In reading The App Generation and thinking mainly about my students (all ages 10-12), I kept coming back to the idea that each generation "pioneers" something and the pioneers are the ones that find out what works and what doesn't. We are pioneers of adding technology to what we grew up with - landlines, dial-up-internet. My students are pioneers of (they are the first generation to experience) to grow up totally online.
Today's adults did stupid stuff, but as someone in class mentioned this week, those embarrassing naked baby pictures and other proofs are hidden away in Mom's attic. My students don't know what it's like to not have control over photographs and videos of themselves because we don't really know what it's like to grow up like that. Sure, people have gotten in trouble for sending inappropriate snapchats or posting pictures on Facebook with alcohol. But I feel like a 10 year old doesn't quite grasp how big of a deal it is to portray yourself in a certain manner online.
One of my students needs a little extra guidance in life and often comes to eat lunch with me. The other day he asked me if I ever lie. I told him the truth, yes, but we had a good talk about the consequences. It had nothing to do with the internet, but it was a big reminder that my students need as much guidance as they can when it comes to doing the right thing. I think of them as "big kids" because they are the oldest in the school, but they haven't necessarily had enough experiences to understand the consequences of their actions.
This was a very rambly post and I hope it made sense. The main point is that apps are here, whether we like it or not, and it's our job as reasonable people to guide our students and remind them of how important their choices are.
Doodles!
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Black Mirror
Hello all! I've already made a post on NetSmart for this week, but a quote from Zack's blog reminded me of something and it would have been too long to post as a comment.
Zack mentioned how people say things like, "get ready, because soon technology will be all around us." Netflix has an original series titled Black Mirror (they recently released the third season!) It's an incredibly morbid yet addicting show about how technology affects peoples' lives, usually negatively.
Each episode is it's own story, and some of them hit terrifyingly close to home. In the newest season one of the characters says, "I didn't realize I was living in the future." We always think of the future as flying cars and teleportation, but we're there now. 3D printing and virtual reality and phones that we can video chat on anywhere we want!
More realistically, we're all in different places in the future. My mom had to call me at school because she couldn't find the Windows button on the computer. I still have to have physical papers and CDs because I don't entirely trust in the concept of "the cloud". And my students have never had to endure the stress that was calling your friend on their house phone and her parents answering. I'm content with how I'm in the middle of this technology boom - I don't feel overwhelmed but I can survive without constant internet connection.
Just some extra thoughts. Black Mirror is an fantastically creative show - the first episode is a little much but the rest I could watch over and over!
Zack mentioned how people say things like, "get ready, because soon technology will be all around us." Netflix has an original series titled Black Mirror (they recently released the third season!) It's an incredibly morbid yet addicting show about how technology affects peoples' lives, usually negatively.
Each episode is it's own story, and some of them hit terrifyingly close to home. In the newest season one of the characters says, "I didn't realize I was living in the future." We always think of the future as flying cars and teleportation, but we're there now. 3D printing and virtual reality and phones that we can video chat on anywhere we want!
More realistically, we're all in different places in the future. My mom had to call me at school because she couldn't find the Windows button on the computer. I still have to have physical papers and CDs because I don't entirely trust in the concept of "the cloud". And my students have never had to endure the stress that was calling your friend on their house phone and her parents answering. I'm content with how I'm in the middle of this technology boom - I don't feel overwhelmed but I can survive without constant internet connection.
Just some extra thoughts. Black Mirror is an fantastically creative show - the first episode is a little much but the rest I could watch over and over!
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Net Smart
After reading (aka skipping every few pages to get the gist
of each chunk) NetSmart I felt okay
about my internet habits. I honestly don’t do that much research on stuff. Most
of the resources for my classroom I get are from coworkers. I try to stay away
from the news sources because I am a hermit and all politics annoy me J
My students are much different, as the resources they get
from their peers are obnoxious videos of people in ridiculous outfits singing
really dumb songs. My inner monologue has been going back and forth since last
class – to put things simply, whose job is it to teach our students how to be
net smart? I see my kids 45 minutes once a week to frantically try to put
together a concert. There aren’t computers or research projects, and the only
homework is to practice their instrument.
I think it’s one of those ‘it’s everyone’s job and also
nobody’s job.’ Parents need to be involved with what their kids are doing
online, but I know that’s not always happening. Classroom teachers use
research, but also have way too many subjects to squish into their days.
Specialists either use a lot or don’t use any researching. Does it actually say
in any teacher’s program of studies that there is a unit on showing kids how to
be net smart? Or is it just something we assume everyone else is doing?
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Copyright Clarity
This week was all about copyright! I expected it to be mega
boring and technical, but I was actually pretty engaged. Hobbs’ book talked
about copyright in a very relatable way that wasn’t too boring or over my head.
I tend to be the type of teacher that just copies everything
a lot. My kids tend to lose papers, or leave them at home, and there’s not way
I’m giving them the original copies to write all over. I never really
considered it to be ‘breaking the rules’ – my school owns the full pieces of
music; I just don’t trust 10 year olds to return all original copies with no
markings on them.
I like the way that Hobbs talks about fair use. It made me
feel better about all the copies I do make! She says to think about it like: is
the way I’m using this preventing the author from making money? As long as the
answer to that is no, then you’re probably fine. Are you changing the integrity
of the original work in terms of things like audience, purpose, and amount? As
long as that answer is yes, then you’re still probably fine.
Copyright seems like just a really big gray area. Fair Use
is up to interpretation, so there’s no set of rules that we can put up on a
poster on a wall for everyone to follow.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
The Information Diet
The Information Diet
was stressful for me to read. For so much of it I was thinking, “well of course”
and the rest I was thinking, “no don’t tell me this!” Especially that since as
I type this, the sensor in my classroom noticed a lack of motion so it shut the
lights off on me. I’ve been sitting for too long and it’s apparently killing
me.
It’s like when I’m hungry and lazy and I just want to eat
some Lucky Charms. Don’t tell me how many calories are in it or how it’s 95%
sugar. I’m going to eat it anyway, but now I’m going to feel terrible about
eating it. That’s how my information consumption is. You can tell me that
watching Mad Max for the 17th time is not a productive use of my
day, but I’m going to watch it anyway.
What I didn’t really like was that the farther I got through
it, the more I felt like I was being scolded for my use of media. I know I
spend too much time scrolling through Facebook throughout the day, but I get
all my work done regardless. Trashy TV is not at all making me smarter or more
informed, but it’s an entertaining way to de-stress and I don’t have to expend
a lot of energy or mental focus.
That being said, the book had so many great things to say.
The way it was written was funny and lighthearted, and once again reminded me
that if we can’t laugh at ourselves then life is going to be pretty rough. The Information Diet should be standard
reading material for every adult out there – most people I know could use a
refresher on how to review their information that they get so worked up about.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Students as Designers!
This last design principle brings together all of the
previous ones.
The Teachers as Designers Principle is exactly the Students
as Designers Principle: It is our job to design a solution to a problem (how do
we engage students in learning content), just as is it the students job to
design a solution to the problem given to them.
The Ends Principle (PICKLE) talks to meaningful outcomes.
How can we prepare our students to meet community needs? These community needs
ARE the meaningful outcomes that our students will experience.
The Knowledge Principle is all about using tools. This
related to each students’ abilities, and our job as teachers is to help them
use known tools and discover new ones. We do this by scaffolding, and also
guiding and fading once our help is not needed.
The Learning Principle is all about play. Engaging students
can sometimes be the hardest part of teaching. We can’t force students to learn
anything, no matter how much we talk and shove information at them. They have
to want to for themselves.
The Means Principle talks about choosing the most useful
technologies (through affordance analysis) to best help students accomplish a
task. These technologies, if chosen appropriately, will help students be
independent so they need less teacher intervention. A new technology will
require teacher help, but the more the students explore and understand, the
less they will need the teacher.
This leaves the Students as Designers principle! It’s very
Inception-like. We are teachers who are now students learning how to be better
teachers for our students. We get to have both roles!
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Affordance Analysis
After reading the article,
I thought I had a good grasp on what affordance analysis was. I wrote mine
about Twitter (I think I meant Facebook or social media in general; I don’t
even know my Twitter account name anymore). About the possibilities for
communication and any pitfalls one might encounter.
An actual analysis requires two things:
1.
What is your learning
goal?
2.
What are the available
technologies that might help you reach that goal, and which one has the most
pros and the least cons?
So I did half of an
affordance analysis. I was thinking of how the high school band that I work
with uses Twitter and Facebook to communicate dates, encourage each other (both
student-to-student and director-to-student). During the big snowstorm last
year, kids were posting pictures of themselves practicing in the snow in their
pajamas – it sparked a huge competition of who could practice the most
ridiculously. Goofy, but it got them practicing and having fun. It helps the
kids relate to their director and their student leaders in a way other than “I
am in charge, you have to do what I say” while still keeping the teacher’s
personal life private.
The whole purpose of an
affordance analysis is to pick the RIGHT technology for the job you are trying
to accomplish. There’s an infinite number of possibilities out there. I wanted
a way to have my students write out the counts to various rhythms. I looked at
apps and games and worksheets, but in the end I decided just to give them
whiteboards. It’s easy, doesn’t take a lot of time, doesn’t waste paper, they
can work alone or with a buddy, doesn’t require all students to have internet
access or a device at home, and the kids enjoy it! Picking the right technology
doesn’t mean picking the most expensive or advanced piece of equipment – it means
picking what will work best in your particular situation.
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