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We are in the midst or a revolution in information and we have an opportunity. Collectively, we are building the information repository of the future by posting, remixing, liking, and sharing online. Even this post is contributing to that future. This is a chance, if we do it right, to create a place where future generations can find thoughtful, accurate, and positive information. Simultaneously every selfie, snarky tweet, and dub-smash teens and twenty-somethings are posting is also contributing to the online world. While researchers, policy makers, parents, and educators discuss the future of safety and privacy online, these younger contributors should have a seat at the table. Other stakeholders can agree on best practices and even regulations – well maybe they can – but that will do no good if young contributors to the online world have no input and no interest in following them. There are three imperative interests: Safety : Protect users of connected technology from preda...

By Sarah Thomas A Big Change August 2015 marked the beginning of the most transitional year of my career. First, a position opened at the district level, coordinating technology with a team that had inspired me to become a teacher leader.   Almost simultaneously, I was offered a high school position that everything in my gut screamed “YES” about.  I accepted (after disclosing my pursuit of the other opportunity).  This was one of the scariest choices I had ever made. It was my first time in high school since 1999, when I actually was a student. It was my first time teaching Technology Education, which I soon found out was very different from Technology Integration. I had taught the latter for six of the previous seven years, and had thoroughly enjoyed gamifying a curriculum of our (the students and my) choice, which included any and everything that we could get our hands on. We coded with Sphero, learned basic photography and video editing, created podcas...

Communication via social media may be new, but it is not a passing fad. While it is crucial for our children to learn formal language used for business, they must also learn how to communicate using expanding digital platforms. Need proof that it isn't a fad? Look at Pew's results tracking teen social media use from 2006 to 2012: Source: Pew Research Center Concern #1: Privacy Our children need to learn how to protect their geolocation and contact information. Once that information is available, any savvy tech user can find out a great deal about their lives. It takes only some sly text messages, voicemails, and emails to gather the information needed to steal an identity. A more talented hacker can take only name, address and a few other bits and get everything they need. Concern #2: Photos These go along with privacy, but we also need to dig deeper. What are the photos teens are posting? Are they all positive? Are some potentially embarrassing? What about the phot...

By Ross Cooper According to EdTechTeacher , “ App Smashing is the process of using multiple apps to create projects or complete tasks.” According to Wikipedia , inquiry-based learning “starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios – rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge.” The Problem On many occasions, I have seen/read about App Smashing being leveraged in a way that is entirely anti-inquiry. In instances such as these, an overly contrived and smooth, risk free process is followed, all for the sake of a “cool” product. Here are directions I pulled from a real project: Using iMovie , shoot a scene of two actors portraying characters from a novel. Use the speed editor in iMovie to speed the video up slightly. Save the video to your Camera Roll. Open 8mm , pull the previous video from the Camera Roll, and use the “1920s filter” on the video and resave to the Camera Roll. Open Tellagami and use a...

I believe in two, seemingly opposite, basic concepts when it comes to technology use: Technology has transformed how we learn and communicate for the better. Technology is used as an escape that pulls people away from building strong in person social skills. From a personal perspective, I believe in the first point because social media has allowed me to stay connected to family and friends who no longer live near me. We watch one another's children grow and keep up using a mix of public posts and private messaging. When we are finally able meet up in person, it feels as if we were never apart. From a professional standpoint, I believe in the first point because once my students and I decided to go truly paperless, we experienced a shift in how much we learned and how we shared that learning with one another and with those outside our classroom. Students now have easier access to better and more varied resources. They are able to collaborate in person, from home, or even a...

Image Source: Pixabay This is what it feels like. The idea is there. It might develop because of a conversation. That conversation reminds you of a lesson you taught, a workshop you participated in, or an article you read. The idea is the fibrous web that connects all of those things together. At this point, though, the web is only in your head. You're not sure where each of the strands will be, but you know they will be there. At this stage you have a constant nagging need to nurture it until it is fully formed. So, as the day goes on you take quick notes. Maybe they're on a notepad or on your phone. Each note is a strand of the idea web. You methodically record each note, starting to design the structure of the web. Once you have a basic outline that connects all of the pieces, you start to write. Those notes are now subheadings, and the details on each of those big ideas become paragraphs under the subheadings. Once it is done, you sit back and look at the web. You...

By Dan Ryder Empathy isn’t a just touchy-feely, get-to-know-your-neighbors, appreciate-the-rich-tapestry-of-our-community, we-are-the-better-for-truly-understanding-the-perspective-of-another exercise in character building.  When employed in classroom, empathy proves a nimble and dynamic tool for critical thinking, authentic understanding and demonstrating proficiency.   I’ve long taught the value of diversity, tolerance and understanding of others’ points of view.  For some time I served as co-advisor for our campus Civil Rights Team, developed interactive theater experiences around social justice issues, and raised consciousness in my classroom through music and film.  But it wasn’t until I adopted design thinking -- empathy-fueled, human-centered problem solving --  as my preferred pedagogical lens that I became aware of how useful intentional empathy could be in the content areas. What follows is something of a prototypical day in my English c...