Group items tagged

"More and more, social media is becoming a part of our daily lives. Just today, Mashable is out with a report that says Pintrest (which is less than a year old) is the #3 social network in the U.S. This report mentions that the amount of monthly traffic Facebook receives is seven billion page views, and Twitter receives 182. Again, these are just U.S. statistics. If we were to look at the numbers worldwide, I would guess they would be much, much higher. But it isn't just adults who are moving more of their lives to online spaces. In a recent Pew Internet survey, 73 percent of all teens used social networks daily. The most popular of these is Facebook; however, Twitter, Myspace and even LinkedIn are not far behind. And it isn't just teens. The #1 social network for kids under the age of 13 is Club Penguin. It is visited more times each day than the New York Times. "

"We all know that the delineation between public and private was eroded by Facebook a long time ago. Over. Done. But now Facebook's sheer scale is pushing it in a new direction, one that encroaches on your authenticity. Facebook is no longer a social network. They stopped being one long before the movie. Facebook is really a huge broadcast platform. Everything that happens between its walls is one degree away from being public, one massive auditorium filled with everyone you've ever met, most of whom you haven't seen or spoken to in years. Last week a bunch of massive sites across the web, including TechCrunch, adopted Facebook commenting. The integration of the formatting and fonts is so strong that when you're reading comments you actually feel like you are on Facebook, not a tech focused vertical site. This latest push by Facebook to tie people to one identity across the interwebs is very troublesome."

"The 21st Century Fluencies are not about technical prowess, they are critical thinking skills, and they are essential to living in this multimedia world. We call them fluencies for a reason. To be literate means to have knowledge or competence. To be fluent is something a little more, it is to demonstrate mastery and to do so unconsciously and smoothly. A young learner who is literate in the use of a tool, say a pencil for example, can use it to write, but does so haltingly because a great deal of focus is on the use of the tool. As time goes on, this learner will develop fluency with the use of the pen or pencil, or keyboard. No longer will it be an impediment, instead their thoughts and ideas flow directly to the paper. The use of the tool is transparent. This is the level of proficiency we will need to thrive in this digital landscape and is what we strive to develop in today's learners."

"The infographic shows that nearly 80% of recruiters check for your postings and frequently reject applicants because of their online presence. The infographic provides a checklist of sorts to guide you in posting the right things. We typically know what is best for us. We all should know what is legal and illegal. What we do know is what is private and what is not. That goes for our thoughts, our whereabouts, our pass-times. If we are responsible and forward-thinking, then we know that not everything we do is for everyone to know."

The digital world is a vast expanse of learning and entertainment. But it is in this digital world that kids are also exposed to many risks, such as cyberbullying, technology addiction, obscene and violent content, radicalization, scams and data theft. The problem lies in the fast and ever evolving nature of the digital world, where proper internet governance and policies for child protection are slow to catch up, rendering them ineffective. Moreover, there is the digital age gap. The way children use technology is very different from adults. This gap makes it difficult for parents and educators to fully understand the risks and threats that children could face online. As a result, adults may feel unable to advise children on the safe and responsible use of digital technologies. Likewise, this gap gives rise to different perspectives of what is considered acceptable behaviour. So how can we, as parents, educators and leaders, prepare our children for the digital age? Without a doubt, it is critical for us to equip them with digital intelligence.

"Wickr is a free app that provides: ·military-grade encryption of text, picture, audio and video messages ·sender-based control over who can read messages, where and for how long ·best available privacy, anonymity and secure file shredding features ·security that is simple to use"

mmm ... apparently this app has been around for some time - 2 years at least. Spoke to my son who works in the IT industry and he is very sceptical about it - since email is sent to a server, then deconstructed and sent as packets and then reconstructed on a server and then sent to a user - when does the message self-destruct? If it is only at the end point then the digital footprint is still there. Military grade encryption - what does this mean? There is no such thing as a free lunch on the Internet - I would be careful about what I send and certainly not trust something that is touted as "free" - there is always a cost! :) BC

"Now is the time to start thinking about what *you* are going to do to educate your students about cyberbullying, digital citizenship, online responsibility, and overall safety. A key to any educational effort is consistent reinforcement of the messages you want students to incorporate into their daily lives. Convening an all-school assembly on these topics once each schoolyear is not sufficient. But bringing up online issues even for just a few minutes regularly (daily!) can be very effective. No matter what your area of teaching expertise is, you can talk about digital citizenship. When it comes to educating your students about online issues, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There are tons of great resources freely available on the web. You already know about our site, but in case you haven't explored it fully, below are just a couple of examples of activities you can incorporate into your classes. "

"This report is designed to give an accessible overview of media literacy among UK children and young people aged 5-15 and their parents/ carers (-1-). The purpose of this report is to support people working in this area to develop and promote media literacy among these groups. This report is the third full report since our survey began in 2005. It is therefore able to show trends over time for many of the questions asked. Due to different survey periods and focus, some comparisons are made with 2005 and 2007 data, and others with 2007 and 2008, and change over time is highlighted against either 2007 or 2008 accordingly. "

"Let's face it: Technology and etiquette have been colliding for some time now, and things have finally boiled over if the recent spate of media criticisms is anything to go by. There's the voicemail, not to be left unless you're "dying." There's the e-mail signoff that we need to "kill." And then there's the observation that what was once normal - like asking someone for directions - is now considered "uncivilized." Cyber-savvy folks are arguing for such new etiquette rules because in an information-overloaded world, time-wasting communication is not just outdated - it's rude. But while living according to the gospel of technological efficiency and frictionless sharing is fine as a Silicon Valley innovation ethos, it makes for a downright depressing social ethic."

"I'm pretty sure that we're all aware of computer hackers. The real shocker comes with just how easy it is for hackers to steal your information. Today's infographic lets us regular folk know just how easy it is for our information to be tracked and potentially stolen. I have personally been guilty of being too trusting of public routers.  Since I don't have internet at home, I'll spend HOURS surfing the net, and getting personal things done at Mcdonalds, where the internet is free for the public to use. But not after reading today's infographic! It's crazy to realize that this entire time someone could have been cyber stalking my information! I'm going to have to beef up my antivirus and keep my internet time to a minimum. Seriously, for your personal and financial safety, read today's infographic and be protect your computer. The facts in today's infographic are too scary to ignore!"

If you worry that your child is being harassed, there's a way to keep the cowards in check. BullGuard Mobile Security is a parental control app and web service with the ability to monitor Internet activity: messages, pictures, downloaded content, and Internet sites. Remote access gives you the ability to apprehend any mean messages before your child does and delete them if necessary. You can then blacklist any unwanted contacts from messaging systems, email, and social networks. GPS tracking is included too, so you can make sure your child arrives at school on time and even locate a lost or stolen phone. If the phone is stolen, you can remotely lock and wipe out the device. And conveniently, if you can't find it all of your contacts, calendars, and other info are backed up on a server -- so you can reload onto a new device.

"I've been following the unfortunate story of Alexandra Wallace. If you haven't heard about it, here is a quick summary: Miss Wallace, a student at UCLA, posted a video rant on the internet complaining about Asian students talking on their cell phones in the library. In the video, Miss Wallace mocks the Asian students' speech and makes other racially insensitive remarks. The video went viral - people were outraged - Miss Wallace received all sorts of scorn in various forms from parody videos (the one below with over 3 million views) to death threats. She then apologized and withdrew from UCLA. In her apology, Miss Wallace said, "I could write apology letters all day and night, but I know they wouldn't erase the video from your memory, nor would they act to reverse my inappropriate action." She is correct, and that is precisely the lesson we should be reminding and reinforcing with our students - it is difficult, if not impossible , to take something back that you post on the internet."

An article discussing the positives and negatives of Google+. (The author is somewhat biased, which is is acknowledged)

"So, it is time to get your school into social media in a way that is safe, makes sense, and will help your image in the community. We've discussed in Social Media Syndication Part 1: Where is your Audience?why social media is important to schools. In Facebook Friending 101 for Schools (170 tweets on that one) we discussed the impact of Facebook Friends on your teachers, students, and staff. You've resoundingly flooded my inbox with requests for more on social media and how to get your school in safely - so, let's keep going"

"Digital Intelligence (DQ) is the sum of social, emotional, and cognitive abilities essential to digital life. It is having the necessary knowledge, skills and ability to adapt one's emotions and adjust one's behaviour to deal with the challenges and demands of the digital era. Beyond knowledge, these abilities must be rooted in human values of integrity, respect, empathy and prudence. These values enable the wise and responsible use of technology - an attribute which will mark the leaders of tomorrow."

Do you think this will replace digital natives and digital immigrants? That we all just need digital intelligence? Marc Prensky is now focusing on Digital Wisdom - similar thing but all good, methinks.

A recent article by Lauren Davis in the Schoology (LMS) website that unpacks a survey of 16000+, mostly USA teachers, about the impact of digital learning. It includes some interesting insights into enablers and barriers for DLE. A good starting point for the 523 Assessment 3 environmental scan.

"The Internet is your permanent record" The joke in classrooms used to be that your bad behavior would become part of your Permanent Record. There was no such thing in the old days, but there is now, and it's called the Internet.

People are trading their privacy for influence! This irreversible global trend is shaping a communication battleground that will impact on every aspect of our future. The concept of relinquishing privacy is a scary proposition for many people, generally in loose correlation to their age. Similarly the idea of a profound change in societal influence is generating resistance and fear in traditional power centres and institutional mediators of meaning. Governments, corporations, media empires and a host of heritage institutions and their practices will change dramatically as contemporary forces shift the nature of influence.

"Hello, my name is Kara Lee and I am an Instructional Technology Facilitator. I received my Master's of Science in Instructional Technology from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. I currently work in the NC Public Education School System. When talking to staff, parents, other employees and friends, their biggest concern is keeping up with technology and the language the new generation speaks! As adults, it is our job to educate ourselves on emerging technology so that we are always aware of things our children have access to and how they are using them. I hope this site will be helpful to you in becoming more aware of things parents of Digital Natives need to know to help keep their children safe in a Digital World! "