Crowdsourced School Social Media Policy Now Available I’ve been seeing a lot of people on social media looking for a social media policy and / or an acceptable use policy. So I offered to help spearhead an initiative where some of our amazing readers could help craft these policies from scratch. It started out very basic but, 400 edits later, has materialized into a thoughtful and well-organized document that’s a great template for any school. It may not be perfect for you, but use this as a jumping-off point to get your own policy started. Want to edit the living document? Social Media Responsible Use Guidelines 2012-2013 We encourage teachers, students, staff, and other school community members to use social networking/media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a way to connect with others, share educational resources, create and curate educational content, and enhance the classroom experience. We’ve created these social networking/media guidelines for you to follow when representing the school in the virtual world. Please do the following: Images
21st Century Literacies: Tools for Reading the World In Intelligence Reframed Howard Gardner contends that "literacies, skills, and disciplines ought to be pursued as tools that allow us to enhance our understanding of important questions, topics, and themes." Today's readers become literate by learning to read the words and symbols in today's world and its antecedents. They analyze, compare, evaluate and interpret multiple representations from a variety of disciplines and subjects, including texts, photographs, artwork, and data. They learn to choose and modify their own communication based on the rhetorical situation. Point of view is created by the reader, the audience and the medium. Basic Language Literacy Visual Literacy Spatial Literacy Three Information Literacy Questions to Ask About a Map: Handout Historical Literacy Cultural Literacy Information Literacy Political Literacy and News Media Literacy Scientific Literacy Mathematical Literacy
Safe search engines for kids? Reader Q+A at Cool Mom Tech What’s the best search engine for kids, in your experience? -via Twitter Keeping kids safe online should be a huge priority for parents. Safe Search For Young Kids There are some great search engines that you can bookmark as your kids’ own versions of Google. Kidzui (above) is a great resource for pre-K through early elementary school-aged kids. Another kid-friendly search engine is Kidrex. Safe Search For Older Kids When you get into the tween years and beyond, I’d really recommend using Internet filters to ensure that when your kids are using the same search engine you use, they are still protected from the creepy stuff out there. On top of that, we have covered smart internet safety options for kids here before, like Net Nanny which works on both tablets and PCs. We’ve also looked at safe browsers for tablets, and recommend Mobicip. But as far as safety goes, really the most important thing you can do is monitor your kids’ usage–at least for as long as you can. 9Share
how to easily delete your online accounts | accountkiller.com Spring Financial is a finance company based in Canada. The company was founded in 2014. Spring Financial is a subsidiary of Canada Drives, which is a leading auto financing company in Canada. Upon loan approval, the funds will go into a secure trust account. Canceling your loan is simple. Curriculum: Understanding YouTube & Digital Citizenship – Google in Education Overview We have devised an interactive curriculum aimed to support teachers of secondary students (approximately ages 13-17). The curriculum helps educate students on topics like: YouTube’s policies How to report content on YouTube How to protect their privacy online How to be responsible YouTube community members How to be responsible digital citizens We hope that students and educators gain useful skills and a holistic understanding about responsible digital citizenship, not only on YouTube, but in all online activity. Lessons in English Below is a list of lessons, and the recommended flow for delivery. Or you can download the Full Teacher's Guide or the Full Set of Slides in PDF. Lessons in Additional Languages Below is a list of lessons and resources in additional languages beyond English: Learn more To learn more visit the Classroom videos page of this website, where you can find links to information on:
Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What is inquiry-based learning? An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry-based learning, says our workshop author Joe Exline 1. "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." A Context for Inquiry Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. Importance of Inquiry Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. Educators must understand that schools need to go beyond data and information accumulation and move toward the generation of useful and applicable knowledge . . . a process supported by inquiry learning. The Application of Inquiry Outcomes of Inquiry
How to Make Forms, Surveys, and Quizzes in Google Docs and Spreadsheets or Google Apps Want to find out what your coworkers want for lunch? Need to get feedback for your training session? Want to find out which movie your friends want to see on Saturday? Do you need a database of your club member's phone numbers? Forms in Google Docs are easy to create. Forms feed their results directly into a spreadsheet in Google Docs.
12 Most Critical Reasons Students Need a Clean Online Presence Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (OK, maybe not so much), Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. So many social media sites, so little time! Actually, in this crazy-busy world that we live in, people are finding time to spend on these sites and as a result, are creating an online presence for themselves. What many students don’t realize is that every time they post online, they are creating an impression of themselves that NEVER goes away. Here are the 12 most critical reasons students need a clean online presence: 1. I’m very active on Twitter and have personally gotten tweets from college admissions officers stating that they read the tweets of perspective students to get a better feel for the type of person that student is. 2. If you search for “Financial Aid” on Pinterest you can easily find students with boards filled with beautiful pictures of clothing, accessories, shoes, and other special things that they will supposedly buy with their college financial aid money. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
10 Things Your Students Should Know About Their Digital Footprints Building a digital legacy is an issue I believe doesn’t garner enough attention in our personal and professional lives. In fact, some of the heaviest users of online tools and social media, are our young students, who are growing up as a generation of visual learners and visual attention seekers. This is in fact the Facebook and YouTube generation, and the reality is that many teens are unconcerned about the dangers of sharing personal information online. A highly respected education advocate, Kevin Honeycutt, once asked me if any of us from our generation (GenX and before), had ever made a mistake in puberty. The reality is that our mistakes from puberty are not “Googleable”. With that in mind, I have developed some important facts and opinions that our students should be completely aware of as they live in their digital world, creating digital footprints along the way. If you’re look for ideas to help make yourself or your staff better through... 1.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 10.)