#edtech207 chats will cover topics around educational technology in pK to HE environments. Maine moderators will highlight issues that are relevant and timely for enhancing education through the lens of edtech.
Hey all, I'm Mike and I work at Oxford Hills High School. In a grad class I'm taking I recently learned that @piktochart exists and I'm excited to use it! #edtech207
Hello, my name is Rita. I am a student in my last semester and for my grad project, I am creating my PLN for my future teaching job and gathering best practices of integrating tech in the classroom #edtech207
Hi #EdTech207! Erin Morrell, English teacher at Oxford Hills High School in South Paris, Maine! I was super excited to learn about using Lightbeam to show kids how their data is being collected online, which is REALLY COOL!
A1: To me it's our interactions with the digital world and the people that populate it. How to operate like we do in the f2f environment, just behind a keyboard and screen. #edtech207
A1: Digital citizenship to me is a person of any age making decisions to keep themselves and their community healthy and safe online. It encompasses so much more than just online safety, and extends to treating each other well and being responsible with resources. #EdTech207
A1: To me, digital citizenship is about citizenship in general - the character, behavior, and expectations of an individual within a society. It's “digital” when people are using technology & interactions are virtual #EdTech207
#edtech207 A1: to me it is how we act as participants in the technological realm. We have the ability to be anonymous in the digital world, which opens up a totally new dynamic in the way we interact.
Q1 I am always thinking about how early learners are taught good digital citizenship. Also, as young children learn good digital citizenship, can they teach it to adults around them #edtech207
There is definitely the potential for a disconnect with your behaviors when you do not see or interact with a real person - but that does not have to be the case #digcit education is important for all ages! #edtech207
It's crazy, isn't it? One of the things I try to impress upon kids is that there are a lot of places online where they only look anonymous, but where their info is being collected. #EdTech207
A2: I approach teaching #digitalcitizenship on an as-needed basis with my ninth graders. If we're doing something that requires a certain skill, I make sure to hit that skill directly in class. My favorite one is email etiquette. They don't realize how important it is! #EdTech207
A2: There are some formal digital citizenship lessons, usually conducted through advisories. More is informal - being in a classroom w/ tech is always a chance to model & practice good habits & find out about student experiences. #EdTech207
Q2 The potential of anonymity is a problem on multiple levels. Not only are you not really anonymous, but when people do not identify themselves, incivility can become a greater problem. Yes, model. Like Bandura's theory tells us. #edtech207
A2 Every moment can be a learning experience #edtech207 Beyond modeling yourself, it is good to incorporate digital work and exposure so that you can speak with students of all ages about actions, etiquette, interaction, etc
Civility can be so powerful, especially when you consider that many of our students don't really experience it at home. All we can do is try to impress upon them how it is supposed to look. #EdTech207
Teaching regular citizenship alongside digicit might help in breaking that “barrier” that you can hide behind. If kids are taught that being a good citizen means “xyz”, regardless of whether a device is involved, they may not distinguish between the two types. #edtech207
A2 In an early childhood classroom learning social relationships is already so important. Thinking about digital citizenship is in a sense an extension of what we already are doing #edtech207
Hey #edtech207! Dave, Director of Tech Integration across the border in central NH- glad to be listening in and learning from you all (albeit a little late!)
A3: I don't have a go to source for teaching digital citizenship. I often just use the students as the source. Praise when it works, remodel when it doesn't. Have the students work with each other. #edtech207
A3: One of my new favorites is Be Internet Awesome, which I think works well for younger kids and has a variety of activities that target different internet skills. I think it's too young for ninth grade, but I have shown parts to my own kiddos! #EdTech207https://t.co/QTo4nQE7am
A3: https://t.co/BBvsUXBCv0 lessons & activities as a starting point. I especially like the Digital Compass and Digital Bytes items. I also like to use scenarios & examples for digcit topics - best are ones created by students or based on student discussions. #EdTech207
A2- Part of starting in my position after 20 years as a MS classroom T was to do a needs assessment of current practice and curriculum- #digcit was a need across K-12... only happening in isolated pockets, now starting to expand and put in scope and sequence. LMS FTW! #edtech207
Q3: more and more, I find myself delving deeper into Common Sense Media for ideas on lessons. Especially for areas and topics I haven’t thought of in the digital context before. #edtech207
A2: Modeling #digitalcitizenship authentically with our class Instagram is really helpful for the JH set. Ask before you take pictures of people. Ask before you post pictures of someone. #EdTech207
A3- @CommonSense is an obvious starting point. Gives Ts across the 8 schools in out district a common language as they personalize for Ss in their specific classrooms/schools #edtech207
Absolutely! There's an interactive game called "Interland" with different levels that correspond to different skills. It'd be great for, say, 2nd to 6th grade. There is some reading involved on a few levels, so it wouldn't be great for the tiny ones. #EdTech207
A3 When the children in our preschool first started using our multi touch table, they agreed to rules and then reminded each other what they were #edtech207
A3- @CommonSense is an obvious starting point. Gives Ts across the 8 schools in out district a common language as they personalize for Ss in their specific classrooms/schools #edtech207
A3: agree with @MorrellTeach Ss are amazing resources. Also current events invite some in depth conversations and in the moment investigations. #edtech207
Yes! Ask all the things! Let Ss know that they have some control over their online presence, even when it's someone else's device or profile! #EdTech207
A4: It does and has changed. From email forums to discussions on GClassroom. We should be more mindful as students grow up with more and more tech. Some don't know about Snapchat's servers! #nothinggoesaway#edtech207
In fourth grade, one of the things I use for teaching #digcit is peer editing of Google Docs. We have a whole lesson on how to critique work in a constructive way that is respectful and kind. #edtech207
A4: I pay attention to students - their current influences, apps they’re using, devices they prefer. Over time, I tweak my examples and scenarios to reflect what's current. The basic concepts don’t change but I try to keep the situations current/authentic. #EdTech207
A4: I think the biggest thing that has changed is mobile devices popping up EVERYWHERE. It's a rare high school student who doesn't have a smartphone! I've had to get discussions going about the whens and wheres of appropriate cell phone use. #EdTech207
A4- I think there are some aspects that stay the same (citizenship is citizenship, regardless of media) while other aspects have to flex and flow- using examples from RL help to capitalize on many Ss awareness of current trends and pop phenomena (Fyre Festival) #edtech207
A5: Empathy. As I try to think of others they all come back to empathy. Think of how you would want to be treated and DO that. #bekindpleaserewind#edtech207
A5: DO make sure to talk to people about what you're doing online. One of the best ways to make sure what you're doing is safe and appropriate is to gauge other people's reactions to it. #EdTech207
A5: Do use technology to make your voice heard. Do use social media in a positive, constructive way. Do think about the impressions you’re making when you use social media. Be an active participant in making the (online) world a better place. #EdTech207
So much has to do with training the next wave of Ts- if they don’t recognize the power of SM as an educational tool, or at least the necessity of teaching about/with it, we can never expect change in our schools! #EdTech207
Ss using their names is always a tricky situation - especially with the younger crowd. On the one hand, we tell them not to use any identifying info, yet the point about using real names is valid. #edtech207
A6: The best way to get parents involved in anything is to communicate about as much as possible! We need to make sure we're not just telling them when their kids are making mistakes. We need to let them know about positive interactions, too! #EdTech207
A6: Open houses & signing of the AUP at the start of school are natural times to talk with parents about digital citizenship. Regular communications - emails home, newsletter items, posts in SeeSaw, etc. - are good places to plug & demo digcit concepts. #EdTech207
A6- I run a series of parent forums both as an informational “this is what is out there that Ss are using IRL” but always try to work in hands-on practice to experience “and this is how we can use it positively in education.” Helpful to get hands-on! #edtech207
A6: I think first and foremost is having that open communication with parents and community about what students are doing and how they can get involved #edtech207
A6: Get them in the building and model what we're looking for. Keep up a social media presence. Keep them informed and up to date on current tech the Ss and Ts are using. #ittakesavillage#keepitpositive#edtech207
Q6: Our school is having a Bites and Bytes session in a couple weeks and already have quite a few families signed up. It should be interesting! #edtech207
A6- as a classroom T, I gave out my twitter, Insta (@baroodyteach) and tumblr https://t.co/qtWwQ1E6pj for Ps to follow me. Gave a window into daily life but also a (hopefully) positive model of the #digcit and SM work I engaged in w/ Ss. #edtech207
A6 Parent engagement and communication is at the heart of early childhood and there is much discussion on how to mentor parents on digital citizenship #edtech207
This is why I maintained professional SM accounts as a classroom T- gave a window into daily life, but also was always positive. Fun days were when Ss took over the accounts- their T sneakily having them practice what he preached! #EdTech207
A7: Engaging students in meaningful creation has always been my best way of proving that tech isn’t just a toy. I also think experiences that use online communications to make a positive contribution in the world are effective proof #EdTech207
Unfortunately our district just banned teachers from using SM as a means of communicating with Ps. Even do much as homework assignments. So, on the one hand we are doing good things, but on the other we are burying our heads. #edtech207
A7: I think encouraging a sense of play in all areas of life is so important, and with the amount of gaming kids do, it's impossible to get them to see tech as ONLY serious business. Teaching them to balance through conversations and modeling is a good start. #EdTech207
A7: Showing Ss that a world exists beyond their go to technology that incorporates tech in a professional and educational manner. Have students produce creative products using tech in ways they might not have thought of before. #alittleSAMRmodel#edtech207#changetheirview
Q7 Love this question! I'm working on reversing misunderstandings on using digital technology with early childhood Ts. Fear of screentime is real #edtech207
A7: I think engaging the students in meaningful tasks and creations can really show them that there is more to tech than just being a toy. For example, research and collaboration #edtech207
A7- I don’t think we have to look any further than the role SM and tech play IRL outside of school (from nefarious FB groups of any persuasion to Fyre Festival to embedded advertisement) to argue that we have to equip our Ss to think critically and leverage #stuvoice#edtech207
One thing that I have done is have students work on documents at home that show comments and real time editing from other students (peer revising and editing) and the kids show the parents how this works. Parents who aren’t familiar think it’s cool! #edtech207
I like the visual nature of it- as an ELA T, I worked a lot w/ 21st century composition and multimodal “writing”- learning to analyze a document, whether video, audio, or text, is a surprisingly similar skill! #EdTech207
A8: We do some digital citizenship workshops for kids, and there's some training about those for staff directly before them. We don't do much as a whole staff about how to teach digital citizenship, though. #EdTech207
I love this! I also think it's great to show Ss and Ps the "version history" feature of Google Docs. It's another opportunity to show them that they're not really anonymous. #EdTech207
Just give them the newest data that argues that the whole screentime issue is a farce, and doesn’t get to the underlying issues and problems. #questioneverything#EdTech207
A8- Historically, my district has provided little to no PD re: #digcit to classroom Ts, instead leaving it to LMS to cover. That is changing, as we have identified #digcit as a need across curricula. Next few years will be interesting to see (I hope!) #edtech207
Thanks for joining us for an awesome chat tonight - join us again 3/6/19 when @MeredithSwallow and @DonnaKarno talk about technology for young learners! #EdTech207
