How to Keep Students Safe Online?

The internet may bring the world to our fingertips, but that means both the good and the bad aspects of what you can find online. Along with easy access to research materials, online museums, connections via social media, and purpose built for education apps and web tools comes inappropriate content, peer bullying, and online predators. So how to make sure the content is appropriate and your students are safe when they’re using the web for appropriate and necessary work and leisure? The handy infographic below takes a look at what students are doing online and some of the problems they may run into, along with some recommendations for teachers. 

Keeping Students Safe Online

• 95% of teenagers 12-17 are online
• 62% are visiting social networks, while only 15% are doing research/work for school
• 74% access the web on mobile phones
• 52% say they have been a victim of cyberbullying
• Less than 1 in 5 cyberbullying incidents are reported
• 37% of students report being bullied at school
• 50% of 12th grade girls spend at least 10 hours per week texting on their cell phones
• 22% of teens say they have ‘sexted’
• 15% of teens say they have sent nude photos to someone they have never met

What Are Some Issues Resulting From Internet Threats?

• Violence/Harm to self
• Violence/Harm/Abuse/Rape to others
• Nudity/Sexual content (sexting, porn)
• Inappropriate content (skipping school, linking to inappropriate sites, cheating)
• Alcohol/smoking/drug abuse

What Can You Do?

• Help students understand that some information should be private
• Talk to students about cyberbullying
• Educate students about the threat of online predators
• Encourage students to report concerns to authorities
• Implement a safe learning solution that will filter and monitor communications

Dealing With Inappropriate Content

• Do not forward, copy, download, or share the content
• Determine if the person in possession of the content has shared it
• Minimize the number of devices and people involved
• Contact law enforcement if appropriate
• If a document or conversation needs to be saved, do not include images

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/quick-guide-keeping-students-safe-online/

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Teachers Are Role Models

“I want to eat healthier, Miss,” my student said. “I eat too much fast food.”

“Go to the farmer’s market, or to the store. Don’t buy Pop Tarts.” Our farmer’s markets aren’t what they used to be. They used to be a few stalls with carrots and broccoli. Now, they’re everything from the basic organic foods to things that’d keep a foodie busy for a month.

“I don’t know what to buy.” She needed ideas.

“Asparagus is in season–”

“No! That’s gross. It’s slimy.”

“Only if it’s canned,” I told her. “Cooked it fresh with some garlic and…”

“No!” This was going to be a tough sell.

“How about some green beans with–”

“Eewww…I don’t eat green beans.” A crowd was gathering to see who would win The Battle of the Veggies. I’d need to think quick and come up with a good suggestion. I never lose.

“Oh, I got one,” I said. “How about some Doritos with a side of french fries?”

Game, point, match. Victory for me.

“Healthy living is a lifestyle,” I told the group forming. “It’s not because I live in the forest. I used to live under the airport. I choose to be this way.”

I choose to be this way…Teachers are role models.

Teachers, like famous athletes or rock stars, don’t sign on to be role models. We sign up to teach. Role model is the default, though. People get nervous about this. I’ve known many teachers who lived well outside their teaching communities so they could “have some space.” Now that we’re digital, the line between public and private has blurred further.

I think of all the teachers I looked up to–in some cases venerated. As an adult, I know no person’s a saint. I know some of my teachers probably used the “f” word in their lifetime and weren’t immune to a tirade or a social gathering of the Roman style once in a while.

Read More...

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Tips For Anyone Nervous About EdTech

Dear “Nervous To Try Something New With EdTech”:

You know when you spoke with me the other day and told me that that introducingmore tech into my class was fine for me because I was ‘into it’ and ‘understood’ it? That you were not going to try a new way of doing things (edtech-wise) because your students would see that you weren’t an expert. Well I need to let you in on a secret. Neither am I. It would probably shock you that me, a proponent of choice/more edtech started exactly where you are now in terms of knowledge and confidence. It took, it takes, some courage, and a big leap of faith to step out and try something new in class – in front of 30 teenagers?

How do I do it? I remember 3 key things:

I Am Not the First to Do This

“Search Engine” It – Take the simple voice recorded phone conversation. I am in Canada have no access to Google Voice – so my default is the ‘voice memo’ utility on student’s phones. I use this quite a bit and when I naively did it the first time I received files that my computer couldn’t work with. Disaster or challenge? When you get a file your computer can’t open – “search engine it”. Seriously – when the .amr and .mp3 file extensions come in from your student’s mobile-phone recorded conversations don’t panic. Just type in your problem into your favourite search engine and hit ‘enter’. Amazingly you will probably find out what you need.

I Have Help Available in Every Program/App

Prior to teaching I worked for a developer in the area of school administrative software. My job, in the early 1990′s, was to provide demonstrations of the possibilities of the program to rooms full of educators who had limited exposure to computerized administration tools. One of the biggest selling points for me was the “help” menu item. I knew the people who wrote the documentation for us and the detail that they went into to assist people to understand how something worked. I know to look at the menu items for a software program and locate the ‘help’ one. And if I can’t find my answer there – see tip 1.

My Peers Are A Great Resource

In a school of over 120 staff members the chances are that someone out there has faced a similar challenge/implemented a similar tech tool. And if they haven’t they probably know someone who has. So prior to trying the new tool/trick – send out an email and ask. Before my first on-line discussion I sent a blanket email to all the teachers on my staff with the subject “Have you done any ‘on-line’ discussions?”. Amazingly a teacher in the Social Studies department had. He was invaluable in giving me tips on how to structure and conduct the discussion. All I had to do was put it out there. If you aren’t a fan of the blanket email then ask your school librarian. They see so many classes, and work with so many teachers, that they probably have an idea of who does. And if that doesn’t work – see tip 1.

So go ahead and try something new. It could be as simple as using a wordcloud instead of a worksheet. Or perhaps allowing students to send in files that you will mark/comment on in Google Drive. In any case be sure that someone out there has an answer when you confront a challenge. And if you happen to find success – let your department, you staff, and even perhaps your online PLN know what you have done. After all the way we really know we’ve learned is to help out someone else.

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/nervous-edtech-tips/

Data Is the Key to Successful Course Redesign

By LindsayH

For years, it has been no secret that many students who start post-secondary education programs drop out early. To address this issue, many schools and institutions decide to redesign their courses with the hope that students might gain a greater feeling of success, continue with their chosen program and graduate.

When considering courses for redesign, many questions are asked but the most important is this: “What data should be considered to ensure our course redesign efforts are successful?” Data metrics like grades, attendance or participation rates are obvious considerations. These can be reliable metrics in driving decision-making. However, I recommend also considering student feedback, faculty load, student experience, and assessment performance as additional data points which can better inform decisions that directly impact the course redesign process.

Let’s look at each of these to see their value as data metrics in the course redesign process.

Student Feedback

Student feedback can be a rich source of data to take into consideration before investing in a course redesign project. Most course surveys ask about the instructor’s performance, however, student feedback should not be targeted or limited to the course in question. It should encompass the entire student learning experience. It is important to understand where the students stop learning and where they fail to make connections with the content. The typical approach to improving the student learning experience has been simply creating add-ons to the existing course. However the effectiveness of add-ons without thoughtful integration is questionable. We must avoid the philosophy of ‘do something, do anything’ and focus redesign efforts on activities that are both sound and rational.

When reviewing student feedback we should focus our analysis through three lenses: the content lens, the assessment lens and the learning activity or practice lens. While course redesign focuses on the sum of the parts, each of these three lenses give curriculum developers a comprehensive picture on how students put their knowledge into practice, if at all.

Here are a few suggested data points to explore when considering student feedback:

• What learning activities did students find to be the most engaging?

• What learning activities helped students connect to the content directly?

• What did the students expect to learn prior to the start of the course?

Faculty Load

Educators are continually asked to do more with less. Frequently that extends to requiring faculty to teach more students with no additional resources. Faculty load can have an influence on student success. Students may not receive adequate or authentic feedback from instructors with a heavy student load because those instructors have fewer touch points with their students. By knowing the number of enrollments to an individual faculty member, course redesign experts can make additional recommendations for support services. Additionally, faculty load may influence a different approach to content presentations, activities, assessments, and other student services.

Here are a few suggestions to explore when considering faculty load:

• How often throughout a high enrollment course is a faculty member able to offer individualized attention to students?

• When a faculty member offers individualized attention, is it to clarify a student’s understanding of the content, provide intervention, or offer genuine feedback on activities and assessments?

• What are the student’s perceptions of the faculty member’s presence within a course?

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Apps To Supercharge Your Classroom Productivity

By Mellow Study

When you are looking to improve your productivity half the battle is finding the will. The other half is discovering and refining a system that will maximize your time and make you the most efficient you possible!

These 5 apps all perform a slightly different functions, and when you combine them together they can supercharge your classroom productivity. They keep you updated on your to-dos and keep all of your ‘stuff’ in one place. You’ll waste less time and worry less, have less of a mess, and be more organized!

Evernote

Evernote is an extremely versatile app that can be used in a number of ways. It is a cloud based notebook that works across platforms and can be used to organize the mass of information you need to keep track of. You can use it for lists, saving web files for later viewing, organizing research or managing projects.

The beauty of Evernote is not in the quality of each individual function. The beauty is in the fact that it has such a wide range of functions and can be used for just about anything. This way you can keep everything in one place.

Week Plan

Week Plan is an app based on the time management system outlined by Stephen Covey in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The theory is that you should plan your important tasks and to do lists on a week by week basis, rather than day by day. This way you can take a step back and ensure you make time for the really important stuff, without the day to day to do list swamping you.

The app gets you to set priorities for each of the different roles you have in life such as teacher, student, sportsperson, part time worker, family member etc. Once you determine the week’s priorities you can then allocate them to the days of the week.

If it sounds simple, it is. But it will revolutionize the way you manage your time.

My Study Life

My Study Life is an app that allows you to program in your class timetable. You can then assign any notifications or information specific to each class and use it to track tasks and deadlines. It will let you know what is coming up and when things are due.

It is intuitive and easy to use and an excellent way to separate your classroom planner from the rest of your life if that is what you prefer. It is great for both students and teachers, especially for those teachers who teach a wide variety of classes with different things due at different times.

Dropbox

The ultimate storage in the cloud system that allows you to access your files from anywhere. This is particularly useful if you are not using your own device and are using computers on campus. This way the cloud will allow seamless workflow from campus to home.

Remember The Milk

This is the ultimate “to-do list” app. It works across platforms and you can sync it with Evernote if you use that as well. However Remember the Milk is good enough to stand on its own two feet.

You can create multiple lists and its features include giving tasks priorities, time estimates and locations. With this app you will be able to keep track of both the mundane and important tasks.

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/5-apps-to-supercharge-your-study-productivity/

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Professional Development Tips For Schools Going

By Albert Galeas

As our 1:1 initiative moves forward, I see that there are three kinds of teachers that are part of the process:

1. The teachers who are ready for change (!!)

2. The teachers who are willing to change

3. The teachers who just want to get by

I wish someone would have told me about this! But, I’m glad I had the chance to be a teacher before becoming an Instructional Technologist. That background has led me to approach the teachers as students first & teachers second. I pondered and pondered how 1:1 should be implemented (after I had also read some literature on it). I came up with the idea that because I target three different groups of teachers, my sessions need to be differentiated to meet their needs.

So, here are my recommendations for implementing 1:1 from a professional developmentstandpoint:

1. Create a self-paced online course

Make sure that it utilizes the LMS that will become the avenue of classroom instruction. This will help the teachers learn on their own pace because we all know they are busy people! Editor’s Note: Here are some options for online courses that might help: GEDB Courses, Udemy, Intel Teach Elements, and PBS TeacherLine

2. Create one-on-one sessions

This is where teachers can get their concerns out (their voice matters), have more of a hands on approach to the products being implemented differentiated at different levels (beginners, intermediate, and advanced).

3. Create whole group sessions

These will be to target teachers at the beginner, intermediate & advanced levels. This will also give them a chance to share ideas on classroom instructional methods that can be used!

From the Instructional Technologist point of view, this approach is a lot of work, but the benefits outweigh the (effort) cost. All three groups are taken care of and will be ready when the time comes. In addition, our 1:1 is focused around Chromebooks & Schoology; therefore, the professional development revolves around learning the ecosystems of both products and instructional methods. Remember, without supporting the teachers, our efforts to go 1:1 can quickly fail.

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/professional-development-tips/

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Things To Know About Education Around The World

By Katie Lepi 

Education is a concern to most people around the globe. Whether you’re pursuing your own education, worrying about the education of your child, or educating others, education really is a pretty universal concern. Those concerns, however, vary widely depending on where you are in the world and the background you come from. Students from wealthier nations worry about what college they’re going to go to or if they can afford to go to private vs public school while students from less developed, poorer nations wonder if they’ll have access to any or enough education at all. We know that there are still a lot of out of school children around the world, 

The last thirty years or so have seen great increases in educational opportunities, participation in education, and the quality of education. But what are the numbers really looking like? Where has the most improvement happened? Or the least improvement? What about the gender gap? Thehandy infographic below (From CourseHero) takes a look at these questions and more. Keep reading to learn more.

Education Around The World

1. Access to education doubled between 1970 and 2008
2. Global access to post-secondary education has increased by 600 times during that same period
3. Globally, literacy rates have been climbing as education systems have improved
4. Women still maintain a lower literacy rate than men
5. The average number of years a student spends in school has increased over the last decade
6. The most dramatic improvements have happened in Central and Eastern Europe, and South and West Asia
7. Primary education has suffered the most participation loss  (for both girls and boys) over the last 30 years
8. Secondary education has experienced growth in 7 out of 8 major global regions
9. Women now outnumber men as post secondary graduates in 78.3% of the world
10. Out of 34 countries, the US places 14th in reading 17th in science, and 25th in math

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/education-around-the-world/

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