Don't Talk to Strangers!!!!

Don’t talk to strangers!!! How many times did we hear this growing up? I can recall countless lessons in school and assemblies addressing the danger in talking with strangers. My parents also constantly reminded me of this rule. It became so ingrained in me, that even as an adult I am often leery about talking to random strangers. As a result I had anticipated that I would also be teaching this to my future students and my own children. But now there is a twist, how do we tell students not to talk to strangers but then implement Web 2.0 tools which encourages interaction with strangers? It is a pretty interesting contradiction that should be explored and needs to be addressed in schools.

Students now need to be taught how to deal with strangers in two very different arenas of their life. First, is the stranger they meet in person. The appropriate precautions and steps to dealing with this situation still need to be addressed in school. However, there needs to be a distinction made between strangers who approach them in person and strangers that they encounter on the Internet. Students need to know that it is ok to talk with with strangers on the Internet and that their are benefits, such as learning new perspectives and being able to communicate with people from around the world. But they do need to be taught how to protect themselves when talking to people on the Internet, because not all people have good intentions.

I also think for this reason, a lot of teachers avoid using Web 2.0 tools, because there is a potential danger to their students. I think that because of the existence of this danger that these tools should be used in schools. This would allow for teachers to teach students how to use these tools effectively and in a manner which ensures their safety. Regardless if students are using them in school, we can all be sure that students are using Web 2.0 applications outside of school. Isn’t it our job as educators to ensure that they are learning the right way to use it and the proper safeguards to apply in order to protect themselves?

Below are some rules that I intend to implement when using Web 2.0 tools, which addresses protecting their personal identity and how to be a good digital citizen:

• Do not list any personal information when posting information on the web. Do not post or give out your last name, password, user name, phone number, email address, home address, school name, city or any other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person.
• Only share your user name and password with your teacher and parents, do not give it to your friends or a stranger.
• Never log in as another student.
• When posting on the web, treat that space as an extension of the classroom. Language that is not permitted in the classroom is also not permitted on your posts.
• Please be respectful when responding to others.
• If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher or parents immediately.

I’m curious to know what kind of rules/guidelines you have in place for your students?

I found this piece from ABC news about how people can track your location when you post pictures taken from you cell phone.  This is important to know, because as a teacher I would advise my students to not post pictures on the web from their cell phones and would probably add this to my list of rules.

                             source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQjJxJx8bms&feature=related

Oh my how things have changed!

         Prior to going to back to school to get my masters and certification in elementary education, I worked in corporate America.  In comparison to my more senior counterparts, I felt so confident in my knowledge and ability to use technology.  I created if/then statements in excel, used vlookups on a daily basis, I was able to create PowerPoint presentations with all the bells and whistles and was often the go to person for this.  I was so familiar with the different ways to use our company's programs, that I helped to create and teach a training program.  In my personal life, I used email regularly, facebook, and had a smartphone, so I felt pretty well connected.  Then I went back to school, and realized that while my nose was buried in excel spreadsheets the world of technology was totally passing me by!
        I first realized this just by observing how the undergraduates in some of my classes used technology and how their knowledge of different applications way surpassed mine.  They would often mention various things that could be used in classrooms or even technology that they used when they were in school.  Their experience with technology in school was completely different from mine.  When we were first introduced to computers there was no mouse, we had a green screen with a turtle that was manipulated using the cursor keys.  I thought I was so fabulous because I was first kid on my block to get a computer, the Commodore 64.  The thing was so user un-friendly that we could not figure out what were supposed to do with it.  In middle school we learned how to type by using actual typewriters.  (Probably the most irritating thing is to type a report on a typewriter, it never fails that when you get to the bottom of the page, you realize there is a mistake and have to start the page over... ugh!!!!)  By the time I hit high school, AOL and dial up is what it was all about, but still not everyone had access at home.  There is about a 10 year difference between myself and the undergrads, not really that a huge of a difference, but when you look at how differently they use technology and how it is has changed their learning experience and their everyday life, at times I feel like it is a 30 years difference. 
            Then I started talking with other graduate students who were already teachers, and they would discuss the various ways in which they would include technology in their classrooms.  This is when I got nervous, because prior to starting this program, I had rarely thought to use technology in such a manner.  First is because in my schooling experience we never had such tools and second is that half of this stuff I did not even know about.  But it makes total sense to incorporate it (whenever it is meaningful), because today the students' lives are so engrossed with technology that it would be a miss to not be using it in school.  It is is an effective way to engage students but to also prepare them for their futures in which technology will continue to play a major role.  In using Web 2.0, there are so many ways to enhance student learning and allow them to collaborate, communicate, enhance their critical thinking and problem solving skills, in ways that extend beyond the walls of the classroom (Schrum & Levin, 2009).
           I found this video interesting. It is from the perspective of students in which they discuss the disconnect between what they are learning and how they are learning it versus what they need to learn and how they want to learn.  It is pretty powerful, in that addresses how the traditional approach to education and what is being taught is ineffective in this digital world.  Although this video addresses universities, I believe that it applies to all educational institutions.

           I am excited to embark on this journey and learn different ways to incorporate technology into education.  I want to be able to change the paradigm of traditional education and make my students' experience relevant to what is happening in society.  I look forward to sharing my experience and ideas with you and to receive your thoughts, opinions and advice.