Media Literacy

Stripes OKINAWA

What is media literacy?  Is it important?  If so, why?  This is the definition of Media literacy, according to the Media Literacy Project.  "Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media".    

As teachers, we are very aware how accessible social media is to our students and at how well many are at creating it.  I do not think that teachers are very savvy at evaluating/analyzing media and I don't think that most of our students have a clue.  We are so bombarded by media everyday that I think we have all become numb to it.  Our students are great consumers of social media.  It's how they connect with their friends and are exposed to the world today.  

Howard Rheingold wrote an article in 2010 called, Attention, and Other 21st Century Literacies which I think is still applicable today.  He says that there are 5 different social media literacies.  They are: attention, participation, collaboration, network analysis, and critical consumption.  Here is a quick rundown of all five according to Rheingold......

Attention - is how individuals think, how create tools, teach each other to use     them, how groups socialize, and how people transform civilizations

Participation - it basically applies to the growing extent of individuals use of all    the forms of social media on the multiple forms of technology available

Collaboration - attention and participation allows people to work together in        ways that were too difficult before the use of social media and it gives us more power than doing things alone

Network Analysis - it is having an understanding and awareness of the use of      social media and how they function in regard to online networks

Critical Consumption - it is trying to figure out who and what is and isn't trustworthy online

I believe that in todays classrooms we have the attention and participation literacies covered.  Most teachers in the upper grades see their students attend to and participate in social media constantly .  In fact, I bet most teachers would agree that their students are distracted by their use of social media.  In education, we are just now venturing into using social media as a collaboration tool. I find it exciting in how these mediums are now being used in a constructive ways in education.  I do not believe that network analysis is a necessary literacy for functioning as a student.  Critical consumption is where we are lacking as teachers and if we are lacking in this area how can we educate our students on this literacy.  I believe that some are venturing into bringing this awareness to others in education but as our students continue to engage in the use of social media, we as teachers, need to be educated in this to help bring this awareness to our students.

My Thoughts on CIPA & COPPA

TES.com

What is CIPA & COPPA you ask?  I just learned more about them myself.  They are laws that are intended to protect our children/students on the internet. The laws are also very important to know and understand at length if you want to be a Technology Specialist for a school system one day.  Here is a quick overview of both:

CIPA (2000 & updated 2011) - Children's Internet Protection Act

In a nut shell - If your school system receives government funding through E-rate, the school system must provide filtering and monitoring software on all school devices and educate students on cyber safety.

COPPA (1998 with provisions in 2013)  - Children's Online Privacy & Protection Act

In a nut shell - This law protects the privacy of children under the age of 13 by not collecting their personal information.

For more info on both: CIPA & COPPA

Before I wanted to give you my thoughts on the laws I wanted to get some other perspectives about them.

In CIPA & COPPA Controlling the Internet "For the Sake of the Children", the author Audrey Watters stated that she is not a fan of filters.  She does not want to be restricted in what she views and reads and does not believe that children should be restricted either.  She points out that there is a "hypocrisy" in the tech world where: "we embrace freedom, open access for everyone, except kids."

In Dana Boyd's post titled How COPPA Fails Parents, Educators, & Youth, I took away a couple of interesting points.

1. Parents and kids believe that age requirements are there to protect their           safety instead of their privacy.  

She elaborates by saying, "Not only does COPPA fail to inform parents about the appropriateness of a particular site, but parental misinterpretations of the age restrictions mean that few are aware that this stems from an attempt to protect privacy."

2.  COPPA is well-intended but its implementation, practice, and impact have          been a failure

• The key to making COPPA work is not to make it stricter   
• this is not possible without violating privacy at an even greater level
• Parents want to be able to parent and to be able to decide what is and is not appropriate for their children.
• Not all parents parent and we don’t want that to keep kids/students from being able to access great resources available online
• The way to improve COPPA is to go back to the table and think about how children’s data is being used

So what do I think.  I think that there needs to be federal laws in place to provide basic protections for our children.  I think that the current laws don't quite do the job.  The depth and breath of the digital world are ever changing and expanding both for the good and the bad.  This also makes it very difficult to keep federal laws up-to-date and comprehensive.

With CIPA, I do believe that schools need to provide filters for their networks and devices and that students need cyber safety education.  I also believe that inappropriate content still gets past the filters.  It is my opinion that teachers need training in how to provide appropriate supervision, screening, and be the final filter for the content that students are utilizing.  Lets face it, kids will be kids. They can be crafty, clever, and full of mischief when the opportunity provides itself.  Just ask my husband who happens to be a tech specialist for an Indiana school system.

With COPPA, I believe that there should be privacy protections for students.  To what extent, I'm not sure.  I do believe that parents need to be more informed  and/or educated on what the current law really means for their children.  Ultimately, parents need to parent, but we as educators know just how often that does not happen. Which in-turn, places that responsibility back on the schools.

Digital Tatoos - Revisited

This week for 790 EDU we are taking another look at digital tattoos.  In case you are wondering, your digital tattoo is the culmination of permanent data about yourself found online. In October 2017, I blogged about this for my first Tech ED course 776 EDU Integrating Technology into Programing, Services & Instruction.  See https://turning-on-the  lights.blogspot.com/2017/10/.  I didn't have much of a digital tattoo then and, I am sorry to say, that  it is about the same now.  

This weeks assignment was fairly simple but boy did I find it personally difficult. Social media and a digital presence is my greatest weakness when it comes to  my pursuing an endorsement in becoming a Technology Specialist.  I have never been big into posting on social media.  I am not necessarily a private person but I am an introvert.  I created a Canva image that represents my digital presences.  Check it out below.....

I would say that it is quite representative of how I am online.  I have my blog,  Twitter & Facebook accounts, and a professional website.  I wouldn't have my blog, Twitter account, and website if it wasn't for the Technology Specialist courses I have taken.  I will keep pushing myself to become more comfortable with having a consistent active digital presence online.  

Educational Technology Research

Call me crazy......I am writing this blog while having the Super Bowl on the TV.
Obviously, I am not the biggest football fan. That's why I can write this without struggling too much with my focus. FYI, I am secretly rooting for the Eagles.  My husband just informed me that most people are not so secretly rooting for the Eagles.

Now on to my blog..... 

This week in 790 EDU we are taking a look at educational technology research. There is a multitude of reports that offer up-to-date research.  Two reports that I found of particular interest came from  Project Tomorrow that has an in-depth report on "Trends in Digital Learning" and  McGraw-Hill Education with an educational survey on "Survey: More Than Half of Students Want Their Classes to go Digital".  Here are several other links to additional reports you might find of interest: Horizon Report, Pew Research Institute, and Common Sense Media/Common Sense Education.

There is a statistic from the Project Tomorrow Report that I found of particular interest.  It states,

"Teachers identified five essential elements that they need to effectively and efficiently integrate digital content, tools and resources into daily instruction in their classroom:  planning time, access to technology in the classroom, technology support, professional development and consistent, high quality Internet connectivity. "  

photo from Mr. Elementary Math

I couldn't agree with this statistic more.  As a teacher struggling with using technology in my classroom,  I find that my struggle is related to many of the issues listed above.  I continually long for more planning time to figure out how to implement different tools in my special education classroom.  I would love to have more access to technology (I have on old IPad 2, a very old interactive white board, and 5 desktop computers).  I am my own technology support and pursuing my own professional development by working toward my endorsement in educational technology. Our current education system is not providing the support that teachers need to feel set up for success.  As the demands are being piled on for teachers all of the things teachers need to meet those demands, like the things listed above of, are happening less and less.  

Another statistic that I found interesting is from McGraw-Hill Education.  They conducted a survey titled "Survey: More than Half the Students their Classes Want to go Digital".  One of the findings from the survey states,

"While the majority of students have smartphones, only about 38 percent said they use smartphones to complete homework assignments and study for exams." 

Image from Toronto Sun

I was actually surprised to read this.  So many schools and teachers allow students to use their phones to complete work or to participate in educational activities within the classroom.  I have a hard time understanding why students would not then use their phones to help them complete homework or study for tests.  A teacher from my kids high school once told me about a student that completed a paper for him on his smart phone.  He mentioned that the paper he turned in was written and formatted correctly.  When I showed my husband this statistic (who happens to be a tech guy for a school system in Indiana), he quickly quipped ,"yeah, but they use them to cheat on tests!".  I couldn't help but laugh because it's probably true, at least in the upper grades.

.......and the Eagles Won!!!!!