The Natives are Getting Restless: Growing Up and Learning in a Web 2.0 World by Robyn Treyvaud

These are my notes from Robyn Treyvaud’s workshop, “The Natives are Getting Restless: Growing Up and Learning in a Web 2.0 World” at the 21st Century Learning @ Hong Kong Conference on 18 September 2009. MY COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Robyn is the author and owner of www.cybersafeworld.com. Her wiki on digital citizenship (created with WetPaint) is http://digicitizen-wiki.com.

Why do you think I titled this session “the natives are restless?”

Much of my background was in the government sector in Melbourne, Australia. I left to work on a laptop project with David Loder at Wellsley College. My greatest challenge: I had been in leadership positions and wanted to go back to the classroom to see how the laptop could transform my learning and my teaching. This was well over 10 years ago. At the time, I noticed the girls were using the technology very differently from the boys. Girls perceived there was not anything “for them” on the Internet and the laptop. Asked girls what you want to use the laptop for, and they said we just want to be able to communicate with each other, to create websites, and to work together / collaborate.

In those days it was Netscape Navigator, started all-girl computer club called “Geek is Chic”
– was going to be 1 lunch per week, girls really wanted to come in much more
– communication and creation really empowered the girls
– girls created a flash-based website

Taught me it’s all about meeting the needs of individual students

Then I became a PYP leader
All through these times, I became very aware of the ethical / digital citizenship side of this

On delicious, Robyn is rtreyvaud
– I used to find the biggest time wasting took place when kids used Google going to the library and doing their own research
– we used to create a website hotlist
– now using a site like delicious we don’t have to even do that
– most of the resources for today are on this account

My wiki for this topic, focusing on digital citizenship: http://digicitizen-wiki.com

aspect we’ll focus on 2nd: the 21st century literacies
– how to we teach and scaffold these to help students become critical, discerning users of these resources

Example: Introduction to Citation Machine 5.0 (from David Warlick)

“Digital media is a broad term youth use loosely to define a wide range of information and communications technologies, entertainment and news sources”
– kids navigate: internet, social networks, news media that deliver content digitally, video game consoles, mp3 players, mobile phones and other mobile devices
– digital media is ubiquitous: youth describe themselves as “always connected” and not always in front of a computer

digital media connects issues with people
– youth not overly interested in tech/media for its own sake: they are interested in social aspects, opportunities to use info/communication tools to connect with others
– connects with isues and people
– embedded in social contexts, shape relationships and extends communication

video games: youth don’t tend to see them as isolated experiences able to promote their learning on their own

Time magazine article from 2006: “In this media drenched era of blogs and podcasts, Google searches and Instant Messages young people need to acquire a new set of literacy skills that allow them…”

Example video of student voice: Learning to Change/ Changing to Learn: Student Voices
– we will discuss:
— are these students sitting in your class?
— do you know what technologies they use?
— how will you find out?
— what does this mean for schools?

Now watching: Learning to Change/ Changing to Learn

THIS MAKES ME THINK THAT I SHOULD OFFER MYSELF UP AS A FREE LEARNING CONSULTANT FOR STUDENT RESEARCH IN MY CHILDREN’S OWN SCHOOLS, TO HELP TEACHERS AS WELL AS STUDENTS DISCUSS AND DEVELOP THESE CRITICAL LITERACIES FOR INFORMATION ACCESS / RESEARCH.

Discussion questions:
– do these videos reflect contemporary teaching and learning challenges?
– If so, what are they?
– Do you agree or disagree with the ‘messages?”
– What are they?

Teacher response:
– I’m aware of students’ other world / digital world, but really I’m not able to smoothly integrate those things into what we are doing and learning in the classroom
– there are pockets of people who try to integrate those worlds

categories of sites from Slideshare, WEb 2.0 Student Teachers, 14-9-09
– Blog: post (text, audio, video, photo), read, comment, feed
– social bookmarking: web sites, bookmark, tag, share
– podcast / vodcast: audio and video, feed, podcatcher, media player
– wiki: content (text in web pages), collaborate, edit, save

Discussion questions
– Do you block sites at your school? Why or why not?
– Do you use blogs, wikis, social bookmarking and podcasts?
– How are you using them?
– What other web 2.0 applications are used at your school?

Response: the blocks at school don’t stop me from doing what I want to do, but it does prevent the teachable moment, “what do you do when you encounter this?”

reasons for blocking
– legal liability
– parental fear

Conundrum: how can we transform learning if we are not current with the technologies

Some teachers using
– wikis
– Google docs

In one school, Google Docs and the immediacy with which students can comment and respond to comments has really enhanced student writing quality
– tough part is balancing a traditional

Moral Compass: What do YOU do when no one is watching?!
– copyright and intellectual property issues play in this space

In many cases we are not scaffolding how you research and make sense of what you find when you research

Ribble/Bailey 2005 Digital Compass for the 21st Century (SEE THIS LINK FOR THE GRAPHIC OF THE DIGITAL COMPASS: I REALLY WISH THIS WAS AVAILABLE ON FLICKR AS AN IMAGE!)

Ethics in the digital age
– ethical questions are about right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust

They matter because what we do affects us individually, affects our community, and can even affect epople we do not know or see
– Australian group is now sharing videos with musical artists, talking about their creation process and the impact of not receiving money from their work

[I WOULD LIKE TO GET THE LINKS TO THOSE VIDEOS]

Video: 24 hours in the life of a digital nativeThe vast majority of districts prohibit:
– online chatting
– instant messaging
– sending or receiving email during school
– posting on bulletin boards or blogs
– using social networking sites

Almost all use software to block certain sites and require parents or students to sign an internet use policy

YESTERDAY WHEN ROBYN AND I WERE VISITING, I SHARED THE SITE / PROJECT “UNMASKING THE DIGITAL TRUTH”

Proxies
– do google search for proxy sites
– Example marketing text from “SneakySir” proxy site

Do you like to surf Myspace? How about Bebo? Are you at school or work, and bored, and want to access Myspace or Bebo from school or from work but those sites are blocked? Well you came to the right place. SneakySir Proxy is your answer to blocked websites like Myspace. All you have to do is enter the site you want to visit (www.myspace.com) for example, hit the “Begin Browsing” icon, and SneakySir sneaks your right through to your favorite website! Sneakysir fully supports Myspace logins, Bebo logins, Flash Arcade logins, and many more websites, all for free! You can edit your Myspace profile, view other people’s Myspace profiles, and more, all from work, home or school! Have fun browsing!

ethical dilemmas with copying digital content, file sharing, etc.

Book recommendation: Media: New Ways and Meanings by Burton, Lee

I’VE GOT TO LEAVE THIS SESSION UNFORTUNATELY TO GO SHARE MY OWN ON PODCASTING! 🙁 END OF NOTES….

Technorati Tags:
education, librarian, library, literacy, media, research, school, student, teacher, technology, voice, web2, critical, educator

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The Natives are Getting Restless: Growing Up and Learning in a Web 2.0 World by Robyn Treyvaud

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