"Vicki Davis 06 Dec 12 07:40:01
One of my students turned up this information that Facebook is working on controls to help kids under 13 use the service. It is no surprise that 7.5 million Facebook users are under the age of 13 and that 5 million of THOSE are 10 years old or younger. COPPA, while set up to protect children, is actually keeping them from participating in society as they want to. This infographic and information is worth sharing as you educate your students. If you want until they are 13 to talk safety online, that is too late. "Last June, Consumer Reports magazine said they had unearthed "several disturbing findings" about children and Facebook, including: 20 million minors had used Facebook within the year prior to their study. 7.5 million of those users were under the age of 13 and not permitted to use the site. 5 million of those were 10 years old or younger. 1 million children had been harassed, threatened, or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying in the year prior." "
We're chomping at the bit to get our grimy little hands on the new Google Drive. We wrote about it in our March issue of the Edudemic Magazine, featured it a couple weeks ago, and now want to start figuring out how the basically-real tool will help teachers around the planet. After all, that's what Edudemic is all about! We throw caution to the wind and just start trying to figure out fun and useful ways to use technology in the classroom. Who cares if that technology isn't available yet?
Sesame Street began in 1969 as a simple yet revolutionary idea to use television to help kids learn. More than four decades later, Sesame Street is the longest street in the world, stretching across 150+ countries and all kinds of media, from books to radio to mobile devices. Led by its famously furry cast, the show addresses a wide spectrum of children's learning - ABCs and 123s, health, mutual understanding, and more - with an approach that's brilliantly adaptable to local cultures and educational needs. Sesame Street is a production of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children worldwide by developing innovative and engaging educational content delivered in a variety of ways -- including television, radio, books, magazines, interactive media, and community outreach. http://www.sesamestreet.org
Teachers I talked to seemed uninterested, almost dismissive, of animations and gamelike apps. Instead, the tablets were intended to be used as video cameras, audio recorders, and multimedia notebooks of individual students’ creations. The teachers cared most about how the devices could capture moments that told stories about their students’ experiences in school. Instead of focusing on what was coming out of the iPad, they were focused on what was going into it.
This is how I have always used them with my students. The are amazing creation tools once you get the workflow right.
Most of the apps on the iPads for the lower grades are aimed at creating and expressing ideas. In addition to Explain Everything, they include MyStory, iMovie, Animation HD, Google Earth, Book Creator, Show Me, Brushes, and Comic Life.