Author Archives: jaspar smith

This is the blog of a Teacher Candidate in the 2017 BEd program at UBC. In a year's time, where will I be?

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.

What you need to know – Critical Media/Digital Literacy and Beyond

MediaSmarts

The above website was already posted in our case 10 blog, but, it is essential, and so deserves mentioning here too because it is that great class of resource that can be as helpful for students (grade 6+) as it can be for teachers.

Mediasmarts helpfully defines media literacy as the skills and concepts needed to

  • analyze media in a critical ways based on certain key concepts,
  • to evaluate it based on that analysis, and,
  • to produce media oneself.

Mediasmarts has lessons plans and other resources on media arts and digital literacy (Like Tania posted on her Case 10 blog post), and it also has resources on cyber security and privacy. 

        • Mediasmarts is also key to answering our research question because this website has many resources to help teachers show students the effects of media on them, such as on their body images. I think students can develop a critical awareness and understanding of media influence by understanding how media and the ability of many people to see the media affects them. Once they see how media affects them, teachers can help them modify (maybe even culture jam) the media to better represent the message they want communicated about themselves or things related to them such as gender representation.
        • Mediasmarts also has resources on cyber security and privacy, which will be covered in another blog post.

Don’t know how to integrate media literacy ideas into your lessons? Mediasmarts has you covered again.

  • Exploit “teachable moments”

keep an ear out for what your students are listening to and watching. What they are interested in and invested in are great ways of bringing the ideas home.

  • Give students a chance to create media, not just analyze it

Hands on experience is a great way to balance concepts and skills intensive lessons. Let students create what you are presenting or deconstructing!

  • Start and end with the key concepts

Make sure students know and can explain why they are doing something.

  • Recognize that kids – and adults – enjoy media

Of course make an effort to bring to light the underlying messages of the media, but at the same time, recognize that they may love the media you are talking about. So be gentle!

  • Teach about media, not just with media

Make an effort to not just show a movie for no reason. Use it as an example of a concept covered in an earlier lesson!

  • Make media education about asking questions, not learning answers

Your students will eventually move beyond where you can help them. Modelling critical thinking and inquiry processes will help them engage healthily with media long after you’ve stopped teaching them.

  • Fight the perception that “It doesn’t matter”

We make meaning from media even if the creators didn’t plan it that way. Remind students that media can affect how we see others and how we see ourselves in ways that we may not be consciously aware of.

  • Assess and evaluate media literacy work

Yes, evaluate it! Your evaluation can be based on

  1. how well the student understands the key concepts of media literacy you are looking at as a class
  2. the depth and quality of the student’s inquiry and analysis of the questions raised
  3. the student’s thoughtfulness in identifying issues and questions to examine
  4. how well the student applies specific technical skills associated with the medium