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Agenda:                                                              
Today in room A116: Using Google Forms. This class assumes you can, on your own sign up for a Google account. If you already have one, so much the better. We will cover:

1. Why use a form
2. Easy way to share
3. What to do with results

Google Docs - Tutorial on using Forms from Eric Moccio on Vimeo.



Resources:

Science and Math: Give students some very cool and timely enrichment at the Nobel Prize Education site. Place links to some great learning tools at your Blackboard account for students that finish an assessment early.


Math: Sometimes a video that simply repeats the explanation in class is all that is needed to complete the homework. In steps the Khan Academy with it’s 1800+ library of videos from basic Arithmetic to Calculus. I have found these videos to be no nonsense and well thought out. If you or your students create an account you’ll have access to self paced exercises as well.


ESOL: This article from the Boston Globe is titled “Watch and Learn.” This title isn’t the best to grab your attention but the concept of using subtitled music videos to teach language really is an attention grabber for middle school teachers. The research is based on a state wide initiative in India that showed promise early. 

Civics: The American Bar Association promotes Constitution Day on September 17th. Although the day has passed, the website lives on. The ABA Constitution site offers lesson plans and a virtual signing of the document. 

ALL:  Subjects: The New York Times seems like the source for current events only, but you’ll find lesson plans for all subjects at their Learning Network blog. It is impressive to see the expanse of cross curricular lessons to include academic skills, math, and science as well as literature, and of course social studies. 

English (and others) Wall Wisher caught my eye early this year due to it’s simplicity, yet the impact is amazing. Students can collaborate on a wall with various topics. The wall is a place to post writing, pictures, links and even video. I particularly like the idea of student book reviews. To give you more ideas, look at this SlideShare of the lessons other teachers are trying.

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I keep hearing from parents that the kids know so much more than they do about technology. Adults hand over the computer whenever they need something done because they feel inept in the fast paced world. So we've got kids setting up email accounts, uploading photos, and even paying bills because the adults are just too slow or too busy.

Maybe it's time to take some of these activities more slowly. Let me give you an example. I uploaded about 64 pictures into an online web album to show off to my family. Very typical kind of activity that parents allow kids to do. But even I noticed how easily it was to overlook some of the settings. I returned to the album a few days later to see that I had made the whole thing "public"; as in, the whole world could see pictures of my kids. To an adult, this is a scary thought that any creep might have downloaded photos of my children. However, to kids this is what the Internet is for.

Let me go even further to express my concern. I was teaching 4th graders how to shoot and transfer photos from digital cameras. I allowed them to take pictures of each other to ensure they could compose a shot, focus, and steady their hands. Although their lack of inherent knowledge about digital cameras did not stun me, their behavior did. Girls were posing within minutes as divas at a paparazzi shoot. Just the thought that these digital files were going to be put on a computer actually lowered their inhibitions rather than made them nervous. This is the lesson that I will address throughout the year. Digital means endless, forever, permanent, and in a freaky way, something that can be altered and used to your disadvantage.

Children today relish the opportunity to go online as another person, in another reality and let their hair down. But it is just this misconception about the web that is causing danger and trouble down the road for them. We teach children not to play with fire. Photos online should be the territory of adults and not kids too. It is fine to allow your child to take photos, even transfer them to the computer. But under no circumstances should kids be allowed to make decisions concerning online postings. There are too many options at each website, too many ways to make mistakes even for folks like myself that use these online tools everyday.

So you must make some adjustments to computer usage at home. If you child has an email account AND takes photos/videos, they are already in dangerous territory. If you load programs such as Picassa, Flickr or use any cell phone for photos, these are also available online with a single click and therefore not secure. Imagine sending a normal picture to a friend who within days is no longer a friend. It is like chain mail only worse. And don't forget, YouTube is vulnerability times ten.

I'm not advocating a locked down system, merely education and thoughtful execution by all parties. First as a parent you must educate yourself as to how digital photography is transferred from location to location and which software or accounts are used. Then discuss with your child the public and private aspects of your family's lives.

Oh, and giving the kids the credit card to pay bills online: I think not.

More about broadcasting online.

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