Are Your Students in the Here & Now Only?

At the Annual Conference for the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, several of the sessions focused on students and their use of technologies.  Discussion during the sessions addressed problems students face and/or students cause when using the Internet, computers, and digital devices. The consensus was that students are so focused upon “the here and now” that they don’t take time to consider how their actions online may cause problems in the future. For example, why do many post inappropriate photos online, when they’ve certainly been told that these photos can damage their reputation, attract those they don’t want to attract, and stand in the way of their college admissions or job opportunities? Why do some students continue to bully others when they have to know that this behavior is unacceptable? Is it about looking good in front of peers? Is it about social acceptance and wanting to make oneself look better than others? Is it about students asserting their independence from the adults in their lives—students trying to grow up and be noticed and accepted? As educational professionals we know that kids’ problems, which sound silly to us often seem like “life and death” dilemmas to them. How do we find ways to give kids what they need so that they will feel safe enough with their “here and now” to do what’s right for their future?

Are Biometic Tools in Your School’s Future?

You’ve seen businesses where employees submit hand scans before they can enter a building. But what about “hand geometry” and other biotech scanners for schools?  Will they work? Are they practical? Some schools, like Academy of Appleton in Wisconsin, are already using them. The scanners can be used for security at entrances, for library check out, for cafeteria purchases, to track student attendance, and much more. There are fingerprint scanners, facial recognition systems, voice print technologies, and even ID solutions that can recognize people by their voices or the way they move. An article in T.H.E. Journal (October 2009) says that technologies like hand scanners can be a problem when used with growing kids. Fingerprint scanners work better, except when fingers are simply too tiny. All this is mostly in the testing stages for schools, but the promise is there. Personal identification would certainly be easier than having kids carry around ID or security cards. Can you imagine how many of them would be lost or borrowed? But as, the T.H.E article explains, the kids will always have their traits and biological parts with them.

Happy Birthday Internet! Mid-Life Crisis at 40

USA Today in the article, “ As Internet Turns 40, Barriers Threaten Its Growth ” says that the Net is going through a mid-life crisis. Problems such as spam, hackers, and fees cause us to pull back from use and innovation. We set up firewalls and other barriers, and we limit, because of safety concerns what our students can do on the Net. It’s not that we should do away with the barriers; we need them. But perhaps we can find a way to handle the Internet’s continuing and emerging problems. Dealing with such difficulties as spam, scams, and hacking waste our time and money. Problems such as Internet predators and cyberbullies threaten to make open interactive communities impossible. The Internet will move beyond its mid-life crisis into a greater maturity, but will the spirit of innovation and openness be the same? Maybe it can’t be and must find a different path. (Note: The USA Today article also contains a nice overview of Internet milestones.)

i-Safe No Longer Free to Schools

i-Safe's e-Safety curriculum and materials for K-12 students are now available only through three subscription levels: Gold, Silver, and E-Rate. Pricing ranges from $250 for the E-Rate level for one school to $2600 for the Gold level for a school district with five or more schools. As of August 2009, schools that have not purchased i-Safe's curriculum materials may no longer make use of them. The new business model, however, will not require teachers to complete the professional development before using the program, and resources such as a strategic planning tool and materials for parents will continue to be available free.

Beyond Internet Safety

Common Sense Media asks us to "move from fear to education" when it comes to child safety online. The site includes a short video on protecting personal privacy, which is about helping children "self reflect before they self-reveal" and keeping children's reputations safe. Tech Talk: Beyond Internet Safety, along with advice and answers about basic safety, is a great resource to pass along to parents of your students. It's a quick read and includes links that will help parents discuss topics such as sexting, cyberbullying, video chatting, and right and wrong with their children.

OnGuard Online: A Gov't Safety Site

OnGuard Online: Your Safety Net offers practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you guard against Internet fraud, protect your personal information, and secure your computer. It includes games, videos and expert advice on computer and tech security. Topics such as email scams, cross-border scams, kids' privacy, identity theft, Internet auctions, laptop security, online shopping, P2P security, social networking sites, wireless security .... Some of the games are: Cyber Criminal, Beware of Spyware, Wireless Hackers, ID Theft Faceoff, and Phishing Scams. The videos are fun and could lead to more in-depth class discussion. While the games won't be the most exciting your students have ever played, they are interactive and offer valuable information. This is an excellent site to recommend to parents.

Twittering Thoughts on Followers & Following

I signed up for Twitter to see what it could do for my work with technology and education and am still working out how it might be best used. One thing I've learned; it's a great way to get out information to my followers. But that brings up a problem. Although I don't have a profile except my name and a photo of my cat, I get notices about people who are following me. Some of these people I know and that's great (although they have nothing to follow because I haven't actually "said" anything yet on Twitter), but the other "followers" don't appear too, well, wholesome. If I don't do anything they are listed as my followers. I have to go online to block them to get rid of their photos, which as you can imagine, doesn't look too wonderful on a school administrator's list. I've connected to other educators' Twitter profiles and seen similar photos of scantily clad followers. So—a word of warning, don't forget to block and be very careful about who you follow. Their profile photos will show up on your page for all your students, parents, family members, and everyone in the universe to see.

Helping Parents with Home Wireless & Child Safety

Power to Learn's Wireless World , an easy-to-understand slideshow for parents, is a perfect way to help parents of children in your classroom learn about wireless in their home. The slideshow contains information on child safety and social networking, tools for blocking and protecting, and controlling access to wireless devices and to wireless networks. There are suggested rules for parents to set up that will help ensure their children's safety. Throughout the slideshow parents will find links to helpful resources.

Is a VideoPhone in Your Future? Will They Come into Classrooms?

We've heard talk about videophone technology for some time, but it is available now through a company called ACN. The phone is the Iris 3000™ and it has a seven inch monitor. With Iris, you see the person or people you are talking with as in videoconferencing. Donald Trump suggests it's "the next big thing and will revolutionize the way we communicate." Besides its videoconferencing-like abilities, with it you can leave video mail, use your phone as a video picture frame, project onto a large screen, all for less than $100 for a two-year contract and about $30 a month. Like all new technologies, you can probably think of positives and negatives relating to the use of these phones. How will our children, our students use them? Will they be of use to us in education? FYI, you can turn off the video in case you are not quite ready for the caller to see you.

What Do the Google Kids Know?

Today's kids have been called the "Google Generation". But how much do most kids know and what exactly do they know? A new study (Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future) says that our kids are lacking in information skills-that they aren't really all that Web literate. Their findings, which should come as no surprise to teachers who work with kids and tech, that kids have "zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs." They are so impatient that they haven't developed strong skills of search and navigation of online resources. The problem is that most of them think they have these skills. Suggestions were made in the report for librarians and teachers to step up efforts to help students with information literacy.