Monthly Archives: March 2017

Excessive Internet Use

It is important that educators communicate to students that excessive internet use can have a negative impact on young peoples physical, mental and social well being. Unfortunately the negative impacts of excessive internet use are not often communicated to young people until it starts to negatively impact their lives. Although most experts do not use the term “addiction” for excessive internet use because there are no physical symptoms it is becoming more common to hear the term “behaviour addiction” used to describe excessive use of the internet. Behaviour addiction is defined as “losing the ability to stop going online to the point where it impacts on other areas of your life, including relationships, emotions, social life, school, and so on” (www.mediasmarts.ca). Studies differ as to how long the average child spends on the internet but almost all report anywhere from 2-5 hours a day. So what can teachers do to help students recognize how long they spend on the internet everyday? Below are a list of prompts and discussion topics that educators can use.

 

  • Discuss with students what they think the negative impacts of too much internet use is on their health. Talk specifically about the development of other interests. What are some things they can do after school that doesn’t involve television/ internet use.
  • Talk about online safety and what it means to become “hooked” or to develop a habit. Let students know that sometimes becoming hooked to something happens naturally the more time you devote to a certain thing.
  • Monitor their computer use in the classroom and make sure they stay on task. Help students develop the ability to stick to one activity. For example if they are researching a project let them devote 20 min to research and then 10 min to a personal interest online. This will teach them to focus on tasks and develop time management skills online.
  • Talk to students about marketing and how the media they consume is being produced by people for specific purposes.

 

 

 

Excessive Internet Use. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://mediasmarts.ca/

Gimenez Guy et alii, (2003), “La dépendance à Internet, une addiction nouvelle ?”, L’information psychiatrique, vol 79, n°3. http://www.jle.com/en/revues/medecine/ipe/e-docs/00/03/F9/FF/article.phtml

M. (2013, October 17). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdkH0GwJy6A

Culture Jamming

Culture Jamming is a great way to teach students to think critically about the messages that are being portrayed in popular media. It draws attention to the power of media, and its influence on society, particularly to our values and personal views surrounding consumerism. In a unit teaching about critical media literacy, culture jamming popular advertisements would be a great activity for students of any age. For example, the teacher can provide students with popular images, and ask students to analyze the messages they portray. Then student can modify or add to the images to create a meaningful critique of popular media. Look below for some examples!

h#ps://www.adbusters.org/content/theres-li#le-mcdonalds-everyone

http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/99819881/201306600.pdf

h#ps://www.oma.org/Resources/Documents/Fries%20Obesity%20Warning.pdf

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/168533211036207545/

Unit Plan: Analyzing TV Programs

This is a sample unit plan on teaching students about critical media literacy. It specifically focuses on how students can analyze and investigate the ways in which stereotypes, social groups, and social values are portrayed in the media; how television shows influence our personal and societal values. This unit plan is an excellent resource for teachers looking to teach students about the effects of media on our personal lives, and how to critically evaluate television shows and other popular media. Throughout 4 lessons, students are able to come up with critical guiding questions, use these questions to critically analyze television shows, collaboratively work with peers and discuss their findings, and reflect on their learning.

The unit plan also includes a “Media Observation Sheet”, which is an excellent handout to use with students in the grade 4+ age. It allows students to think about the values and messages depicted in the media through observation, and then think about how these may influence them in their personal lives.

ReadThinkWrite. (2007). Classroom Resources, Critical Media Literacy: TV Programs. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/critical-media-literacy-programs-96.html?tab=4#tabs

Core Concepts and Guiding Questions

When teaching students about critical media literacy, teachers can provide key guiding questions. As students explore the Internet and visit different web pages, we should encourage them to critically engage in the deconstruction and construction of web pages. This handout provides a practical example of some of the questions students can ask themselves when visiting new websites. In the classroom, teachers can use this handout as a base to helps students understand what they are reading and/or uploading onto the Internet, and help them “read between the lines”.

The core concepts outlined in this handout include:

  1. All media messages are constructed.
  2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
  3. Different people experience the same media message differently
  4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
  5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

Keeping these core concepts in mind, students can then look at the key questions and guiding questions to deconstruct the website content to evaluate its authorship, format, audience, content and purpose.

These core concepts also come into play when students are creating or uploading content onto the Internet. Students can look at the key questions and guiding questions to reflect on their own values, intentions, and messages of the content.

Source: http://www.medialit.org/cml-medialit-kit

Reflections on access disparities within a gr 2/3 classroom

Hi! Jaspar Here.

One Thursday, I was at my practicum school. My SA was busy, and so a guest teacher was in for the day. There was an inquiry block time set aside where students would do online research for their chosen country culture assignment. Before the time, me and the guest teacher went to find the Chromebook laptop cart and made good our request made earlier to borrow it at the proper time. We checked the cart’s contents, plugs, and left.

When the inquiry block came, I wheeled the cart in, plugged it in, and handed out the laptops. Right away, students reported problems such as computers not turning on, not connecting to the internet, missing software or even hardware. A small group of students had perfectly functioning laptops, and they had to share with usually one and sometimes more classmates. This disparity of assess even within the classroom created an environment of frustration for some, but others, particularly lower-level students, enjoyed being part of a group and having the expectations shared among many people.

Part of this problem, I theorize, is because laptops were seldom used tools in our class and here were taking the place of a visit to a large, well-stocked library. Weston, M. E., & Bain, A. (2010) argue that technology needs to become a cognitive tool that is built into the very foundation of school communities. They argue that questions of whether to use that technology should be met with  puzzlement because the technology is so ingrained that not using it would be unthinkable, like pencils and paper are today. So, my class’ problem was that the laptops were still taking the place of something instead of encouraging new formulations, and students had not learned basic internet connection strategies and were not comfortable trouble-shooting other basic software problems.

Next time, I would prepare to be more knowledgeable to show students how to solve basic software problems so that they can troubleshoot themselves, and also spend more time checking out the hardware/software beforehand. That said, I can see why some teachers don’t like engaging with tech. The promise of turning on, connecting to the internet, making sure the proper plug is in the laptop for 24+ different laptops is daunting.

Thanks for reading!

Also, please complete the one question poll about tech usage in your classrooms!

easypoll 

 

References

Weston, M. E., & Bain, A. (2010). The end of techno-critique: The naked truth about 1: 1 laptop initiatives and educational change. The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, 9(6).

Twine has a steep learning curve!

Hi! Jaspar here.

Wow, I just spent my entire morning puzzling over code in Twine, the non-linear, in-browser, storytelling software. Now, it won’t let me publish my work! Arg. It’s time for a long, laborious work around. This is why, I guess, so many old school teachers won’t touch new technology. When you hit a wall, it takes a lot of fumbling to climb over it.

But, I made something in the end! Yay!

Please see the completed post here. I feel like dancing.

Twine Presents: Privacy and Security

 

This post involves using Twine as an introduction to non-linear storytelling, and chooses as its subject “Privacy and Security”, but only as a thin excuse to explore the Twine Software.

Here is my twine story zipped in html format. For unpacking zips, see below.

An Adventure into Privacy and Security for Teachers of Elementary School Students

Here are the steps to the process of viewing the Twine. You must:

  1. download the twine above to your computer
  2. unzip the archize, perhaps with 7zip or the unzipping program included with Windows 7 and up
  3. go to twinery
  4. clink on the “use online” link if on Twine website, otherwise continue below
  5. click on import from file on the right side of the page
  6. and choose the unzipped html file

Archive of my Twine for learning purposes : 3.8.2017, an adventure -Case 10 – Twine Archive

 

The twine story briefly and flippantly goes over ideas of privacy based on the legal reasoning that:

  1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
  2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Data Privacy

  • making sure to have anti-virus etc software installed on school digital technology
    • Anti-virus software is in line with the concept of data privacy. Data privacy involves the skills and awareness needed to avoid or remove malware, web bugs (like web cookies),  or other programs that aim to gather personal information without the user’s knowledge or consent.

Social Privacy

  • making sure your school knows and follows school rules and protocols about internet usage, information sharing, and website use
    • such as a digital code of conduct form that guides students and parents to understanding what computers are used for at school (VSB version )
    • This code of conduct follows the ideas within the concept of social privacy. Central to the idea of social privacy is the idea that while a site like Facebook is a public space that can be checked by adults at anytime, children may still feel invaded and that just because you can access something doesn’t mean you should. 
    •                  While at the same time, once information is posted, it is very difficult to control who accesses it.
    • Learning to respect others privacy as an essential component of one’s own privacy is an important aspect of digital citizenship.
    • Resources like a (fictional) day in the life of a child using the internet, “My Privacy Everyday”, show how important social and date privacy are to everyday life.

Cyber Security

  • This relates to protecting oneself from spam, fraud, identity theft, and software threats, which can include
  • Mobile Viruses
  • Bluejacking
  • Bluesnarfing, among others
  • With very young children handling pay-per-use software such as mobile games, care should be taken that pay options are limited or disabled to avoid accidental charges.
  • With older children, raising awareness of when and where ‘free’ services in fact entail giving up personal information for marketing purposes, and so on.
  • Resources involve the Guide for Trusted Adults and others for teachers and for parents.

More Resources

  • The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) includes higher grade level information about how to educate students about safely using digital tech. 
    • Includes a graphic novel (grade 6+) about privacy, social media, and the internet 
    •                    This resource deals with such topics as violating social privacy norms and data sharing safety.
    • Includes thematic activity worksheets ranging from coloring pages to connecting the dots to cryptography 

END NOTE: Interestingly, Twine was a thing in the 1980s. Or, not Twine exactly, but the idea of non-linear, branching storytelling and concept formation (though in paper form).

 

 

Where do I start looking (if I want to teach Digital and Media Literacy Studies)?

The New BC Curriculum, of course!

This great piece of work has curricular competencies related to digital and media literacy for all grades. It starts concretely with asking teachers to show students how to use the materials, tools, and technologies, and then slowly builds in the later grades to awareness of safety.

    • Curricular competencies for grades
      • K-3: Use materials, tools, and technologies in a safe manner in both physical and digital environments (Take a look at “12 Essentials of Digital Literacy” for an overview of what skills to start teaching [case 10 blog link])
      • 4-5: Use materials, tools, and technologies in a safe manner, and with an awareness of the safety of others, in both physical and digital environments
      • 6+: Demonstrate an awareness of precautionary and emergency safety procedures in both physical and digital environments
    • Content starts in grade 6-7 as digital literacy and media arts, and looks like this:

Digital Literacy & Internet safety

  • digital self-image, citizenship, relationships, and communication
  • legal and ethical considerations, including creative credit and copyright, and cyberbullying
  • methods for personal media management
  • search techniques, how search results are selected and ranked, and criteria for evaluating search results
  • strategies to identify personal learning networks

Media Arts

  • digital and non-digital media, and their distinguishing characteristics and uses
  • techniques for using images, sounds, and text to communicate information, settings, ideas, and story structure
  • media technologies and techniques to capture, edit, and manipulate images, sounds, and text for specific purposes
  • influences of digital media for the purpose of communication and self-expression

Need I put a plug in for MediaSmarts? This resource covers many of the above topics and then some. Check it out!

MediaSmarts

Storybird presents: A Guide for Trusted Adults

 

Click the above picture to go to a Storybird presentation about the A Guide for Trusted Adults.

Summary: This resource guides teachers, parents etc., in becoming a trusted adult for young women and girls to turn to when confronted with problems online or with other digital media. It includes, for example, information and suggestions about discussing sexting and the civil laws surrounding it. The section on question prompts would help us engage a reticent young person about their situation.

General privacy information for Storybird, and specifically for educators.

Here is a site dedicated to simplifying the privacy docs for many popular sites.