Cyber Bullying



Source: https://carmoongroup.com/cyberbullying-insurance-now-available-in-the-u-s/

Several things caught my eye this week as I was reading the journals and browsing the cyber bullying resources. First of all, bullying is not just done by the typical bully often portrayed on the movies. We’ve all seen portrayals like this...a huge kid with a deep voice who is so strong he can lift up his/her victim with one hand. In reality, cyber bullies are often known as “good” kids and they often do not “look” like they are bully by old standards. Some cyber bullies may act completely innocent in real life but are mean as snakes behind a screen. In fact, cyber bullying can be “...carried out by individuals, who may not normally attract the attention of counselors and /or school administrators.” (Faucher et al., 2015, p.111).

I think reading about cyber bullying in different stages of life stood out to me as well. The term cyber bullying or bullying automatically makes me think of teenagers on their phones. I guess I never thought of it being a problem in higher education. I believe this is because when I was in college, Facebook first came out and MySpace was huge as well. But people didn't have as much access to it, as internet on cell phones was not the norm. Certainly it was not common to have a camera on a cell phone either. The tragic suicide death of Tyler Clementi, a victim of cyber bullying at Rutgers University was shocking and proved that it is definitely a problem in higher education (Faucher et al., 2015, P.111). I think that it was good to read about cyber bullying in the workplace as well. It is try that it can happen in all stages of life, from early childhood throughout life.

I believe that it is vital to teach these lessons in schools. Since my dream job is to be an elementary librarian I am thinking about how I can incorporate cyber bullying lessons into library lessons by taking advantage of the cyber bullying resources toolkit on the Common Sense Education site. They have so any free lesson plans, videos, and printables for this topic. I think it is also important to inform the parents and give them a presentation on things to look for to keep tabs on their child to make sure they notice signs if their child is being bullied, or if they are the ones bullying. Definitions are important to both students and parents such as the definition highlighted in the Faucher et al. article (2015, p 112). 

Bullying: repeated aggressive behaviors that are intended to cause harm to a victim with relatively less power to defend themselves

The following YouTube Video explains cyber bullying:

Source: https://www.callnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/Bullying-Infographic.png

It was surprising to learn about workplace cyber bullying. When I think of the term cyber bullying, the first thing that comes to my mind is teenagers, not adults in the workplace. However, it absolutely happens in the workplace through email, social media, and other forms of digital communication. Just like raising awareness in school about it is importance, awareness in the workplace is important too! Many workplaces require safety training, sometimes face to face but most of the time through online modules. This is true at my job too! It would be beneficial to add this to the training. There are so many other videos and modules that we have to complete, but absolutely none on cyber bullying, what it is, how to identify it, how to report it, etc. This needs to change!

References:

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal Of Education And Training Studies, 3(6), 111-125

Flipping the Classroom with Flipgrid

I am so excited to share about Flipgrid (www.flipgrid.com). This a free web 2.0 tool that is transforming classrooms.  It is a video discussion platform. To break down the name, a grid is the classroom/community, and each grid has topics, and the topics have responses. The responses are in the form of videos that the students make of themselves. Below you'll find a great video that gives an overview of it.

Flipgrid is so interesting because you can add topics based on whatever you're teaching about. For example, to try it out, I made a topic about habitats. I then received a code for students to get on the grid with iOS or Android apps, as well as a URL if the apps are not available.  It also has easy integration with Google Classroom, which is being used a lot in one-to-one device schools.

A great resource I found is on the blog called Fair Winds Teaching by Casey Keenan. She made a post called Flipgrid Fever which has great ideas for using integrating it into the classroom.  She even has Flipgrid resources on her store on Teachers Pay Teachers (one of my favorite teacher resource sites!).  See below for this great resource, Flipgrid video templates for students as well as rubrics.

She wanted an organized and structured guide for students to plan out their thoughts before actually recording their video. Keenan also wanted a way to assess them, so there are rubric options with the above link as well.

Here's a way to integrate Flipgrid into a classroom lesson!

Here's the scene: 3rd grade social studies class

South Carolina Social Studies Standard:

3-3.2 Compare the perspectives of South Carolinians during the American Revolution, including Patriots, Loyalists, women, enslaved and free Africans, and Native Americans.

After learning about these 6 groups of people, assign or have students choose a perspective. Tell students that they will make a Flipgrid video telling their perspectives during the American Revolution. They will pretend like they are living during this time period. On a planning sheet, answer the following questions:

What group are you representing?

How do you feel about the American Revolution?
How has it affected your daily life?

What do you hope will happen in the future?

Students could even take their creativity further to make props to dress up/accessorize and make it more authentic. 

Then, students share videos on Flipgrid. Students could do follow up activities where they viewed other students' videos and compared and contrasted those perspectives.

What a wonderful way for students to collaborate with peers while enhancing their learning and showing their creativity! I can't wait to share this wonderful tool with my school!


References:
www.flipgrid.com


https://classroom.google.com/u/0/h


www.fairwindsteaching.com


www.teacherspayteachers.com


https://ed.sc.gov/scdoe/assets/file/agency/ccr/Standards-Learning/documents/FINALAPPROVEDSSStandardsAugust182011.pdf

Dictation App for Chrome

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/voice-recognition/ikjmfindklfaonkodbnidahohdfbdhkn

The Dictation App is a speech recognition app for Chrome, and it is a website as well. It is a great tool for both differently able and typically able students. Students (or even adults) can use a microphone and speak whatever they want to appear on the screen, and Dictation transcribes it onto the screen. It is very good at transcribing even fast-paced speaking (see the demo video below).  You can also speak commands such as “new paragraph,” “new sentence,” and “stop listening.” It can easily be exported to a Google Doc, Drop Box, the computer, or email.

       Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDX-RVCmfWU

Dr. Copeland’s article, School Librarians of the 21st Century: Using Resources and Assistive Technologies to Support Students’ Differences and Abilities included a list of Helpful Hints For Selecting and Evaluating Assistive Technologies, and the Dictation App follows most of these guidelines (Copeland 2011):

• For typically-able students, Dictation will not serve as a distraction to a typical student because the app does not have to be up on the screen unless the child is using it.
• Licensing is not a problem with most school districts because the school district has Google accounts for every student, and it is a free app. It would be pretty easy for each school’s Google Administrator to push out this app to the students at the school.
• Some assistance may be required for a differently-able student to use it. Possibilities might include holding the microphone, clicking the Start Dictation Button, clicking Allow to access the microphone, clocking to export to Google Drive, DropBox, etc. 
• Dictation would potentially help students in all subjects, allowing differently able students to participate in lessons and group work.
• Many differently able students have technologies specified in their IEPs, and it is expected that all teachers and adults follow this throughout the child’s school day. That includes classroom teachers, special education teachers, related arts teachers, aides, etc. Since Dictation is web-based, students can easily take their Chromebook or other device with them to other classes. No bulky equipment necessary--just a small microphone!

Even for a student without an identified disability, some students are slow writers,
but have the ideas in their head. If they could speak into a microphone, they may be able to
keep up with the class better.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/voice-recognition/ikjmfindklfaonkodbnidahohdfbdhkn

This is a great tool for my school district because of the use of Chromebooks and because all students have their own Google account with Drive, etc. It can be used in all types of classrooms (regular ed, special ed, related arts, etc.) because it is for physical and academic disabilities, as well as typically able students. Teachers could tell students to use it for writing things like essays and reports. It would be great for brainstorming, drafting, and publishing. They could do presentations, type emails, create blogs, etc. It so easy to export it to Drive, DropBox, the computer, or email.  The possibilities are endless!

Link to Dictation App
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/voicerecognition/ikjmfindklfaonkodbnidahohdfbdhkn

Link to Dictation website: 
https://dictation.io/

Sources

Copeland, C. A. (2011). School librarians of the 21st century. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 64-69.

Chromebooks and the SAMR Model

A Chromebook is a lightweight laptop that is manufactured by several companies, such as Dell, HP, Acer, etc. Although it has many similarities to a regular laptop, there are some noted differences. It weighs quite a bit less than laptops, and does not have drives such as a DVD drive.  It’s operating system is Chrome, not Windows like most PC laptops. It is ideal for the classroom when doing word processing, using educational apps, supporting teacher-to-student as well as peer interactions, working on digital projects, etc. Software is not "installed" as on a typical laptop. Instead, everything is web-based. For example, instead of installing Microsoft Office, you would work on a web-based word processing program such as Google Docs. Many school districts give each student and staff member a Google account so that all of their files are cloud-based and can easily be shared.




Compact yet lightweight, Chromebooks are perfect for use in the classroom, especially for 3rd grade and up.

 



Example of the desktop of the Chrome OS

The SAMR Model

The SAMR Model was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura to serve as a model to help educators incorporate technology into lessons. It has 4 “levels” of technology use in the classroom: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.

This picture helped me to understand the different levels of SAMR.

It is important to note that all levels of SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) are not likely to to be taught in the same lesson.  For explanation purposes, I am using a 3rd Grade science standard that is taught in South Carolina, as well as many other states....

desert habitats.

This my example of how deserts can be taught with Chromebooks using the SAMR model:

S-Substitution : 

The Chromebook acts as a replacement of what a student would normally use, such as pencil and paper. It’s a simple change.

Example: Typing on a Google Doc instead of writing on paper.

     Teacher might say:”Students, open a Google Doc. Type all of the characteristics of desert        habitats that you already know. I’m going to give you 5 minutes to type all that you know about deserts. Ready? Go!”

A- Augmentation:

There’s still a substitution (in this case pencil and paper), but there's an improvement because technology is used.

Example: Students read a website on desert habitats and type what they learned from it

Teacher might say: “Students, I shared a link to a website on Google Classroom with you about desert habitats. Go to the website, read it, and type 3 new things you learned about deserts on a Google Doc.


M-Modification:
This is where portions of the assignment are redesigned with technology.

Example: Sharing a Google Doc with a partner and getting feedback from them.

Teacher might say: “Students, take the 3 things that you learned about deserts from the website. Share that Google Doc with your partner. Partners will comment on each other's Google Doc and give you feedback. Consider this: Did your partner leave out important facts from that website? If so, respectfully remind them of these important facts by commenting on it. Can you brag on them about things that they DID include? Remember...this is a silent activity. We will communicate and collaborate by just typing. After a few minutes, we can talk at the end of the lesson when we wrap up!”

R-Redefinition:
 This is where the students use technology to create NEW things. Learning opportunities are achieved by full use of technology and would not be possible without it.

Example: Making a Google Slides Presentation and sharing it with a partner school to get feedback and personal insights.

Teacher might say: “If you’re a Partner #1, open up a new Google Slides presentation. Share it with Partner #2. Create a Google Slideshow on all that you have learned about deserts, including plants and animals that live there, their physical and behavioral adaptations that help them survive there, and the climate. This project will last a few days, but when you are finished with this, we will share our presentations with our 3rd grade partner class in Arizona. They will add to our presentations and give us their personal opinions about what it’s like to live near the desert. They are studying woodland forests and will share their forest slideshows with us. We will return the favor by adding to their forest presentations and giving our opinions about what it’s like to be in the forest. Some of you have gone camping or hiking in the forests/woods and definitely have some awesome comments and photos to share with them!”




Check out these blogs!

Here are some great blogs for classroom teachers and instructional technology teachers to use with students.

The Techie Teacher https://www.thetechieteacher.net/  Awesome ideas for the elementary classroom. She’s certainly “Techie” and has the experience to prove it!

Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything http://www.schrockguide.net/  A wealth of Chromebook ideas and tips for a variety of ages!

Photos:
https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/chromebooks

https://www.pcauthority.com.au/feature/15-expert-features-of-chrome-os--400036

https://www.thetechtrainer.squarespace.com

Sources:

 https://www.google.com/chromebook/

A Share-Worthy Blog and Tips for the School Technology Leader

         Blogs are a great way to share advice and information with peers who have similar interests. The same goes for librarian blogs! A great one that is worthy of sharing is Never Ending Search by Joyce Valenza.  This is a School Library Journal blog. As you might guess from the title, Valenza focuses on a variety of topics related to information literacy. The tabs at the top are labeled teacher librarian, instruction, information literacy, Google, search tools, and research. The specific post that would be beneficial to a library program is called “News literacy tools: Advice, four sites, and an app (Swiipe).  The blog as a whole would be great for k-12 teachers, but this article specifically would benefit the middle and high level. In this blog, Valenza shares interesting facts about gaps in how people obtain news. The key to remedy this is to start kids and teens off right and to teach them how to obtain varied and factual news. One sentence that Valenza said is powerful. She writes, “I don’t think it’s hard for us to work with K-12 students to develop habits that allow them to more easily discover news and to develop habits that may be just a little smarter than those of the average bear. The easiest way to address the issues is to ensure that the news they find on their mobile devices or desktops is rich and varied.” (Valenza 2018).  The main topics of this post are

• What teachers can do to curate news: She discusses how her students set up alerts for Google and databases that they were interested in, and how to use Feedly and Feedster. She also gave several reliable sites to obtain news.
• Helping students curate news: She highlighted curation sites such as Pearltrees that can help students organize news stories so that they are not overwhelming.
• A helpful app to assist with news curation: The featured app is called Swiipe: News That Knows You and it's a great way for students to access news that interests them on their smart phone or tablet. It was even created by a teen, so rest assured that it would appeal to this age-group.
  

         This blog should be shared with teachers, especially middle and high school.  Obtaining reliable news is the first step in information literacy. “Technology is transforming not only access to information, but also the skills needed to interact with it and use it as well” (Johnson, 2012, p.12). Students have so much access to information, but once they use these sites and the featured app, they can further analyze the news and answer questions like:

• Is this a reliable source?
• Is this fake or sensationalized news?
• What should I do with this information?
• What next steps should I take after viewing this information?

The ISTE (International Society for Technology Education) Standards for the Knowledge Constructor indicate that: “Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others” (ISTE, 2016, p.1). Check out the details of all four indicators of this standard on this ISTE standards document. Of course, elementary-aged children need information literacy as well, but the sites and app featured on this blog post are not age-appropriate for young children.  If anyone reading this knows of good news apps or websites (preferably free!) for kindergarten-5th grade, please comment below. I would love to share those with my school.

          Of course, the school technology leader would need to do some initial steps before simply emailing out a link of this blog. M.P. Johnston writes, "Students cannot be expected to benefit from technology if their teachers are neither familiar nor comfortable with it. Although teachers are excited about the potential instructional benefits of digital resources and technology, many are overwhelmed, and need assistance and leadership in incorporating the most appropriate technology
efficiently and meaningfully for both teaching and learning (Johnston, 2012, p.4). 

            The tech leader, whether it is the media specialist, teacher librarian, or instructional technology specialist, would need to familiarize the staff with a short professional development to introduce the blog. I will say, the word professional development sometimes makes people sigh and may result in behaviors such as eye-rolling, sighing, and other negative reactions. Perhaps a better term would be introducing these websites and apps as a Tech Tip. This doesn't sound as scary, right? Technology leaders need to focus on buy-in from the teachers first before they try it. Most teachers are not negative by nature, but they are tired and overwhelmed, especially after school. They are visualizing (or writing down) multiple to-do lists at this time of day, so it’s important to make this short presentation pack a punch.  Here’s a few tips from yours truly, a former 2nd and 3rd grade teacher of 11 years, who has attended many, many, MANY(hundreds?) of professional developments.

Presentation Tips For the School Technology Leader

• Get to the point, and avoid saying things like “Research has shown…” or “According to this article…” Teacher care more about how it will work with their group of students than hearing a scholarly journal cited.
• Keep an upbeat and positive, yet realistic attitude. They are too tired to hear the tech leader being overly bubbly. Teachers are bubbly, but not after 3:00 p.m.  They are fresh out of bubbles by then.
• Talk about practical applications in the classroom. Teachers want to know what this would “look like” in a classroom. For example, how would it be managed? What activities would it involve? How long would it take? How could students access this at home?
• If it’s something new, have a tech-savvy classroom teacher try it ahead of time in their own classroom before presenting this to the teachers. Ask them to share a couple of practical applications to the staff during the Tech Tip. Teachers want to hear from fellow teachers as to how it worked for this teacher “in real life.”
• Send them links or presentation slides via email or share them on Google Drive if your school has one. This is much more effective than teachers taking their own notes, which will probably end up under a pile, or maybe in the trash can after a paper purge.
• Email them or share immediately after you present while it's fresh on everyone's minds. Your promptness will show that you think this topic is important. If you wait to email or share them, you may forget, and teachers will assume that these Tech Tips are not all that important. They will forget, too. The newness will fade away on a cloud...
• Keep the presentation to 10 minutes or less. Teachers' attention spans after a long day get pretty thinned out after this. Those to-do lists will pop up in their brains after 10 minutes like random text messages.

If you have any other tips for tech leaders, please share them below! Comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!

References:

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). ISTE Standards for Students. <http://www.iste.org> (accessed September 11, 2018).

Johnson, M. P. (2012). School librarians as technology integration leaders: Enablers and barriers to leadership enactment. School Library Research, 15.

Never Ending Search. (2018, January 26). News literacy tools: Advice, four sites, and a new app (Swiipe) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2018/01/26/news-literacy-tools-advice-three-sites-and-a-new-app-swiipe/

Crossroads of Information Literacy, Technology, and Media

Crossroads of Information Literacy, Technology, and Media

Info literacy, technology, and media intersect frequently.

The topic this week is Information literacy, technology, and media and how they are related . All of these rely on each other and come to crossroads frequently. For example, when teaching about information literacy, you have to involve technology because that’s where most information comes from. You also have to teach about how to discern fake news and real news in the media. All of those are intertwined and rely on each other.  These are also iterative, so we need to practice these iterative processes starting in elementary school, and continue in middle and high school. This will prepare them for what is expected in college and beyond. The ALA document shows that the goal of higher education is to transition from novice learner to expert in a field and continue developing that expertise in the working world.  That’s what K-12 teachers need to keep in mind: that becoming an expert in a field is the goal for each child, no matter what that field may be.

So, one might ask, “What day-to-day things can K-12 teachers do to teach kids about information literacy, technology, and media?” and “How can we prepare them to become an expert in their field?”

Teachers and librarians can…

1. Incorporate ISTE standards into lessons.
2. Display this diagram in their classrooms for a constant reminder for students.
3. Discuss real news going on in the world. Is it fake? Is it not? How do you know?
4. Use technology frequently. Most schools already do this, especially with the PLD movement (AKA Personalized Learning Devices, or one-to-one devices), however some teachers still do not use them frequently enough. Technology is the future, so we need students to use it now.
5. Incorporate research frequently into class projects and assignments.

I like how the podcast said that media is similar to food nowadays not being good for our health. When you see a food that is unhealthy, you have a choice. You can eat it or not.  The same goes with our information diet. If we see news that appears to be enticing, we do not have to consume it. We need to take ownership and say “This is not good for me” and try to consume healthy info calories.  Just like food, just because news is in front of you (like a juicy cheeseburger...my personal favorite), you do not have to consume it. Man, it tastes good at the time, right? But in the long run, it’s unhealthy.

Unhealthy food calories are similar to unhealthy information calories.

I’m sorry to admit that my own informational diet is not diverse at this point.  It’s not even healthy. I do not take the responsibility to see out news from reputable sources. My news used to come from following the local news channel on my Facebook account, but now I do not even have this.  However, I do have a reason for this. On my news feed, I only saw bad news. Not just bad news such as taxes are increasing. I’m talking about terrible news involving child and animal abuse. I chose to not even read those articles, but even just the headlines would resonate in my head over and over. I’m a mother of four and a dog owner and animal lover.  These things would bother me so much and would upset me. I became so fed up with this that I just blocked all news on my Facebook.. I know I need to charge this and I am glad that this week we addressed this . As a media specialist, my job will be teaching these three things highlighted this week: information literacy, technology, and media. How could I do this without being information literate myself ? So how can I change my information diet without being consumed by terrible news? I made a short list of goals that I’d like to accomplish.

My personal goals for a better information diet:

1.Don’t rely on news on Facebook . It tends to get sensationalized and they mainly show bad things that will get a lot of shares.

2. Get news from the actual news on TV or their website. This way, I will see a full range of news: local, state, national, international, good, bad, etc. The news that posts on my Facebook news feed does not allow me to see this variety. Therefore, everything seems bad.

3. Talk about the news with my husband and friends.  It’s good practice to know where I stand on certain issues.

References:

Association of Colleges and Research Libraries. (2015, February 2). Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Retrieved from

http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/infolit/Framework_ILHE.pdf

Gungor, M. (host). (2017, March 7). The Liturgists[Audio podcast]. Retrieved

from http://www.theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy

Partnership for 21st Century Learning. (2015, May). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from  http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_framework_0515.pdf

AASL and ISTE Standards: What They Are and Their Impact on Libraries

AASL and ISTE Standards: 

What They Are and Their Impact on Libraries

The American Association of School Librarians and The International Society for Technology in Education have created standards, and by comparing and contrasting them, we can better understand best library practices. Both sets of standards have distinct purposes and in some ways the two overlap, but the bottom line is that they are designed to help teachers and librarians assist students in thinking, creating, sharing, and growing as learners.  As Dotson and Dotson-Blake (2015, p.54) stated, "Attention to these standards can have a common purpose in moving learners towards the skills and behaviors needed in the digital age."

The AASL Standards and ISTE Standards are similar because they are focused on student learning and personal growth, and many of the terms are the same or similar.  For example,the AASL standards are based on 6 shared foundations, and one of these is collaborate. Similarly, the ISTE student standards are divided into 6 roles, one of which is Global Collaborator.  

Some of the standards are similar despite different names. For example, AASL’s term “Inquire” and ISTE’s “Empowered Learner” term mean similar things. Both sets of standards provide a framework that teachers, librarians, and administrators can use to improve student achievement and growth.  AASL and ISTE do vary in some ways. For example, ISTE has separate standards for students, educators, education leaders (administrators), coaches, and computer science educators, and do not have standards for the library environment. Librarians are recognized within the category of educators instead of separately. AASL has standards that recognize learners, school librarians, and school libraries.  While AASL standards are more focused on the student learning in general ways, ISTE standards are specific in that the student learns in virtual ways through the use of technology. The standards crosswalk is helpful to clearly see the standards' similarities and differences.

Librarians can learn best practices through understanding of these standards.  Librarians and their library environments must be held accountable. Although these standards are not a classic subject area such as math and language arts, these are still important skills that students must learn as twenty first century learners. Students can expand their knowledge and perspectives and librarians can support this by providing opportunities for collaboration, both virtually and face-to-face. They can also facilitate networks such as Book Clubs and give opportunities to express their creativity. An example would be setting up Makerspaces in the library.  Librarians also have the responsibility to model cooperation and guide students to participate in group discussions. All of these things must be balanced between face to face interactions as well as virtual ones, and at the same time ensuring that the library environment is conducive for these activities. Librarians have the responsibility to make it a welcoming place for students so that they will want to come there to learn, show creativity, and work with peers. This may mean setting up comfortable places to read individually, and setting up tables as well as open spaces for groups to meet to work on projects.  The library also needs to be set up to be conducive for using technology, such as having reliable wifi and numerous plugs so that students can plug in devices while working if necessary. Maker spaces could be available to foster creativity, as well as laptop and ipad stations ready for student use any time. Below are some photos that encompass ISTE and AASL standards that inspire me as a future librarian.

Tables set up for collaboration...complete with a TV.

Makerspaces are great for creativity and collaboration!

I can't wait to incorporate these things as a future elementary school librarian!

References:
Dotson, K. D., & Dotson-Blake, K. (2015). Factors of engagement: Professional standards and the library science internship. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 59(3), 54-63.