and giving us good advice on cyberbullying and talking about the Common Sense Media programs for schools.  Common Sense has an elementary and middle school curriculum and will have a high school curriculum available in the Fall.  You can contact me at teri.caouette@mlti.org for more information.

Representative Don Pilon was not able to join us due to a vote on health care.   Don Pilon  is not the only legislator who is concerned enough about cyberbullying to sponsor a bill.  Please check out the National Conference of State Legislatures site which lists several states that have enacted legislation.
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12903

Added Resources from participants:

Book, Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco (also a speaker)

The book The Bully by Paul Langan as a school/community read on Cyberbullying

An article in The Healthland http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/08/do-popular-kids-bully-more/

Reference sources from our webinar:

Common Sense Media (sign on as an educator to get material for lessons)
http://www.commonsensemedia.org
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
www.cyberbully.org
Cyberbullying Research Center
www.cyberbullying.us
Stop Cyberbullying
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/
MPBN Maine Lawmakers Propose Measures to Combat Bullying  2/11/2011
http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/15157/Default.aspx
Confronting Cyberbullying by Peter Levy THEJournal  5/2/2011
http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/05/02/confronting-cyberbullying.aspx

Articles from Marvel         Academic Research or Eric

Cyberbullying
By: HOLLADAY, JENNIFER.
Education Digest, Jan2011, Vol. 76 Issue 5, p4-9, 6 p.

High-Tech Cruelty
By: Hinduja, Sameer; Patchin, Justin W.. Educational Leadership, Feb2011, Vol. 68 Issue 5, p48-52, 5p

Assessing Middle School Students’ Knowledge of Conduct & Consequences
And Their Bhaviors regarding the Use of Social Networworking Sites
By: Kite, Stacey L.; Gable, Robert; Filippelli, Lawrence. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, v83 n5 p158-163 2010. (EJ893199)

Cyberbullying and Other Student Technology Misuses in K-12 American Schools: The Legal Landmines
By: Conn, Kathleen. Widener Law Review, 2010, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p89-100, 12p

Cyberbullying at School: Good Practice and Legal Aspects
By: Marczak, Magdalena; Coyne, Iain. Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Dec2010, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p182-193, 12p; DOI: 10.1375/ajgc.20.2.182

Drama is the term HS students often use for cyberbullying
Advice for schools:

Review and update existing policies
Implement an education program in your school.

Use creative ways to raise awareness, like public service messages
Have older students teaching younger students importance of using technology in ethical ways.

Peer mentors for students
Role playing to create empathy
Schools need to learn ways to de-escalate

Teacher Advice to Students:

Ignore the bully

Save evidence

Change your privacy settings

Tell trusted friends and adults

Stand up to the offender and if that is not possible, befriend the target and help him/her advocate.

School systems in Maine and all over the United States are dealing with issues related to Cyberbullying.  It is deeply affecting our students and learning environments.  Join me and my guest Rebecca Randall from Common Sense Media at the 3:15 webinar as we look at this issue and give practical advice on how to deal with it in your school.

At 7:15 Representative Don Pilon will also join us to speak about the bill he is sponsoring LD 980, “An Act to Prohibit Cyberbullying in Schools”  Please come with your questions for Rebecca and Representative Pilon.

Select the webcasts tab from the top menu, then scroll down to April 26, 2011 and select the time interested to be directed to registration.

Great medium for a research unit.  Each section of the noteshare notebook for each research process.

Just because students can find out the natural resources of a country does not mean they know how to search and research.  Teachers need to quide them.  Help them internalize their research by adding that higher level research question.

Use the MLTI minutes for additional help in using noteshare.  http://minute.maine121.org/

From the chat box discussion in the second webinar several people concluded that schools who use noteshare frequently should get a noteshare server.

Links to sites or pdfs can be added to the noteshare.

Note cards can be created and sorted right in the noteshare.   Students can record information or teachers and record comments.   The material can be recorded for students with difficulty reading the material.

Here is a list of resources you might wish to use.

Pam Goucher included this link from School Library Journal in the chat box on the changes in student researching that is very interesting.

See Sally Research: An Environmental Scan by Joyce Valenza

http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/neverendingsearch/2010/08/02/see-sally-research-an- environmental-scan       (Copy and paste into browser
Isearch steps
http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/isearch.htm

Corrnel University Analyzing information sources
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill26.htm

Cambridge and Latin School Basic Steps of the research process
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/

Graphic Organizers:

Omnigraffle is a tool on the mlti devices that can also be used to create a graphic organizer.
Teachervision Graphic Organizer
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html
Education Place Graphic Organizer
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Research topic triangle
http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/loc/restri.html
https://bubbl.us/
http://www.text2mindmap.com/
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm

Kathy Schrock’s Guide to evaluating web sites
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html

Citation Souces:

Easy Bib

http://www.easybib.com/

Son of citation Machine
http://citationmachine.net/

The perfect marriage is joining Student Research and Noteshare.  These two are made for each other.   Lost assignments, notecards and first drafts could be an unpleasant memory for both you and your students.  Find out how Noteshare can make your life and your students life more pleasant by helping to focus attention on learning instead of constantly trying to find web links, teacher help pages and notecards.

From brainstorming ideas as the first step of the research process to completing the final draft, students can use a noteshare you create to keep all the steps of the research process together.    Find out how your students can add notecards and bibliographies to complete their assignments.  Same concepts, different formats.  Do you have students who would benefit from hearing a recording of your assignment?  You can dictate assignments and students can also record their thoughts and ideas.

This webinar will be held March 10 at 3:15 and 7:15.  To register, select the Webcast tab at the top of the http://maine121.org page and register the time desired.

Lens      Research Process

I would like to thank all who attended the Webinars on Digital Citizenship on December 9th.

Thank you, Ann Marie Quiron Hutton and Barbara Greenstone to help make my first webinar much smoother than it would have been if you hadn’t been there to guide me.  Here are a few of the resources I mentioned during the Digital Citizenship Webinar.  Please contact me to request assistance on getting this curriculum into your school.  The important thing to remember is that it is free and flexible and can be implemented with one or many teachers.  It can be done in its entirety or one unit.   It was created with Howard Gardner of Harvard’s GoodPlay project.

Here are a few of the resources I mentioned during the Digital Citizenship Webinar.

teri.caouette@mlti.org

Common Sense Media  -  Register as an Educator and request the curriculum.

www.commonsensemedia.org

Good Play Project

http://www.goodworkproject.org/research/goodplay/

Your digital footprint may be unflattering

http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2010/nov/24/your-digital-footprint-may-be-unflattering-ar-302642

Are you leaving behind a digital footprint when you browse the Internet?Reported by Jenn Strathman

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/are-you-leaving-behind-a-digital-footprint-when-you-browse-the-internet

Nancy Willard’s Youtube DigiDesiderata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeSNA1VTfEE

The Changing Web and Copyright

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/librarymedia/aasl/butler.pdf

Ethics from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/librarymedia/aasl/harris.pdf

Intellectual Freedom for Youth

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/librarymedia/aasl/lamb.pdf

To check your digital footprint:

Google, Pipl or Spezify.  Spezify was suggested by one of our participants.  Put your name in the box and see what happens!  Fun and scary!

http://www.spezify.com/

http://pipl.com/

Students are spending about seven and a half hours every day with technology according to an article in the New York Times titled How Much Time Do You Spend Consuming Media Everyday? by Katherine Schulten. Students are connecting, creating and collaborating through this media. Much of their days are spent talking or texting on cell phones, computer surfing, doing homework, blogging, social networking, gaming or watching television.

This brings both tremendous opportunities and great challenges to this generation of school kids.

We only have to look at the newspaper headlines about the dangers of sexting, cyberbullying and leaving a damaging digital footprints to understand that students need guidance to make safe, respectful and responsible choices.

Teaching Digital Citizenship is critical to youth development, improved student achievement and ensuring continued access to the advantages that their digital environment provides.

MLTI is partnering with Common Sense Media to provide a digital citizenship curriculum in Maine schools. Schools all over Maine are helping students to become good digital citizens by implementing lessons in their schools.

Learn about this curriculum and how schools are finding ways to educate students to become safe, smart and ethical digital citizens. Every school is unique. Learn how leaders in Maine schools have have championed this curriculum. Find out how it can work in your school.

Please pre-register online by clicking on the webcast tab above.  For questions about the webinar, please contact Teri Caouette at teri.caouette@mlti.org