Related Resources
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:
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
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:
Key parent survey findings:
Key Teacher Survey Findings:
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
I just received an update from Clive over at Pixton about their very popular Pixton for Schools product. Due to the current economic climate and the limited budgets available to teachers, Pixton has decided to level out the cost to be $1 USD per student per month.
This discounted price makes Pixton for Schools equally accessible to classrooms, large or small.
Remember that you can easily embed a Pixton comic into a wiki, blog or website. So why not grab your free PBwiki and use it as a virtual comic book where your students can easily and safely share their comics with their peers?
Related Resources
Last week I attended the Innovative Learning Conference (ILC) in San Jose, California. Despite what seemed like a very light turnout, it turned out to be a great conference experience. The educators attending ILC were engaging and it gave me a chance to meet up with some of my social networking pals in real life. I also had the opportunity to see some really good presentations.
Like most conferences there was an exhibition hall with lots of vendors touting their goods and services as the latest and greatest learning tool. All the usual ed tech suspects, with their big marketing machines, were there in force.
But what really intrigued me the most was a couple from Vancouver, B.C who have created a mind blowing, game changing and all around awesome web-based comic strip generation tool called Pixton.
What is Pixton?
Simply stated, Pixton is a social community where anyone can easily create, share, remix and publish their comic strip stories with people around the globe. If you find a great comic in French, you can instantly translate it into English. Or German. Or even Greek. Pretty cool, eh?
There are three versions: Pixtion for Fun (public), Pixton for Schools (education) and Pixton Storyboard (private).
Pixton for Schools provides students with an active and fun learning experience. It's also a good way for teachers to tap into the multiple learning styles of their students. Teachers can also create accounts for students without requiring them to have an email address. Pixton is also an amazing digital tool for students to create digital storytelling projects.
In terms of the educational value of comics, the Pixton team emphasizes the following:
In terms of teaching, Pixton for Schools has a Lesson Bank where educators can share their lessons with other teachers. Teachers can also create their own private, safe and secure virtual learning environment (VLE) right on Pixton!
Beyond the classroom, Pixton would be a great way to quickly and easily build professional development, training, tutorials or other pre or in-service materials. You can learn more about the how you can use Pixton in an educational setting or the educational value of comics by downloading the free Pixton for Schools information packet (pdf).
The Pixton tool set is very intuitive, easy-to-use, and really fun. If you browse the public gallery, you'll see all the creative ways people are using Pixton and your mind will quickly overflow with ideas.
And there are lots of ways for you to share what you create with others outside the Pixton community. You can embed your Pixton comic in a wiki (like PBwiki), blog, or share a link via email, Twitter or IM. And soon you'll be able to print out your comic too.
Clive and Daina Goodinson have created powerful and fun learning tool that is bound to be a popular and powerful learning tool for the digital and traditional classroom. All in all, Pixton is an exciting edition to the social web.
Following in the footsteps of Flickr, YouTube and Twitter, Pixton is poised to join the short list of cutting-edge, top-tier and truly innovative social web tools. The really exciting thing is that Clive and Daina are just getting started.
I can't wait to see what else they have planned for Pixton and beyond.
Related Resources
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
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
Camille Sweeney has an interesting piece in the The New York Times on social networking sites for babies. Yes, you read that correctly: social networking sites for babies!
According to Sweeney, parents are creating profiles for their newborn bundles of joy and sharing their every move on both social networking sites like Lil’Grams, TotSpot and Kidmondo or via micro-blogging sites like Twitter.
Here's a snippet from the article:
"Hailing from Winnipeg, Ontario, Dominic Miguel Alexander Carrasco, 7 months old, uses his Totspot page to share his obsessions with his entourage. His fave nickname? Buddy or Big Boy. His fave book? “Green Eggs and Ham.” His fave food? Unsurprisingly, “mom’s milk.”
Of course, these busy social networkers don’t actually post journal entries or befriend playground acquaintances themselves. Their sleep-deprived parents are behind the curtain, shaping their children’s online identities even before they are diaper-free."
This trend shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone who's been tracking the evolution of Gen Y and their always-on lifestyle. As the millennial's move from their teen years into parenthood, it's only natural that they would want to use familiar technologies like social networks as a way to share their newborn's milestones with family, friends and other new parents.
What hasn't changed is the long standing tradition of parents creating a repository of anecdotal bits and photographs in a scrapbook. What has changed are the tools they are using to document and preserve these memories: Instead of a paper scrapbook, it's a blog. Instead of bits, it's bytes. Instead of a written journal, it's tweets.
It's the same behavior as generations of new parents that came before them; Gen Y parents are simply using new tools and technology to meet the same desire to document their children's lives.
While these services tout their safety and privacy features, parents should really think twice about the information they share on these sites. Remember, just because you deleted that cute photo of your child sitting in the tub doesn't mean that it isn't archived somewhere. Forever.
After all, your privacy is an illusion.
Perhaps it's time that everyone (not just parents) should think more about what and why we post information on the web. To me, it seems like this trend is every teenagers worst nightmare: a permanent digital archive of your childhood published on the web.
Related Resources
Online writing tools like Google Docs, Adobe Buzzword & Zoho are amazing free tools that are used by many educators. But who owns your online documents? Are there any laws or issues that you need to be aware of before using these tools in your classroom?
According to a post on the Open Sky Media Blog, "while your personal computer may not care about your tastes in fiction, the web service you choose to write and/or host your documents just might."
For example, did you know that the Google Docs TOS state that "“you give Google a worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through the Service." Moreover, Google Docs further stipulate that "students must be 13 or over to use Google Docs."
Why?
Because Google, like every other corporation that is providing an online service to students, must comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The law outlines how and what types of personal information may be collected and when and how to seek verifiable consent (written permission) from a parent or guardian. The law, despite it's quirks, is designed to protect the privacy of minors.
To be clear, Google is doing exactly what they are required by law to do. As tween site Imbee found out, failure to comply with COPPA can cost a company millions of dollars in legal bills and fines. If you do decide to use Google Docs in your classroom, be sure to obtain written permission from your students parent or guardian. Failure to do so could put your school and career in jeopardy.
To be clear, I'm not trying to knock Google Docs. It's a great product. My intent is to make sure that educators are aware of the issues. It's important that you, as the teacher, know all the associated issues and legal requirements associated with using this tool before using it in your classroom.
Related Resources
Everyone knows that Gen Y love using their mobile devices as a way to communicate and stay hyper-connected with their friends. But how many of them are actually texting while driving?
A new survey by FindLaw.com finds that 48% of Gen Y drivers (aged 18-24) have used their mobile device to send an IM, text or email while driving.
Here's the breakdown by age group:
Several states have already implemented a ban on mobile calls while driving and a handful are now either adopting or conducting studies on similar laws related to driving and texting.
As mobile devices become more integrated into our daily lives, we need to look at the use of mobile devices from a digital literacy perspective. Just as we teach kids not to talk to strangers or web safety, we also need to address issues related to the appropriate and safe use of mobile devices.
Related Resources
A few weeks ago the L.A. Times had an alarmng story about how little control we have over who has personal information that we often share on the web. Here's the upshot:
“Jane Yang, a 30-year-old marketing coordinator, was curious the other day to see what would turn up if she searched for herself on Reunion.com, a Los Angeles-based social networking site.
Sure enough, there was her name, which didn’t bother the Oregon resident all that much. Nor was she particularly troubled that her husband’s name was included under her “Friends & Family.”
What did startle Yang was seeing the name of her 4-year-old son.”
But wait. It gets worse.
Not only was her child's personal information on a social networking site, but when she called the fine folks over at Reunion.com they told her that they had no idea how or where they got the information. Nor did they know why the data was cleared to be indexed in their public database.
Sounds like Reunion.com is heading for a possible fine for violating COPPA. And as Imbee.com found out, getting off that hook isn't cheap.
This anecdote should serve as a reminder that we all need to think before we freely share personal information in social networking communities. Here are a few tips:
Many Gen Y'rs, because they freely share this information, may be shocked to discover that their so-called "personal information" has been sold to data brokers. And that spring break trip in 2001 that you thought nobody else knew about--oops!--suddenly becomes public.
And remember, just because you delete that photo of yourself doesn't mean that it isn't archived somewhere. Forever. After all, your privacy is an illusion.
Related Resources
A few weeks ago I attended the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, Texas. And even though the research shows otherwise, there was a lot of time spent talking about student safety and the dangers lurking on the internet.
On my way home from San Antonio, I stood in line at the airport behind a mother who explaining to her tweenage daughter why she couldn't join MySpace or Facebook. The mother went on to share one scary story after another (mostly from Dateline NBC) about all the sexual predators lurking online in "the blogs and MySpace."
Ironically, as the mother continued to go on about the dangers on the web, I glanced down at her daughter's backpack and there was a luggage tag that had her name, address, school name and email. This information was fully exposed. To me, the information contained on that luggage tag put her daughter in far more danger than a creepy email from a stranger on MySpace.
So much time and energy is spent discussing the pitfalls of social networking sites, that many parents forget to address the legitimate dangers that exist in the offline world. This is especially true when it comes to issues related to kids health.
For example, did you know that adolescents, aged 11-18, are at an increased risk of contracting meningitis? Did you also know that meningococcal disease, while rare, can potentially kill an otherwise healthy teen in 48 hours or less?
Meningitis is a common name for infections that take place in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by viruses and by bacteria. As deadly as meningococcal disease can be, most cases in the United States (up to 83% of cases in adolescents and young adults) could be prevented by a single vaccination.
In addition to talking to your kids about social safety be sure to also take time to discuss health issues, like what behaviors make you more prone to becoming infected meningitis. This is especially important for older teens who are heading off to college and living in group housing.
And while it may be awkward (for you and your t/ween) it's important to teach kids to be aware of these issues and provide them with the information they need to stay safe--both online and offline.
And about that luggage tag....
Related Resources
Ever wonder what motivates people to throw zombies, vampires and drinks at you on Facebook? What message does your profile picture convey about you? Why are some Facebook apps like Scrabulous an uber hit, while other (perhaps even more useful) applications remain unloved and gathering virtual dust? And all that "poke" business? What's that about?
Led by Dr. BJ Fogg, researchers at the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford are taking a look at the popular social networking site and will soon publish their research in a new book titled, The Psychology of Facebook.
Here's the abstract:
Edited by Dr. BJ Fogg and colleagues at Stanford University, this volume gathers the best insights into Facebook's remarkable methods.
This new book explains how Facebook's psychological strategies are changing the Internet, our social lives, and world politics.
To date, most research on social networking, especially in terms of teen and tween users, has been centered around online safety and sexual predators (a la "Dateline NBC"). Thankfully, cooler heads and more research are beginning to put those concerns into perspective.
As social networking moves more and more mainstream, and Boomer parents catch up with their Gen Y kids online, it's important that we take a deeper look at the underlying psychology and persuasive nature of social networking environments like Facebook.
Related Resources
Dizzywood is a new virtual world for tweens created by the folks over at ROCKETpaperscissors. Like other virtual communities geared for the tween set (I'm talking Doko, Webkinz, Neopets, Moshi Monsters) users can create an avatar, connect with friends, play games and activities that earn them unique super powers and other rewards.
The team behind Dizzywood have designed a virtual environment that "encourages kids to engage in challenging activities and cooperate with others, while developing important cognitive skills. I had my pre-tween nephew give Dizzywood a go this afternoon and he was instantly hooked. He loved the animation and said that the games were "really, really fun."
Beyond the element of online play, Dizzyworld is using their virtual world to teach kids about the environment and other life skills like honesty, digital citizenship and respect. Dizzyworld recently joined with the Arbor Day Foundation on a promotion that allowed Dizzyworld citizens to plant a virtual tree to reforest a damaged area within the online world of Dizzywood.
But here's the really cool part: when you plant a virtual tree in the Dizzyworld forest, a real tree is planted on Earth. And as the virtual tree grows, kids are able to see how the tree is able to clean pollution from the skies above Dizzyworld. This is a great way situate the lessons learned in a virtual world, into a real world context and provide kids with a sense of empowerment and a purposeful gaming experience.
Dizzywood's ability to successfully mash together virtual games, social responsibility and collaborative skills has caught the eye of the YMCA of San Francisco has announced plans to integrate Dizzyworld into their education technology curriculum.
Here's more from the Press Release on the partnership:
"The YMCA is using Dizzywood’s virtual environment to reinforce its program emphasis on activities that promote values such as caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Children also learn about important issues relating to virtual worlds, such as digital citizenship and online safety, as well as complete storytelling and team-building exercises that emphasize creativity, writing and reading skills, and working together to achieve goals."
Almost every week it seems like there is a new virtual world being launched with no real purpose other than shopping or fun-based gaming activities. It's refreshing to see a product like Dizzyworld that has a strong educational component cleverly woven into the practice of play.
Creating an educational and fun virtual learning environment that kids will actually use is no small feat. It looks like Rocketpaperscissors team is well on their way to finding that magical mix between learning, technology and community.
So give Dizzyworld a whirl, plant your virtual tree and have fun!
Related Links
According to the Middletown Journal, school administrators at Mason High School in Ohio are confiscating student cell phones and reading text messages to "to determine if the students attended private parties off school grounds during the weekend."
Students and parents at the school have contacted the ACLU who has warned school officials that their "current practice of seizing student cell phones and reading personal text messages was poor policy and unconstitutional."
Moreover, the ACLU countered that "Attendance at a private party that does not disrupt classes and does not occur on school grounds is none of the school's business. Private student social activities are issues for parents, not the school."
For many school administrators confiscating phones and blocking content seems like the easiest way to address the issue. But as Gen Y expert Anastasia Goodstein points out, doing so creates a “Lord of the Flies” environment where our kids are left to navigate the world of social networks, technology and online content without any direction.
Just like we have “drivers ed” to help them learn the rules of the road, we need to arm them with the digital literacy skills necessary to safely navigate the digital world in which they were raised.
Related Resources
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
