Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Youth Vote 2008: How Obama Hooked Gen Y

Since the election, there has been lots of attention focused on how the Obama campaign was able to leverage many types of new and social media to engage Gen Y to get out and vote.

At the 2008 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East, held at Boston College just days after the election, several of the panelists talked about Obama's use of social media. Some of the most interesting and detailed election research at the conference was presented by Dan Coates, co-founder of SurveyU.

Dan's presentation, What Every Brand Could Learn from The Obama Campaign's Marketing to College Students, outlined some of the key demographic and media consumption trends among college students that the Obama campaign leveraged to get youth more involved in the political process. Dan also explained how marketers (or educators!) can use these same strategies to engage with this increasingly influential generation.

In this video, taken at a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics panel, YES We Can producer Wes Hill and The Nation's Ari Melber discuss Youth, Politics, and Civic Engagement in the 2008 election year.

Also worth noting, and somewhat lost in the post-election euphoria, is the election of Aaron Schock (R-Illinois) to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman-elect Schock is the first member of Congress born in the 1980s and he will be the first millennial to serve in Congress.

Related Resources

• A chat with the first Gen Y congressman (Thanks Anastasia!)
• Obama's Change.gov Adds OpenID
• The Obama Factor: The Net Generation
• Ruminations: 2008 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East
• Mind the Gap: American Teens Falling into the Digital Divide

Demographic Research on Texters: Young, Multicultural and Ready to Spend

A new report from Scarborough Research found that El Paso, Texas is the top texting city in America with 57% of adults reporting that they use the texting feature on their mobile phone. In comparison, the national average of adults who text is 48%.

Rounding out the top five texting cities are Salt Lake City (UT), Dallas (TX), Memphis (TN), and Cincinatti (OH).

What makes these cities so text-centric? The study found that among adults who use texting features on their mobile phone, 49% are more likely to be young (18-24), 14% more likely to be Hispanic and 24% more likely to be African-American.

According to Scarborough, the youthful, multicultural texting demographics are a likely reason why El Paso, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Memphis are the top text messaging markets. Moreover, Salt Lake and El Paso lead the nation in 18-24 year olds.

Other key findings of Texters:

• They use a wide variety of phone features - such as picture messaging, streaming video and email -at a rate higher than that of the average cell user;

• Best Buy is their preferred retailer for audio-video purchases: 39% of Texters live in a household that shopped at Best Buy during the past year vs. 27% of all consumers nationally. Target (20%) and Wal-Mart (35%) are other important stores for Texter tech purchases;

• One-fifth (20%) of Texters spend more than $1,000 online annually, vs, 17% of all cellular users;

• Web-based services are a core part of their daily lives, from household tasks (such as bill paying) to entertainment (such as downloading movies or TV programs) to interaction (such as blogging and downloading a wide variety of content);

• They are 46% more likely than all cellular subscribers to typically spend $150 or more on cellular service monthly and are 12% more likely to plan to switch services;

• On average, they spend $87 on their monthly cellular bill. In contrast, all cellular subscribers spend an average of $75 monthly. This demographic are the highest spenders on cellular services.

One common stereotype is that Gen Y are too wired to leave their computer screen or video games to participate in other activities. While they are wired and hyper-connected, due to the ubiquity of the mobile phone and the mobile web, they are able to remain on the go and wired.

Scarborough Research found that:

• Texters are active, on-the-go consumers. They are 37% more likely than all cellular subscribers to have played basketball (as a leisure activity) during the past year; 29% more likely to have gone jogging/running; 29% more likely to have played tennis, and 23% more likely to have practiced yoga;

• Texters are 12% more likely to have attended a professional sports event, and 57% more likely to have gone to an R&B, rap or hip-hop concert during the past year.

If you're interested in the mobile boom (and you should be!), be sure to check out Mobile Persuasion by my friend, Dr. BJ Fogg. This is a must read for anyone involved with digital media and education technology. BJ also is the founder of the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab.

You can see the Scarborough Research report, by clicking here (pdf).

Related Resources

• Mobile Persuasion 2009
• Research on Hispanic Teens & Mobile Phones
• Generation Text: Gen Y & Mobile Phones

Mind the Gap: American Teens Falling into the Digital Divide

The Center for the Digital Future has released the results their international survey of 25,000 people in Asia, Australia, North and South America and Europe on Internet usage.

Among 18-24 year olds, the top countries with Internet usage:

• 100% of British youth
• 98% of Israeli
• Czech Republic and Macao at 96%
• Canada at 95%

By contrast, only 88% of American teens of the same age had access, trailed by Hungary and Singapore, where more than seven in 10 young people use the Internet.

The big takeaway? According to the study:

"Fewer young Americans have Internet access than their peers in the Czech Republic, Canada, Macao and Britain, a survey of 13 countries around the world showed."

While we talk a lot about youth being wired and connected to technology, the reality is that there are also a lot of teens who can't afford computers, mobile phones/devices or Internet access.

For the last five years I've volunteered with a youth organization in San Diego. We've maintained a website, blog, Flickr and Facebook page for the last four years. At a recent awards dinner for the teens, one of the leaders mentioned that they would post the photos from the dinner on Flickr and our website. One of the kids raised his hand and asked, "What if we don't have a computer?"

During a quick survey of the 100 youth attending the banquet, we were shocked to find that only a couple had mobile phones, even less had access to a computer and/or Internet access at home. And while they had access at school, most reported that school computers blocked and filtered so much content, it made it an exercise in frustration.

We had been working on the assumption that because they are teens, they are "wired." The reality is, while they wanted to be totally wired, their economic status prevented them from fully participating in the information and social web revolution.

While I was at Yahoo! working on the youth and education project, I had the opportunity to collaborate with school districts both large and small. Time and time again, I heard from school administrators that their students (and many teachers for that matter) didn't have access to a computer and/or web access from home.

So while we talk about all the really great ways that technology can support learning, get youth involved in the political process or how Gen Y is totally wired, it's important to remember that there are still big chunks of this generation who are unable to participate in the shared experiences taking place in Facebook, MySpace and other virtual environments.

In terms of the digital divide, we've made leaps and bounds, but there's still a long way to go.

Related Resources

• Digital Inclusion: Content, Community & Technology
• Learning 2.0: Digital Social and Always-On
• How Obama Hooked Gen Y

Truth and Consequences: Teens, Naked Photos & Mobile Phones

Anyone involved with Gen Y knows three things: they love their mobile phones, they are hyper-connected and they have no reservations about broadcasting their life across the social web. Very often they are lifestreaming without thinking about the consequences of their actions.

Take, for example, the mobile phone. They text, play games, take photos and oh yeah--they also occasionally use them to make a phone call. However, a recent investigative report by Emmett Miller and KTLA News found "a growing number of teens are messaging naked photos of themselves to their friends. Not only could it ruin their reputation, but it could land them in legal trouble."

One girl talked about how a guy at her school had a fight with his girlfriend and, in an act of revenge, blasted out nude photos he had taken of her to their classmates. The photos were forwarded on to more and more students, effectively making life at the high school unbearable to the point that she had to change schools.

Another student, commenting on the trend, said:

“I know in my high school that there was a a girl who took naked photos of herself and it went all through our school and it ruined her, 'cause everyone looks at her like a slut.”

But there are serious consequences beyond just being embarrassed or having to change schools. In his report, Miller interviews Detective Dan Morgan from the LA County Sheriff's Department who talked about the LEGAL implications:

"The detective says anytime a photograph is taken of a minor, a person under the age of eighteen, of their genital area involved in a simulated or an actual sex act, it is against the law, and considered child pornography. Detective Morgan says pictures and video clips of teens involved in sexual situations are becoming more and more frequent.

He believes the cases are under-reported, but has still dealt with quite a few of them. Sometimes the cases involve teens who have sent pictures or video to other teens, but other times it's adults who are enticing teens to take photos of sexual situations. And that is where the law is clear. "

Most teens interviewed for this report had no idea that there were legal implications for sending or forwarding nude photos via mobile phone or the Internet. In fact, while most told Emmett that they "would only send nude photo's to their friends," they were completely oblivious that their friends might pass these photos along to other people. 

This is an important topic that both parents and school officials should be talking about with teens. The stakes are even higher for a high school student who turns 18 and forwards a nude photograph of a boyfriend/girlfriend who is still a minor.

By doing so, they risk being charged for distribution of child pornography. Not to mention, if they are convicted, they face the loss of attending college, scholarships, and employment opportunities.

The important thing is for parents and school officials not to overreact. Banning mobile phones won't make these types of incidents go away. Teens will simply use another phone. Or have a friend take the pictures for them. The best approach is to sit down with your kids and calmly discuss the appropriate ways to use technology.

Think about it. You don't hand your kids the keys to the car without having them first go through a drivers education program where they learn the rules of the road. So why do we just hand them a mobile phone, computer or, for that matter, a social networking site and expect them to understand what behavior is and isn't acceptable?

As adults we need to also sit them down and outline how their so-called "personal information" can be sold to data brokers or passed around school by friends. We need to educate them on the consequences of lifestreaming and sharing too much information may have on their future.

Most importantly, we need to educate them that just because they delete that photo on their mobile phone doesn't mean that it isn't archived somewhere. Forever. After all, when it comes to the social web, your privacy is an illusion.

You can watch a video of Emmett Miller's entire report, The Naked Truth of a New Cell Phone Trend, by clicking here.

Related Resources

• Generation Text: New Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones
• Book >Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online
• Stanford Study Looks at the Psychology of Facebook
  

CyberSurvey: What Kids, Parents and Teachers Are Doing Online

In the spring of 2007 The Cyber Safety and Ethics Initiative (CSEI) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) initiated the world’s largest cyber research project, which by January of 2008 involved surveying 40,000+ K-12th grade students along with hundreds of parents and teachers.

Here are some of the key findings among students, parents and educators:

Key student findings:

• Children have unsupervised access to a computer and the internet at home as early as age 5, and that by age 7, 15% report that someone was mean to them online, while 7% admit they have been mean to someone online;

• Contrary to public perception, the majority of cyber offenses involving children, t/weens, teens and young adults are perpetuated by their peers, not strangers;

• The onset of cyber bullying beginning in the second grade and it’s not always the adult predator. Reports show that 45% of the cases are friends victimizing friends.

• 23.2% admit to lying about their age online;

• 1 in 4 children between the ages 9-18 report that they have been victimized online by one or more forms of abuse within the past school year that was not reported to a grown up.

Key parent survey findings:

• 90% of surveyed parents report supervising the home computing activities of their children;

• 14% report they have caught their children visiting inappropriate websites;

• 61% parents report that their children access the web from a private place in the home;

• A majority of parents report that their children use the web to do research for school (78%), play video games (61%) and listening to music or watching movies (50%);

Key Teacher Survey Findings:

• Teachers report that they feel confident that their schools are well prepared to use technology to facilitate student learning;

• However, few teachers feel prepared or feel they are prepared to teach students about Internet safety, social computing ethics or digital literacy;

• Teachers report that there is a lack of or inconsistent professional development and/or training on information security, social computing and web safety;

• Educators are divided on the issue of using technology in the classroom and whether or not students know more about information technology than they do.

Overall, it looks like parents are doing a good job of keeping an eye on their kids and what they are doing on the Internet. That said, most safety experts recommend that kids use the computer and surf the web from public areas of their home.

While the good news is that the stereotype of the Dateline NBC-esque sexual predator is far from reality, the bad news is that students are being bullied online by their peers. This is a topic that should be addressed both at school by teachers and at home by parents.

In summer 2008, as part of the Yahoo! Teachers Tour, I had the opportunity with my colleague Karon Weber to lead workshops across the country and teach educators how to use web and social computing  technologies in their classroom. Time and time again we heard from teachers that this was exactly the type of professional development that was sorely needed.

Moreover, they reported that they were lacking hands-on, practical training on how web and social computing can be used in the classroom to prepare educators for the influx of digital learners filling their classrooms.

You can review the entire findings of the RIT CyberSafety report, including results broken down by grade level, by clicking here (pdf).

Related Resources

• Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online
• Secret Lives of Teens
• Study Debunks Sexual Predator Myths
• Yahoo! Safely
• Cyberbully Pledge for Teachers
• Parents Guide to Social Networks

Obama on Education Reform

Recruit, Prepare, Retain, and Reward America's Teachers

* Recruit Teachers: Obama and Biden will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.

* Prepare Teachers: Obama and Biden will require all schools of education to be accredited. Obama and Biden will also create a voluntary national performance assessment so we can be sure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively.

Obama and Biden will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.

* Retain Teachers: To support our teachers, the Obama-Biden plan will expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. They will also provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices.

* Reward Teachers: Obama and Biden will promote new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase.

Districts can reward teachers who work in underserved places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

Related Resources

• EdTech for Obama
• Seeding a New Community: Yahoo! For Teachers
• Yahoo! Teachers: It's About Relationships
• Research on K12 New Media Literacy

Call for Papers: 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology

Persuasive Technology is all about using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to change what we think and do. We are just entering the era of persuasive technology, of interactive computing systems designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviors.

The Claremont conference will assemble people from all parts of the world interested in such technologies by sharing their insights into how video games, mobile phone applications, web sites and social networking sites can be designed to motivate and influence people.

Academics and practitioners with an interest in research, theory, technologies, design, and applications related to persuasion are invited to submit their work for presentation at Persuasive 2009 to be held at the Claremont Colleges campus, in Claremont, California.

If you're interested in the mobile boom (and you should be!), be sure to check out Mobile Persuasion by my friend, Dr. BJ Fogg. This is a must read for anyone involved with digital media and education technology. BJ also is the founder of the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab.

Related Resources

• Mobile Persuasion 2009
• Persuasive 2009
• Book > Mobile Persuasion
• Book > Persuasive Technology
• Stanford Facebook Class
• International Journal of Computer Game Research

Microsoft to Fund Video Game Research

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that they would invest $1.5 million dollars in educational video game research. The investment is part of a larger, NYU led initiative to "to find scientific evidence that supports the use of games as a learning tool."

The games that are developed will be prototyped in several NYC schools. And while the games will be developed for use on the Xbox console, Microsoft is taking an open approach and has extended an invitation to other video game console makers to participate in the study.

Microsoft also announced a partnership with PBS to distribute digital content to the 12 million subscribers to Xbox Live. Also worth noting is that game maker Knowledge Adventure is bringing its Math Blaster game to Wii's WiiWare channel and the Xbox 360's Live Arcade. They are also working on designs for an iPhone version of the game. Given the mobile nature of today's kids, this seems like a great idea.

At the University of Michigan, a research team is looking into the potential that digital games have for teaching students concepts and skills. As part of their study, they have designed a web-based board game for teaching undergraduate students about Information Literacy Concepts and Skills. They chose a game for the task for many research-based reasons, but also because:

"Games can be with the student when an information expert cannot be. Games can be in the dorm room, at the coffee house, and anywhere else that the Internet can be accessed. Games are a way to bring information expertise to the users where they are already working."

All of this comes on the heels of a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project that found that, when it comes to video games, "playing is universal, with almost all teens playing games and at least half playing games on a given day."

Even more importantly, and defying stereotypes, the Pew Study found that  "game playing is also social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time."

Related Resources

• Japanese Schools Embrace Nintendo DS
• International Journal of Computer Game Research
• Stewart Butterfield on Games & Learning
• 2009 Game Developers Conference

Mashup Edu: Research on K-12 New Media Literacy

I am pleased to announce that the book chapter that I co-authored with Dr. Mercedes Fisher, "Pedagogical Mashup: Gen Y, Social Media, and Digital Learning Styles," has officially been accepted for publication in the Handbook of Research on New Media Literacy at the K-12 Level: Issues and Challenges, to be published by IGI Global later this year.

Dr. Fisher and I wish to thank the co-editor of the book, Professor Subramaniam at the National Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, for his hard work and direction during the writing and peer-review process.

In addition, we appreciate all the members of the peer-review committee for their feedback, suggestions and collaboration on this chapter. It's been a wonderful experience to work with members of the international education technology/media community.

We've saved the links for all the resources and references cited in the book chapter over on the social bookmarking tool delicious, which you can find here: http://del.icio.us/mashup.edu

Related Publications by Mercedes Fisher & Derek E. Baird

• Making mLearning Work: Gen Y, Learning & Mobile Technologies
• Social Software & Online Learning Design
• Social Media & Digital Learning Styles

Meet the Freshers: College, 21st Century Style

 

Meet the Freshers is a new video series on AOL's popular social networking site Bebo that explores what 21st Century "Freshers" (aka Freshman) are up to during their first semester at college.

The weekly series is hosted by teen publishing tycoon Tom Thurlo and is sponsored by The Student Room (TSR), an UK-based social network "where UK students share opinions and experiences."

So far, most of the students are focused on three things: sex, booze and, well more booze. Watching Meet the Freshers might provide most parents with more information than they really wanted to know or care to remember.

For these Freshers, college life probably isn't much different than it was for their parents. The key difference is that these young adults, unlike their parents, are lifecasting and documenting their adventures on social networking sites like Bebo, Facebook and The Student Room.

Hopefully these Freshers are savvy enough to know that Bebo never forgets.

Related Resources

• Bebo > Meet the Freshers
• Stanford Study Looks at Psychology of Facebook
• Gen Y: Sharing Way Too Much
• Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online

Generation Text: New Research on Teens & Mobile Phones

According to a recent Harris Interactive-CTIA study, "Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged, a majority (57%) of teens surveyed reported that they view their cell phone as the key to their social life. For teens, a mobile phone is more than just an accessory or communication device, it also "tells the most about a person’s social status or popularity, outranking jewelry, watches and shoes."

The study was conducted online in July 2008 among a nationally representative sample of 2,089 teenagers (age 13-19) across the US who have cell phones.

More than 100 questions were asked on mobile phone usage, attitudes, behaviors, and teens’ desires and aspirations for the future of mobile communications, entertainment, and other features.

Other key findings from the Harris Interactive-CTIA study:

• Four out of every five teens (17 million) carrying a wireless device (a 40% increase since 2004),  and 42% of surveyed teens said they can text blindfolded; 

• 57% credit mobility for improving their quality of life, if texting was no longer an option, 47 % of teens say their social life would end or be worsened–especially among females (54% compared to 40% of males);

• 52% agree the cell phone has become a new form of entertainment; one-third of teens currently play games on their phone;

• 80% say their cell phone provides a sense of security while on the go, confirming that the cell phone has become their mobile safety net when needing a ride (79%), getting important information (51%), or just helping out someone in trouble (35%);

• Teens carry cell phones to have access to friends, family and current events;

• Though only one in five (18%) teens care to pinpoint the location of their family and friends via their cell phone, 36% hate the idea of a cell phone feature that allows others to know their exact location.

One of the most interesting findings from this study is how deeply integrated texting has become in teen life. In fact, teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month.

"Teens have created a new form of communication. We call it texting, but in essence it is a reflection of how teens want to communicate to match their lifestyles. It is all about multitasking, speed, privacy and control," said Joseph Porus, Vice President & Chief Architect, Technology Group, Harris Interactive. "Teens in this study are crying for personalization and control of exactly what a wireless device or plan can do for them."

Moreover, teens say texting has advantages over talking because it offers more options, including multitasking, speed, the option to avoid verbal communication, and because it is fun - in that order, according to the study.

Looking forward, the survey found that teens "ideal future mobile device would feature five applications – phone, MP3 player, GPS, laptop computer and video player." The mobile boom trend is being driven by teens and their seamless adoption of and expectation to have "on-demand" access to friends, family, information and entertainment.

The education community should also take note that 66% of those surveyed said they hoped that mobile devices would "present opportunities to be educated anywhere in the world." This data should serve as a call to educators to start investigating ways to provide students with mobile virtual learning environments (mVLE) to facilitate self-directed learning opportunities.

Related Resources

• Global Youth: Irish Teens & Mobile Culture
• mobileYOUTH: Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones
• More Teens Create, Share Online Material as ‘Multichannel Teen’ Emerges

mobileYouth: Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones

mobileYouth has put together an excellent overview of the key fact and statistics of the youth and mobile market. Whether you're an educator or a marketer, this report provides some valuable insight into how and why Gen Y love their mobile devices.

Related Resources

• Gen Y: Mobile & Ready to Learn
• Mobile Phones & Teens
• Want to Reach Teens? Think Mobile
• Mobile Internet Generation

Generation Video: Teens Consume Online Video

New research from Nielsen Online finds that in April 2008 "kids consumed more streams than those over 18, and spent more time watching online video from home." The study cites that this generation of kids has grown up with the web and online content, so "their adoption of online video has been seamless."

Here's video consumption broken down by age group:

• Kids 2-11 viewed an average of 51 streams and 118 minutes of online video
• Teens 12-17 viewed an average of 74 streams and 132 minutes of online video.
• Those over 18 viewed an average of 44 streams and 99 minutes of online video.

Among the most popular t/ween video sites:

• Disney.com
• EverythingGirl.com
• MyePets.com
• Stickham.com
• BuzzNet.com

This is important data because it shows marketers where they need to be in order to tap into the lucrative teen market. For educators this research provides us with insight on how to leverage web-based technology to facilitate learning.

Imagine asking students to go home and watch a video online versus reading a chapter out of that big boring textbook. Odds are, especially in light of this research, that you would have very few students who failed to complete their "homework."

Moreover, we are on the cusp of the mobile video revolution which will allow us leverage and combine teens love of mobile phones and video to provide "on demand" learning (and marketing) opportunities.

Related Resources

• Online Teens: Virtual Goods, Real Money
• Want to Reach Teens? Think Mobile
• Teens Like Mobile Phones Practicality and Are Using Them More for Video

Pew Research on Teens, Video Games & Learning

A few days ago the Pew Internet & American Life Project released the results of a national survey of U.S. teens (survey sample: 1,102 youth ages 12-17) and video games.

The study, a project of the Pew Research Center and the MacArthur Foundation,  shatters many of the previously held beliefs that video game obsessed teens lead socially isolated lives devoid of interaction with other people.

In fact, the Pew study found that "virtually all American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games and that the gaming experience is rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement."

Among the key findings:

Game playing is universal, with almost all teens playing games and at least half playing games on a given day.

• 97% of American teens ages 12-17 play some kind of video game.    
• 99% of boys say they are gamers and 94% of girls report that they play games.

Game playing experiences are diverse, with the most popular games falling into the racing, puzzle, sports, action and adventure categories.

• A typical teen plays at least five different categories of games and 40% of them play eight or more different game types.    
• While some teens play violent video games, those who play violent games generally also play non-violent games.

Game playing is social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time.

• 76% of gaming teens play games with others at least some of the time.    
• 82% play games alone at least occasionally, though 71% of this group also plays games with others.   
• 65% of gaming teens play with others in the same room.

Game playing can incorporate many aspects of civic and political life.

• 76% of youth report helping others while gaming.    
• 44% report playing games where they learn about a problem in society.

Game playing sometimes involves exposure to mature content, with almost a third of teens playing games that are listed as appropriate only for people older than they are.

• 32% of youth 12-16 in this sample play games that are listed as appropriate only for people older than they are.    
• 32% of gaming teens report that at least one of their favorite games is rated Mature or Adults Only.    
• 12-14 year old's are equally as likely to play Mature and Adults Only rated games as their 15-17 year old counterparts (source).

Related Resources

• Video Games Teaching Diplomacy & Social Justice
• Gen Y Update: Video Games 101
• CBS News > Gen Tech & Wired Teen America

Vicki Davis: Seven Steps to a Flat Classroom

The Seven Steps to a Flat Classroom workshop was created by Vicki Davis, recognized Web 2.0 expert and creator of the Cool Cat Teacher blog, for Atomic Learning.

In the Seven Steps to a Flat Classroom workshop, Davis herself utilizes Atomic Learning’s short, show-and-tell video tutorials to guide users through flattening their classroom by expanding it to include global communities and collaboration tools.

The workshop is a valuable resource for educators seeking to integrate technology and includes over 80 tutorials on topics such as Applying ISTE NETS standards to your project, Connecting Classrooms online, Digital Citizenship and Safety and many more.

View the workshop by clicking here.

Related Resources

• Flat Classroom Conference
• Atomic Learning
• PBwiki Back-to-School Challenge
• Flat Bobby Flickr Project