Tag Archives: necc2008

Policies for the Social Web

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I’ve been looking forward to this presentation by Doug Johnson because I think it will probably come up in my district at some point in the near future. The AUP and other internet policies that we currently have in place don’t cover the use of web 2.0 tools. As more and more teachers and librarians begin to learn about and use these tools, the more important it becomes to create some policies about appropriate use for education.

Handouts from this session

Doug started off with a humorous suggestion that we enact legislation banning pencils from schools today because they can be used to do some of the same things that social networks can, e.g., write a threatening note, write dirty words, etc.

Check out the article Predators & cyberbullies: Reality check to get a more balanced picture of what is really happening with our kids online.

The social web is an interactive web where we share information with each other. Another resource is the Horizon Report from educause to find out what web 2.0 tools will most likely be used in education in the future.

There are some serious concerns about web 2.0

Protecting children from predator
Protecting childern from each other
Protecting children from themselves

Online predators are a greater problem for students at risk. “If you don’t tell your children that you love them…someone else will.”

Cyberbullying is a very real problem in which schools have to intevene – even when it occurs off-campus. Doug’s district has a guide written for students about cyberbullying that is available for download.

Students post inappropriate things about themselves online and their future can be impacted by this. They don’t realize the ramifications of their behavior and that, even if they take the pictures down, they are never really gone.

Students, however, do have a right to free speech online as well as in public. Schools have to prove that postings online are disruptive.

In developing policies, we need to use common sense and realize that the danger is not so much in “dirty old men,’ but in the students themselves and their online behavior.

So how can we make kids safe? Block it all? One of the mistakes we make in blocking is to confuse content with format. Blocking blogs and wikis make as much sense as blocking magazines because some of them are pornographic.

Filtering is never 100% effective and they can’t block what goes out. There are many proxies available that allow students to bypass school filters and they have mobile devices that can access the web on their own connection – not the school’s.

Education in these issues for the school community is imperative. The dangers are real and schools must be proactive in dealing with the issue. We have to reach out and educate our parents as well, providing resources for them to inform themselves on the topic – web sites and videos. We need to allow students to make “safe mistakes.” These are mistakes from which they can recover, where they might not be able to recover from a mistake made later in life. Schools have to show due diligence in protecting kids online.

How do we teach online ethical behavior to students?

  • Articulate and demonstrate our values – talk to kids about what is right and wrong online
  • reinforce good behavior
  • Have peer discussions about these topics
  • Stress principles, rather than rules (Protect your property, privacy and don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in front of your grandmother.)
  • Create a low temptation environment where kids aren’t tempted to behave inappropriately

There is a place for social networks in schools today. Show others that education can be enhanced with social web resources. Share actual examples of how other schools are using these tools.

In creating policies for the social, Doug suggests that the current AUP may be ok, if you eliminate fuzzy language. A district advisory committee that is small, but with wide representation, to work on this policy is important. This committee looks at big picture items like budget, policies, goals and assessment.

Have a process for blocking web sites. Doug suggests: blocking the minimum required by CIPA, requiring that any request for blocking should go through a formal reconsideration process, unblocking any site at professional request, keeping one unblocked computer in each library, making educators – not techs – responsible for the web content that is allowed in schools.

Teachers are the best filter that we can use.

Library 2.5?

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I’m back with another report on the last day of NECC 2008. Yesterday was busy with lots of sessions to attend. I had some trouble getting online, so I’ll have to post the notes from them later.

This morning’s session is called Feed, Tag, Research: Remixing for Library 2.5. I’m going to try and blog this live, so please excuse errors in spelling or awkward wording.

Before we start, I’m wondering: We’ve just started making our libraries 2.0 – what in the world is library 2.5?

Presenters for this session are:
Joyce Valenza, Cathy Nelson, Anita Beaman, Carolyn Foote, Diane Cordell, Kim Cofino (joining virtually), Judy O’Connell

There is also a wiki for this session.

Joyce:

What does School Library 2.5 look like?

The 2.5 librarian is…

the Chief Information Officers of the school who leads from the center.

has a space on everyone’s online learning space.

provides widget and gadget for databases that students cann pull into their iGoogle learning spaces.

includes information products that students create in the library collection

Builds equity by offering students access to free open source or web-based tools.

Makes students aware of creative commons and new copyright.

Leads the district in creating a web 2.0 poicy.

Cathy:

The 2.5 librarian…

Models being a 21st century learner – we’re all on the same footing now

presents information at every opportunity about the 21st century library – to parent groups, teachers, and various conferences

Carolyn:

The 2.5 librarian considers how services are marketed and gets feedback from the clients served.
The 2.5 librarian is a change agent in the school who advocates for students first because that is everyone’s mission.
The 2.5 librarian shares information with the principal all the time, but do it web 2.0 style. Find out how your principal learns and communicate in that way (podcasts, videos, blog posts, etc.) Work as a partner, not a judge. Share success stories. Think of yourself as a corporate librarian, serving the CEO of the school. Read what your principal reads. Focus on the big picture, not just the library. Create a shared vision, create action steps for yourself. Start “leaderless” groups. Make the library the center of innovation.

Diane:

The 2.5 librarian…

is an apostle of small change who opens the door to new technologies in a way that is non-threatening.

uses skills as a facilitator and co-learner to help people become comfortable with technology.

talks to teachers to find out their needs and introduces new tools at the point of need.

uses language that the learners can identify with – online journal, instead of blog for example.

only introduces a new tool when it makes the work more convenient.

should be willing to “go on the road” to work with teachers.

celebrates others’ success.

Anita:

The 2.5 librarian…

remembers that reading is important and uses technology to promote it.

helps students continue their reading journey outside of the actual book by providing web sites, blogs, myspace groups, discussion boards, etc. that have to do with a book. Put some of these sites on a sticker in the back of the book.

has links to web sites, discussion groups, etc. related to books and reading on the school library web page.

has a del.icio.us account with links to more web sites about books and authors tagged with various subjects.

provides electronic reading devices, points students to collaborative writing opportunities.

More ideas

Judy:

The 2.5 librarian…

works effectively with all kinds of information sources and literacy.

uses inanimatealice

helps students think differently about information and how to use it.

understands that people are talking to each other on the web all over the world

embraces multi-modal learning.

recognizes that technology is no longer a tool, but a part of our lives.

helps students deal with information overload

Wow – great presentation! Great ideas to think about more.

Wikinomics: how collaboration will fundamentally change learning

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This session was based on the bestseller, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Tapscott and Williams, and emphasized how allowing students to collaborate on projects locally and globally increases their learning. The presenters shared that the last chapter of the book is actually on a wiki.

The powerpoint and other information for the session can be found on the wiki created for the presentation.

One of the presenters is the founder of globalschoolnet.org, a non-profit organization that supports teachers using technology for collaborative projects. Some of the ways that she suggested that collaborative technologies could impact learning are:

flexbooks – wiki versions of textbooks that could be easily update
co-created content where students work in teams to solve a problem or create something
global competition
blended learning spaces where some time is spent in face to face learning and some time is spent with online learning

Several collaborative tools were discussed also.

It is easy to see the value of having students collaborate and write for an authentic audience of their peers.

Our students, our world – David Warlick

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Greetings from NECC 2008! DS & I arrived in San Antonio last night for ISTE’s (International Society of Technology Education) National Educational Computer Conference 2008. This is the largest ed tech conference in the country with over 18,000 attendees. It is HUGE!
This morning we visited the exhibits, and are now in our first session. (We tried to go to the Coolcat Teacher’s session on wikis earlier today, but couldn’t get in. Maybe she has something online that we can take a look at later.)

The presenter is David Warlick and he is talking about three converging conditions that we need to pay attention to in order to work successfully with today’s students, who are 21st century citizens learning in 19th century classrooms. Some of the content is a repeat of the information that he shared at Region 10 back in May, but it is worth repeating.
These are the three conditions:
1. Unpredicatable future
-Authors like Daniel Pink and Richard Florida say that we are moving into an age of creativity, where workers will need to be able to solve problems in creative ways.
2. Networked students
-Students have invisible tentacles/personal learning networks that connect them to the people and information that they want.
-They think of information as a raw material that can be mixed with other content to make it better.
3. New information landscape
-Wikipedia is an example of this new information landscape where information content is created by the community. Sharing of and access to information is more important than protecting the authority of the source.
In the past, curriculum, content and teachers were at the top of the hill providing information to the learners below. Today’s students are already published content creators, and are ahead of their teachers. The classroom has become “flat.” We have to be willing to let them teach us and each other. It’s no longer necessary for teachers to be the all-knowing sage.

He closed by encouraging us not to be afraid to change the way we are doing things to meet our learners’ needs.

Click here for handouts from this session.