tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.comments2020-11-17T23:40:19.627+11:00Think, Wonder and Learn with the WebAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172810188258446551noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-48123298229961415432009-01-30T11:18:00.000+11:002009-01-30T11:18:00.000+11:00Great point about the web’s effect on our need (pr...Great point about the web’s effect on our need (preference?) for speed and freshness. As an educator, I have two points, a reason for hope and a concern. First the hope.<BR/><BR/>1.) Textbook dominated curricula have little impetus towards change / improvement. The pedagogy under girding the use of textbooks and the actual content of textbooks superficially changes in miniscule ways from year to year (even generation to generation). For example, there are teachers in my building who still use the same overhead projector sheets and ditto copies they made in the mid – 80s. Perhaps our (both teachers’ and students’) needs for “freshness” and “speed” will help minimize the number of unreflective and uninspired teachers who rely too heavily on ancient files, routine, and canned curricula. Perhaps an atmosphere where “freshness” and “speed” are both expected and valued will be one where continual change / improvement and innovation are the norm. <BR/><BR/>And a concern . . .<BR/>2.) Neil Postman in his book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” (1985) wrote the following about television (emphasis is mine):<BR/><BR/>“Television is altering the meaning of 'being informed' by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information - misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information - information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing." <BR/><BR/>I often wonder whether a similar idea applies to our consumption and preferences of web content. Furthermore, I wonder if the way we consume web content does lead us (and our students) away from actual knowledge. Are we losing our ability to synthesize since so much of what we encounter is brief and fragmented? Do we value what is new over what is timeless? To what extent do we value what is new over what is timeless? <BR/><BR/><BR/> P.S. What is different about the web, for me at least, is that I trust the content of a book. Finding web content that I trust takes some sifting. Perhaps it’s because a book has “passed” inspection and revision on the part of an editor or that a publishing house has deemed it worthy for publication (and money making). On the web my first (and sometimes only) indicator of trustworthiness is when it was last updated. But then again I think we would expect any open sourced medium to reflect that which is newest. We don’t turn to the web for that which is timeless. In the same way, we don’t hand kids paintbrushes and tubes of paint as they enter the Louvre. Which makes me wonder whether there will ever be a museum of history’s greatest web sites?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-45014490602771485072009-01-30T11:04:00.000+11:002009-01-30T11:04:00.000+11:00Great point about the web’s effect on our need (pr...Great point about the web’s effect on our need (preference?) for speed and freshness. As an educator, I have two points, a reason for hope and a concern. First the hope.<BR/><BR/>1.) Textbook dominated curricula have little impetus towards change / improvement. The pedagogy under girding the use of textbooks and the actual content of textbooks superficially changes in miniscule ways from year to year (even generation to generation). For example, there are teachers in my building who still use the same overhead projector sheets and ditto copies they made in the mid – 80s. Perhaps our (both teachers’ and students’) needs for “freshness” and “speed” will help minimize the number of unreflective and uninspired teachers who rely too heavily on ancient files, routine, and canned curricula. Perhaps an atmosphere where “freshness” and “speed” are both expected and valued will be one where continual change / improvement and innovation are the norm. <BR/><BR/>And a concern . . .<BR/>2.) Neil Postman in his book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” (1985) wrote the following about television (emphasis is mine):<BR/><BR/>“Television is altering the meaning of 'being informed' by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information - misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information - information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing." <BR/><BR/>I often wonder whether a similar idea applies to our consumption and preferences of web content. Furthermore, I wonder if the way we consume web content does lead us (and our students) away from actual knowledge. Are we losing our ability to synthesize since so much of what we encounter is brief and fragmented? Do we value what is new over what is timeless? To what extent do we value what is new over what is timeless? <BR/><BR/><BR/> P.S. What is different about the web, for me at least, is that I trust the content of a book. Finding web content that I trust takes some sifting. Perhaps it’s because a book has “passed” inspection and revision on the part of an editor or that a publishing house has deemed it worthy for publication (and money making). On the web my first (and sometimes only) indicator of trustworthiness is when it was last updated. But then again I think we would expect any open sourced medium to reflect that which is newest. We don’t turn to the web for that which is timeless. In the same way, we don’t hand kids paintbrushes and tubes of paint as they enter the Louvre. Which makes me wonder whether there will ever be a museum of history’s greatest web sites?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-57373260032924453772009-01-22T14:33:00.000+11:002009-01-22T14:33:00.000+11:00Anne, I “googled” myself a few years back and my d...Anne, I “googled” myself a few years back and my digital footprint is not really that interesting (a few education credentials, and a website that I added to about 10 years ago). However, it lead me to “google” others and I got to thinking that anyone can google anyone. This does mean something for our students and for us as educators. I am also aware that most of our students will have or already do have a My Space, Facebook or other type of personal add online that can be accessed by almost anyone, as well. One of my fifth graders went on a beach vacation with her family a few years back and when she came back she posted pictures of herself and her friends in bathing suits on her MySpace page. Her mother and father came to realize this and were beside themselves with worry not only about who would have access to this page but how their daughter would be perceived by any number of viewers. In the end, the pictures were removed and we all had a long discussion about the dangers involved in this type of exposure. <BR/><BR/>I agree with you that it is our responsibility to begin discussing the importance of safety and representing oneself in the best and most respectable light when creating these personal (yet not so personal) online spaces. I have many friends whose Facebook pages are plastered with images of late night socializing and promiscuous behavior. I can’t help but think that even at age 35 (my age) this portrayal of oneself could still pose some harm. I am going to take some time to watch Dean Shareski’s video and hopefully I can begin to create a new and improved digital footprint. Thanks for the help. Heather SummersHeather Summershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07216510530573602578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-28634831865037058872009-01-18T20:56:00.000+11:002009-01-18T20:56:00.000+11:00As an educator and teaching undergraduate courses,...As an educator and teaching undergraduate courses, I am also more than aware of the fact that my students are not only guilty of plagiarism, but more and more they are using their valuable study time, surfing on FaceBook, MySpace, chat rooms, etc. They are very proficient at taken notes during class, and jumping ever-so-quickly from note taking to their friends’ pages. Realizing that our students are always several steps ahead of us, I was please to find after reading others’ blogs and some research that Congress has passed an update to the Children’s Internet Protection act requiring schools to participate in the E-Rate program to educate students regarding appropriate behavior on social networking and chat room sites. Education of our students, teachers, and parents is the best way to protect and prepare our extremely, cyber-savvy students.SKEhleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18032775136252529417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-77756624896712598222008-12-08T16:22:00.000+11:002008-12-08T16:22:00.000+11:00Thank you for a great list of references to help k...Thank you for a great list of references to help keep our students and children safe as they explore the Internet. As a fellow educator and parent, I am continually amazed at how much information is on the Internet. On the other hand, I am amazed and often shocked at just what type of information and websites are on the Internet. For example, as students are searching the Internet, sometimes inappropriate websites pop up and could entice curious students to open a site they should not be visiting. Also, keeping curious students from opening harmful websites that may cause viruses will continue to be an issue for years to come. <BR/><BR/>Students and society will become more dependent upon the Internet as it continues to dominate most aspects of our lives. Educating students and parents about cybersafety will be an important step to filter all of this free flowing information. Thank you for the list!<BR/><BR/>RyanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-22104174871063071002008-11-26T13:57:00.000+11:002008-11-26T13:57:00.000+11:00Love technologyLove technologyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-25660490233311236362008-11-19T04:39:00.000+11:002008-11-19T04:39:00.000+11:00Hi Anne,I’m a frequent visitor to your blog and en...Hi Anne,<BR/>I’m a frequent visitor to your blog and enjoy your posts. It’s always fun to see what others think of the new web 2.0 world we live in and how it will change the way we communicate with one another. <BR/><BR/>I’d also like to introduce you to BusinessWeek BSL – Business as a Second Language. It’s a way for intermediate to advanced English language learners to practice their English while staying in the loop on current events. Check out the demo here: http://tinyurl.com/5owsa8 - I'd love to hear what you think.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>MichaelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-69023823772917080462008-11-17T03:09:00.000+11:002008-11-17T03:09:00.000+11:00My students were working in the lab last week and ...My students were working in the lab last week and one after another they started “googling” themselves. The first student tried it and found his cross country record that had been posted in the local paper popped up. He was fascinated by this and within minutes he had the whole class trying it. As they looked themselves up one student with a rather common name was shocked to see that her name was linked to a news article about a murder in another state. She was so upset by this seeing that her name had been tarnished by another person out there with the same name. We put her at ease showing her that this murderer was 30 years older than her and in another state but it sparked an interesting discussion among my sixth grade students. They were all talking about how nothing is really a secret anymore and everyone can see everyone else’s business through the internet. I talked with them about how just as easily as your cross country article can pop up so could your drinking ticket article or your burglary article. It was an interesting “teachable moment” as they all discussed controlling what was written about them by controlling their actions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-41794333788935208692008-11-12T21:16:00.000+11:002008-11-12T21:16:00.000+11:00Thanks heaps for the kind words, it was great shar...Thanks heaps for the kind words, it was great sharing ideas with you also. Look forward to keeping in touchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-80825575638749434712008-11-04T00:32:00.000+11:002008-11-04T00:32:00.000+11:00Anne,I found it very interesting when you mentione...Anne,<BR/><BR/>I found it very interesting when you mentioned all the errors that teachers make when it comes to the Internet. I agree with you 100%. However, I don't think teachers even realize they need to change their ways. I am recently out of college and one of the things we learned about was all of the copyright rules. As we were looking at the list of things we were not allowed to do, several of them jumped out at me. Teachers break copyright rules ALL THE TIME!!<BR/><BR/>I am currently taking a graduate technology education course, and one of the topics we just explored was the websites found by Google. I would say that the majority of teachers and students go straight to Google when looking for anything (myself included!). However, one of the things we just learned was how many useless websites there are on Google! There are several misleading sites that are not by credible sources. <BR/><BR/>Somehow, teachers and students need to become educated about Google and other sites they should use instead. Maybe those of us that are now educated about Google as a search engine should start spreading the word!<BR/><BR/>anrockAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-58509528147875758232008-11-03T11:05:00.000+11:002008-11-03T11:05:00.000+11:00Great project! What a way to help students learn ...Great project! What a way to help students learn how to use technology while learning more about each other as well! How did you organize five schools from all over the world? I’m not a member of “It’s a small world” but I’m guessing that helped? Where the postings monitored or were students allowed to post whatever they wanted? Students learning about each other from each other, its fabulous!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-73386977217474611462008-11-01T09:38:00.000+11:002008-11-01T09:38:00.000+11:00Anne,I found it very interesting when you mentione...Anne,<BR/><BR/>I found it very interesting when you mentioned all the errors that teachers make when it comes to the Internet. I agree with you 100%. However, I don’t think teachers even realize they need to change their ways. I am recently out of college and one of the things we learned about was all of the copyright rules. As we were looking at the list of things we were not allowed to do, several of them jumped out at me. Teachers break copyright rules ALL THE TIME!!<BR/><BR/>I am currently taking a graduate technology education course, and one of the topics we just explored was the websites found by Google. I would say that the majority of teachers and students go straight to Google when looking for anything (myself included!). However, one of the things we just learned was how many useless websites there are on Google! There are several misleading sites that are not by credible sources. <BR/><BR/>Somehow, teachers and students need to become educated about Google and other sites they should use instead. Maybe those of us that are now educated about Google as a search engine should start spreading the word!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-43660545954959407892008-10-31T13:46:00.000+11:002008-10-31T13:46:00.000+11:00Anne,I found it very interesting when you mentione...Anne,<BR/><BR/>I found it very interesting when you mentioned all the errors that teachers make when it comes to the Internet. I agree with you 100%. However, I don’t think teachers even realize they need to change their ways. I am recently out of college and one of the things we learned about was all of the copyright rules. As we were looking at the list of things we were not allowed to do, several of them jumped out at me. Teachers break copyright rules ALL THE TIME!!<BR/><BR/>I am currently taking a graduate technology education course, and one of the topics we just explored was the websites found by Google. I would say that the majority of teachers and students go straight to Google when looking for anything (myself included!). However, one of the things we just learned was how many useless websites there are on Google! There are several misleading sites that are not by credible sources. <BR/><BR/>Somehow, teachers and students need to become educated about Google and other sites they should use instead. Maybe those of us that are now educated about Google as a search engine should start spreading the word!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-34904958481959724422008-10-30T00:48:00.000+11:002008-10-30T00:48:00.000+11:00I completely agree that blocking in today’s world ...I completely agree that blocking in today’s world is pointless. We have a huge security system in place to block inappropriate sites on our school server. It is amazing how many kids can hack right through it with just a few buttons. The other day I was trying to pull up a website on Martin Luther King at school and the computer popped up the “you have been blocked” screen saying that the site contained racist material. I told the kids we would have to find another site and one of my 6th graders jumped up and said “Wait, I can fix that” he pushed a series of buttons and whala up came the site we wanted. I was telling our technology guy about it and he said this is not uncommon. The kids, in many cases, are ahead of us with technology. Rather than blocking them out of sites we need to teach them how to safely navigate on the web.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-49868994679854634632008-10-30T00:45:00.000+11:002008-10-30T00:45:00.000+11:00I completely agree that blocking in today’s world ...I completely agree that blocking in today’s world is pointless. We have a huge security system in place to block inappropriate sites on our school server. It is amazing how many kids can hack right through it with just a few buttons. The other day I was trying to pull up a website on Martin Luther King at school and the computer popped up the “you have been blocked” screen saying that the site contained racist material. I told the kids we would have to find another site and one of my 6th graders jumped up and said “Wait, I can fix that” he pushed a series of buttons and whala up came the site we wanted. I was telling our technology guy about it and he said this is not uncommon. The kids, in many cases, are ahead of us with technology. Rather than blocking them out of sites we need to teach them how to safely navigate on the web.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-28292761744817726272008-10-29T21:16:00.000+11:002008-10-29T21:16:00.000+11:00One interesting thing about stereotypes is that th...One interesting thing about stereotypes is that they are cultural.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.get-accepted.com" REL="nofollow"> education,teachers, principals, college,coaching </A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-86422184392549417432008-10-28T05:45:00.000+11:002008-10-28T05:45:00.000+11:00This is in fact a great post... One comment I hav...This is in fact a great post... <BR/>One comment I have about this post is that, as a parent of a teenage child, it is also my responsibility to ensure that I educate my child as well. I have seen parent’s because of lack of knowledge in technology or lack of time has inhabited them to see what their children do on the computer and internet, with an assumption that their child is smart and will not access sites or chat with others online that are not appropriate, that is great to feel trusted about your child. <BR/>However, on the other hand, I can say I trust my child but can not trust what is out there for them to see. <BR/>I am a mother, I work full-time, and I go to school, yet I make sure that my child is busy when I am and she can get on the computer with limited time for school and research use only and monitored. I keep an inventory of the sites she has visited and advise her and educate her on the use of computer and internet. <BR/>It might sound like a very structured and controlled environment, but I rather control than seeing her become exposed to unnecessary distracting internet sites.<BR/>So I agree that schools and teacher are responsible, but I also say that parents have as much responsibility as educators and schools.<BR/><BR/>Maryam MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-1511090836801842412008-10-23T18:45:00.000+11:002008-10-23T18:45:00.000+11:00Hi Anne - great to see my idea for using Twitter h...Hi Anne - great to see my idea for using Twitter has been useful to you and your students. You certainly got some provocative responses - the benefit of using a social network in this way is that the data, opinions and preferences are from real people. Not just a text book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-77116178155766570412008-10-19T10:59:00.000+11:002008-10-19T10:59:00.000+11:00Thanks so much Grace. That definitely gives us a b...Thanks so much Grace. That definitely gives us a bit more breathing space. I have the students working on their videos at the moment. I hope they will all be ready to go by the deadline.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12172810188258446551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-72013811933041601592008-10-15T19:44:00.000+11:002008-10-15T19:44:00.000+11:00Kia ora!Kia ora!Blogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-17628205623951826502008-10-14T04:24:00.000+11:002008-10-14T04:24:00.000+11:00Hi Anne and friends in Australia. We've extended t...Hi Anne and friends in Australia. We've extended the deadline for Edutopia's Youth Voices videos to October 31. We hope the extra time makes it easier for your students to participate. Looking forward to seeing their contributions!<BR/><BR/>Grace Rubenstein<BR/>Staff writer and multimedia producer<BR/>EdutopiaUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16810577314572745081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-35156626662186415702008-10-12T14:08:00.000+11:002008-10-12T14:08:00.000+11:00I definitely do get your point. And you are so rig...I definitely do get your point. And you are so right. It does have to be a concerted effort and is so much more than being 'aware' at school. I have recently been watching a PBS Frontline Growing up Online program as part of our Digiteen project and it certainly opened my eyes up about what kids are getting up to. And therefore what we as parents, teachers and mature adults of a technology rich society have to be aware of and in many ways take responsibilty for.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12172810188258446551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-55762288674539500302008-10-11T09:30:00.000+11:002008-10-11T09:30:00.000+11:00Kia ora Anne!A great post! And I agree about the n...Kia ora Anne!<BR/><BR/>A great post! And I agree about the need for education for all.<BR/><BR/>There's a Scottish adage, "Naethin' cams itsel." It means nothing comes on its own.<BR/><BR/>With the ubiquitous accessibility of the Internet comes plagiarism, breach of copyright and other, much worse, misuses.<BR/><BR/>We, as teachers, are often charged with the responsibility of issues like this. As a teacher, I say, "<B>Hang on!</B>"<BR/><BR/>I believe that education is one way to provide part of the solution. I just don't believe that it's all necessarily needed just in school.<BR/><BR/>Who educates the authorities?<BR/>Are the teachers to be held reponsible for their current ignorance on these matters?<BR/><BR/>No!<BR/><BR/>Who educates the communities?<BR/>Are the teachers to be held reponsible for the communities' current ignorance on these matters?<BR/><BR/>No!<BR/><BR/>There has to be a concerted awareness, a whole of society awareness, in order for this to be put to right - eventually, if ever.<BR/><BR/>I am not denying the responsibilities of schools in this. But let's be aware that the problem that exists is wider than the schools' communities.<BR/><BR/>At the moment, I am writing the cybersafety policy for a huge distance school (about 20,000 learners). My pitch is a whole of school awareness - a difficult assignment.<BR/><BR/>It involves hundreds of teachers, more teachers than there are learners in many individual schools. It involves the supervisors of these learners. It involves the ICT structure of the school. It involves the Board of the school. Need I explain more?<BR/><BR/>But I am also aware that the buck does not stop here - simple though it may be to shove the responsibility into schools.<BR/><BR/>Do you take my point?<BR/><BR/>Ka kite<BR/>from Middle-earthBlogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-12471734543652743112008-10-09T21:45:00.000+11:002008-10-09T21:45:00.000+11:00Sure could use it with young kids. We have used it...Sure could use it with young kids. We have used it with this age as firstly a repository for sites that they regularly go to. Saves them having to type in unwieldy URLs. But wikis are so easy to edit and set up that I don't think it would be too difficult to work with younger students with them editing. Check out Jen Wagner's ning to see some more ideas and opportunities for younger students. http://projectsbyjen.ning.com/Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12172810188258446551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17745453.post-50909173739518514602008-10-05T22:37:00.000+11:002008-10-05T22:37:00.000+11:00I'm yet to try out wikis. Is it something I would ...I'm yet to try out wikis. Is it something I would do as a teacher, or could I use it somehow with my 6 and 7 year olds?Penny Ryderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15384523856122217309noreply@blogger.com