Following on from the previous 2 posts, here is the live blog for the 3rd keynote:

Session 3 – Robyn Treyvaud – 21st Century Environments – Digital Citizenship

Need to look at the whole package – not just issues such as cyber bullying.  Need to encourage these environments to become value driven. So many issues occur at home or outside school, but we are expected to deal with them – or may be dealing with results, such as fall in academic results.

Robyn’s delicious – links on digital citizenship.

Using digital tools such as social bookmarking to teach appropriate behaviour and current skills online.

Have the glass half full, not half empty.  We cannot stand in front of students and try and stop them using social networking sites.  Students will react more positively to a message from a teacher they have a connection with, not a guest speaker.  They will get more invested in a message about digital citizenship rather than cyber bullying and other negatives. 

The technology has evolved but the sociology has stayed the same.  To our students, the internet is a place, not a thing.  It’s not virtual, it’s their world. Previous generation online downloaded, current generation upload – web 2.0.  Publishing, creating, commenting etc.

Recommended Frontline program - ‘Growing Up Online’. Good for working with students and parents.

Seems like a good program, but I’d prefer to watch it in my own time and hear the speakers we have come to listen to.  It’s going on for quite awhile….  I wonder what the copyright situation is – Robyn mentioned she owns the full set of programs, but that doesn’t necessarily provide permission to show it to a paying audience at a conference.  Which in a session about good digital citizenship is an interesting point…

We cannot eliminate risks – we can’t make the Internet totally safe (and what do we mean by safe?). Due to this, we must focus on building students resilience to the material they will come into contact with, and providing them with the skills and confidence to navigate the online world safely.

UK report – Byron Report . Review of Children and New Technology.

Article – 10 things I wish parents knew about the Internet (will add all 10 points when the conference notes are published this week).

Pre-teens will lie about their age to join a social networking site.  We need to talk to them about why their is an age limit.  They may not even have the skills to change their own privacy settings etc on the site.

Multitasking makes concentrating hard, even for teens. (They can multitask, but may not be working very efficiently ie 4 times as long to finish the homework while multitasking).

Must train students in critical skills for selecting, judging etc resources. They cannot make sense of wealth of responses to their Google searches – open ended searching biggest time waster  in class.

Recent report suggests that 60% of students talking online are discussing eductaion and their schoolwork.

Student moral compass is not just black and white, right and wrong.  Sometimes they are unsure if their action is wrong, or it depends on the situation, or it’s OK if they don’t get caught. This is where the importance of discussing ethics and digital citizenship comes in. (aside: hard for teachers to model and teach  this, or take moral high ground , when many are behaving unethically online regarding copyright – downloading music etc).

Students need to be educated in the reality relating to common myths about the Internet. Long term affects can occur from online behaviour – students have been expelled, refused acceptance to college, or faced charges for various infringements online.

Great public service announcementon youtube about cyberbullying. Getting kids to design their own viral message would be a good activity.

 

 

Talking to kids about cyberbullying – they may say no if asked if they have been bullied, but when you list behaviours, they acknowledge they have happened. Getting them to brainstorm offensive online behaviour can be a good starting point for a discussion. Initially, they don’t necessarily see it as bullying.

 Showed video about the Ryan Halligan case.

Parents worry about predators, but most likely issues will come from peers and ‘friends’.

School Response

A process not an event. Must engage staff, students and parents. Embed it in curriculum. Ongoing.

- snapshot of landscape.  Survey of some kind

- Look at legal implications. Acceptable use policies etc.  Laws are lagging but there are some that can be used if evidence is available.

-communication for parents. Publications and newsletter, but have students take responsibility for delivery.

- curriculum

-policy audits and implement – evaluate.

-student voice – critical!!

-Professional Learning – what do staff need to know, what challenges are they facing, what can they do.

-parent forums and workshops. Look for ‘not negotiable’ (information night etc) events, and use them, or parents will not attend in critical mass. Think outside the square to get them there!!

Topic of Digital Citizenship – glass half full, not all risks and dangers, be internet savvy, be safe, be creative – inspire others to do the same.”How do we become responsible, ethical and resilient Digital Citizens?” Literate, safety conscious, analytical, reflective …

 Cybersafekids – extra resources on CD we received.

Change to Learn, Learn to Change