Moving at the Speed of Creativity

These are some notes from my session today with Karen Mongomery at NECC 2009, “RU In My Space? Y Have A Social Media Policy?” You can get a link to these resources by sending a SMS message to the number 50500 and using the text “wfryer” without quotation marks as your actual message.

Join Facebook group: Social Media Guidelines for Educators

Drexel University is developing courses in social media for public relations folks

Twitter for Teachers was created by Gina Hartman

Is your school providing guidance and guidelines for teachers as well as students when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites?

Referenced articles in the presentation, “making the case” for talking about social media guidelines in our schools

Current Facebook statistics, for:

General Growth:

More than 200 million active users

More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day

More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college

The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

User Engagement

Average user has 120 friends on the site

More than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)

More than 30 million users update their statuses at least once each day

More than 8 million users become fans of Pages each day

Mobility:

There are more than 30 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.

People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are almost 50% more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

There are more than 150 mobile operators in 50 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products

May 2009 Issue of Learning and Leading with Technology
- free article: Is Blogging Worth the Risk? by James Maxlow and Lisa Nielson
- ISTE member only article: Should Your Students Be Your “Friends”? by Diana Fingal

WI Schools Ban Facebook, IM Fraternizing Between Staff, Students
- Lauren Barack — School Library Journal, 2/23/2009

Ryan Bretag, “Should We or Shouldn’t We: Teachers and Students Friends on Facebook,” 25 March 2009

ISTE Ning forum post “READERS RESPOND: Should you “friend” your students?” (responses due by 6 July 2009 to be included in September/October issue of L&L)

Court Backs Teacher’s Firing for Online Chat By Matthew Heller - 10/21/08

Fired For YouTube Video

All schools should be in the business of “shameless promotion”

Technorati Tags:
education, social, technology, media, guidelines, public, relations, publicrelations

Wednesday night I posted “Webstreaming Storm Trackers” to the ISTEconnects blog, and noted how webstreaming technologies along with more pervasive cell tower connectivity is empowering a new generation of storm trackers / storm chasers to broadcast “live” from the field as severe weather hits local communities. Actual storm spotters, in contrast to amateur storm chasers, perform a vital role during severe thunderstorms in providing on-site reporting about suspected tornados which have a characteristic, tornadic radar signature. According to NOAA’s official “Introduction to Storm Observation and Reporting” webpage:

Even with all the technology used by the National Weather Service to prepare severe weather warnings, storm spotters still give us the most complete picture of what’s really happening in and around severe storms. Radar simply cannot tell us everything we need to know. Storm spotters are the eyes and ears in the field.

For more than 60 years, storm spotters have been the Nation’s first line of defense against deadly storms. Working with their local communities and with the local National Weather Service office, spotters provide invaluable assistance and critical information to decision makers when hazardous weather threatens. Countless lives have been saved because of this unique partnership between volunteer storm spotters, emergency management and the National Weather Service.

For better or for worse, advances in mobile webstreaming and webcasting technologies have ushered in a day when increasing numbers of people are putting themselves in harms way and broadcasting the results, most likely hoping for publicity and a moment of fame for their shared video footage. While increased connectivity and video sharing can be used in positive, constructive ways, it also is and can be used in harmful ways which can encourage people to take foolish risks. The following story is a case in point.

This evening I watched the CNN iReport and subsequent interview over the phone with Missouri resident Michael Ambrosia, who rather recklessly got within about 50 feet of a tornado this past Wednesday in the video sequence he shared on the iReport website.

In his CNN interview, Michael reveals that a few minutes later after his iReport footage stopped, he drove further but stopped his car. The same tornado actually passed over his location, and he caught that moment on video. Michael posted that longer length video to his account on YouTube.

As humans, many of us seem to be psychologically wired to be interested and intrigued by video sequences like this. Clearly CNN producers know this, and although the CNN interviewer makes a statement at the end about viewers not endangering themselves to get footage for iReports, the implicit message here is, “This is exactly what we are looking for when it comes to citizen-produced media and journalism.” In some respects, I think it is unfortunate CNN chose to broadcast and amplify these moments of foolishness and poor judgement by Michael Ambrosia, since the rebroadcast of his video will likely encourage more people (probably young folks) to go out and attempt similar videography near tornados. This is a grim prediction, but I strongly suspect it is only a matter of time before we hear a news report about a tornado chaser with a flash-based camcorder who gets killed because s/he got too close to the storm. I hope that will not be the case, but it seems we’re on that sort of trajectory.

Michael Ambrosia: I’m glad you were not injured or killed as you took this footage on Wednesday of the tornado in Novinger, Missouri. I commend you for not using profanity in those moments of stress as the tornado actually passed over your location. I noticed you titled your re-posted video “My Tornado Encounter 13MAY09, lessons to learn” but you did not indicate in the video that you’d learned any lessons, or that any were there to learn. I suspect the lesson many people may learn from your experience is, “Hey, I need to get my own flash-based camcorder and get in my car next time there are tornados around, so I can get interviewed on CNN like Michael did.” While I think it can be a very positive thing to encourage people to become citizen journalists, I think it is also imperative that we emphasize ethics and good decision making in multiple contexts. I think you have a window of opportunity here to encourage others to use better judgement than you did on Wednesday, and be specific about what people should do. I would suggest this include:

1. Do not chase tornados unless you are traveling with others who are knowledgeable, experienced storm chasers and storm trackers using radios, radar, and other equipment to carefully monitor storm situations at all times.

2. Do not put your own life at risk to simply try and capture some video footage which may be memorable. Being an iReporter can be both fun and valuable for others, but it is not worth it to recklessly risk your life for video of a tornado. Life is precious, and no one’s life should be sacrificed for storm footage no matter how enthralling or exciting it might be.

— end of message for Michael —

Professional stormchasers are now trying (through June 14th) to capture better data than ever before about tornados and severe storms here in the midwest. See the CNN article from Thursday, “Scientists chasing killer tornadoes across Midwest” for more information about VORTEX2. According to the VORTEX2 website:

VORTEX2 is by far the largest and most ambitious effort ever made to understand tornadoes. We expect over 100 scientists and crew in up to 40 science and support vehicles to participate in this unique, fully nomadic, field program in May/June 2009-2010. The National Science Foundation (NSF) foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA) together are contributing over $10 million towards this effort. Participants will be drawn from several universities, and several government and private organizations, and will be international including members from Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

The basic questions are simple to ask, but hard to answer.

- How, when, and why do tornadoes form? Why some are violent and long lasting while others are weak and short lived?

- What is the structure of tornadoes? How strong are the winds near the ground? How exactly do they do damage?

- How can we learn to forecast tornadoes better? Current warnings have an only 13 minute average lead time and a 70% false alarm rate. Can we make warnings more accurate? Can we warn 30, 45, 60 minutes ahead?

It is great scientists are embarking on this study to better understand tornados, so more accurate predications as well as storm tracking can take place to protect and save lives. For those of us living in the midwest, I think it is an important “safety topic” to discuss how we should leave the tornado chasing and videography to the professionals, even though CNN likely wants more iReports like Michael’s.

I think this situation can provide a good case study / teachable moment for participants in our StoryChaser digital storytelling workshops / Celebrate Oklahoma Voices workshops. There are some very important safety lessons to learn here.

As a final related note, I’d mention that one of our neighbors just had an in-ground “Flat-Safe” tornado shelter installed in their garage this morning. The total cost (installed) for this 6-person shelter is about $3500. This is the design originally developed by the Texas Tech University Wind Science and Engineering Research Center, and is capable of withstanding a F5 tornado.

We don’t have a tornado shelter or a basement in our house, and neither do the vast majority of our neighbors at this point. I wish we did.

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tornado, missouri, cnn, ireport, ireporter, storm, chaser, stormchaser, vortex, vortex2, noaa, safety

Yesterday was a first, but this was a situation I’ve anticipated for many months.

My 11 year old son was at his grandparents house, and was using the Internet independently. He typed in a URL directly into a web browser and was accidentally forwarded to a pornographic website.

Later in the day, he told me about this first by asking, “Dad, can you set up a content filter at granddaddy’s house?” I asked him what had happened, and he explained the story. He had closed the web browser when this happened, and then told me about it when he could. We had discussed that this could happen many months ago, but this was the first instance of it actually happening to him. Unfortunately this is something that can easily happen on today’s Internet, but as he knows there ARE simple and free ways to setup a basic content filter which can prevent some of these situations from happening.

This afternoon at granddaddy and grandmother’s house, I setup a free, basic content filter on their high speed cable modem home network using OpenDNS. I’ve written about and explained how to use OpenDNS previously multiple times, including the posts:
- Reflections on home content filtering and OpenDNS after a year of use (Jan 2009)
- Adware blocked by OpenDNS (May 2008)
- A Common Sense Approach to Internet Safety (April 2008)
- The Value of OpenDNS (free) content filtering at home (March 2008)
- Home Internet Content filtering needs: Solved with OpenDNS (January 2008)

The entire process of setting up OpenDNS content filtering on my in-laws network this afternoon took less than ten minutes to complete. Our steps were:

1. I used the OpenDNS website to set the DNS numbers for their network router/WiFi access point to use OpenDNS numbers. The router then had to be restarted. (By putting these settings on the router, then their computers as well as any laptops/wireless devices we bring over to the house automatically have the same content filtering protection.)
2. We created a free OpenDNS account for my in-laws. We selected the types of content to filter. There are LOTS of choices, and we didn’t want to get carried away, but we did want basic protection. We selected the lowest level of filtering which protects against phishing attacks, and added filtering for pornography, nudity, and “tasteless” websites.
3. We waited three minutes for the settings to propagate to the OpenDNS nameservers.

That was it! I then tested the filter by typing in an address which should now be filtered (playboy.com) and verified the filter was active. My son then went back in his Safari web history on the computer he had been using yesterday, and we found the website he had visited accidentally. He clicked on that site again in his web history, and it was also filtered by OpenDNS.

As I’ve noted previously, I am a firm believer that there are NOT any technological solutions which can completely address the challenges and issues which come up with inappropriate content online. OpenDNS can definitely be bypassed by users who want to get around it. That is not the point. No filter is going to be able to completely block all content which could be deemed inappropriate or offensive, particularly when/if someone is actively searching for that type of content online. What OpenDNS does provide for free, and quite well on ANY device connected to your home network (regardless of the operating system or device type) is a basic level of content filtering which can be customized and tweaked readily as desired.

I first learned about OpenDNS when I was at the Apple Store here in Oklahoma City, because at the time (and I assume still today) they use it for content filtering. Because OpenDNS is free and so easy to setup and use, I think it should be configured on every home network.

That said, however, I’ll again emphasize the critical need we have for “digital dialog” and ongoing communication about issues like this. I’m thankful my son was willing to immediately talk to me about this situation, and was confident that I would understand and not overreact when I heard what had happened. Open and regular communication is the key. I’m sure this isn’t the last conversation we’ll have in our family about objectionable Internet content, and the fact that we had this discussion yesterday and today is likely correlated strongly to the fact that it wasn’t the first time we’ve discussed this.

What are you using at home to provide a basic level of content filtering for everyone? Have you found anything that is free and as good as OpenDNS?

Technorati Tags:
opendns, dns, content, filter, filtering, parent, communication, safety, isafety

Storychasing is using digital recording devices to create, archive and share digital stories on the web. Story Chasers, Inc. is a new nonprofit, educational organization incorporated in the state of Oklahoma which presents the Celebrate Oklahoma Voices oral history project in partnership with a variety of other Oklahoma organizations. In this podcast, recorded on the road with a Sony ICD-UX70 mp3 audio recorder, I provide an overview of ten reasons learners of all ages should consider becoming storychasers in their local communities. These ideas will be presented this coming Friday, May 1, 2009, at the PodStock conference in Wichita, Kansas. If you have feedback, ideas, critiques, or suggestions relating to these ideas, please let me know so I can incorporate them in my presentation Friday! The top 10 reasons to be a Storychaser discussed in this podcast are: 1- Touch hearts and win over parents, 2- Develop literacy skills, 3- Develop critical thinking skills, 4- Provide a window into learning, 5- Preserve family and local history, 6- Model constructive uses of digital and social media, 7- Develop digital citizenship, 8- Develop digital literacy and 21st century skills, 9- Inspire creativity, 10- Catalyze the learning revolution locally. Overall, of course, another great reason to be a storychaser is to have FUN!

 

 Podcast313: Top 10 Reasons to Be a StoryChaser [37:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (853)

Show Notes:

1. Story Chasers, Inc.
2. Celebrate Oklahoma Voices
3. Celebrate Oklahoma Voices Videos
4. Celebrate Oklahoma Voices Learning Community
5. Speaking of History Podcast by Eric Langhorst
6. Sony ICD-UX70 MP3 Digital Audio Recorder
7. The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander
8. The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson

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The CNN article, “Parents, police monitoring kids’ cell phones” references several commercial services being utilized by parents in an attempt to monitor and control their children’s activities and interactions via cell phones. Referenced services include “My Mobile Watchdog” and “Mobile Spy.” The marketing teaser for “Mobile Spy” is:

Need to silently record SMS (text message) and call information of your child or employee? Learn the TRUTH with Mobile Spy, a completely stealth program! Mobile Spy records every SMS and logs every call including phone numbers with durations. View real time results in your private online account.

When parents, employers, and authorities suspect criminal behavior is taking place, there may be just cause for extreme measures to be taken to monitor and document behavior. I cringe to think parents may be resorting to commercial services like this, however, when their teen most likely needs more opportunities to communicate and develop a supportive, functional relationship with their parent(s) instead of a monitoring/stealth spying service.

Equally troubling on these commercial websites is the misrepresentation of “Internet safety” statistics to build a case to justify the purchase of offered services. On the “Child Safety Resources” page of “My Mobile Watchdog” we find the following sidebar of “research findings” purportedly related to cell phone use dangers:

Note these statistics are from a 2005 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children survey and a 2004 iSafe Survey. That means, for starters, these statistics are FOUR AND FIVE YEARS old. Should that be a problem for a marketing pitch purporting to highlight CURRENT trends? It should be, but apparently the “My Mobile Watchdog” folks are assuming consumers won’t read the fine print or care.

The larger issue with this “research” citation, however, is that there is no indication either of these surveys had anything to do with cell phone use or cell phone Internet dangers at all. In reading the titles of the surveys, it appears they were focused on issues arising when young people were online via desktop or laptop computers, not via a cell phone. The marketing department of “My Mobile Watchdog” apparently believes consumers should make the enormous assumption that because students in 2005/2004 were reporting high levels of “bad” encounters online, that means kids today are encountering at least equal levels of “bad stuff” on their cell phones. Certainly the mobile web does offer plenty of offensive choices today, for those who go looking, but this leap of faith / analysis encouraged by this marketing example is not supported by the presented research and should not be accepted by consumers.

Interestingly, the i-Safe official website does not provide any links on its homepage to its own survey and research results. If i-Safe was really interested in sharing and disseminating objective data to help people make better decisions, they would provide ready links to those “research studies” which do NOT require a login to their protected site content.

Are students using cell phones today in ways which put themselves and possibly others at risk? Most certainly. The recent articles on “sexting” from ABC, CBS, and CNN (all linked on the current “My Mobile Watchdog” homepage) highlight the same thing we’ve known forever: Teenagers frequently make bad choices when it comes to relationships and friends. Can commercial products like “My Mobile Watchdog” or “Mobile Spy” offer a solution to the problem of teens sexting with cell phones? Will a school policy banning cell phones solve the problem? Absolutely not. This problem, like many others, is an issue of CHOICES. It’s about ethics. It’s about decision making. It’s about helping kids recognize the importance of carefully managing their digital footprint, encouraging them to dream big in their lives and work to make their dreams become a reality. A young person who has goals for the future and is being supported in their drive to achieve those goals is far less likely to make personally destructive choices and decisions than someone without goals.

Expensive mobile phone surveillance and monitoring plans, purchased in addition to the already VERY granular cell phone usage reporting included with monthly mobile phone bills, would be a waste of money for most families today. What is needed instead is more digital dialog.

To the marketing department of “My Mobile Watchdog” I offer the following advice: Please get your facts straight and don’t mis-represent research study findings in your fervent effort to fan the flames of parental fear regarding Internet dangers. At least find studies to cite in your marketing ads which actually focused on cell phone usage. The PEW Internet and American Life Project’s reports on mobile computing might be a good place to start.

These are my notes from a COSN 2009 session, “Preliminary Report of a National Survey of School Leaders on the Use of Web 2.0 in Schools” on March 11, 2009, in Austin, Texas. MY THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ARE IN ALL CAPS.

Key question for CoSN: “So What?”

from Cheryl Lemke
- this is very interesting data
- next year will be even more interesting, because we’ll have trend data

Partners CoSN has invited for this
- MacArthur Foundation
- ASCD
- Common Sense Media

US has over 14,000 school districts
- we did a stratified random sample by locale: urban, suburban, town and rural
- overall return rate was 24%
- sample included 1,189 district admins (389 superintendents, 441 tech directors, 359 curriculum directors)

What reasons do you have for moving toward web 2.0
- top reason in all locales: Keeping students interested and engaged in school

INTERESTING BECAUSE THIS ANSWER IS CONSISTENT WITH THE IDEA OF MAINTAINING OUR EXISTING SCHOOL SYSTEM, FORMAT AND PARADIGM

2nd response: meetign the needs of different kinds of learners
3- develop critical thinking skills
4- develop capabilities in students that can’t be acquired through traditional means
5- provide alternative learning environments for students
6- extend learning beyond the school day
7- prepare students to be lifelong learners

in 1:1 projects we’ve found critical thinking is the #1 thing schools are looking for

“Global Awareness” did not make it into the top 7
- it was for superintendents and suburban respondents, but not for others

2nd main finding: The majority of district admins believe that student use of web 2.0 should be limited to participation on approved educational websites

51% of schools said they were more restrictive than CIPA requires

I THINK THAT NUMBER IS MUCH HIGHER IN OKLAHOMA

3rd major finding: The majority of school districts ban social networking (70%) and chat rooms (72%) while allowing prescribed educational use for most of the other web 2.0 tools

4th finding: While reporting low levels of general use, curriculum directors did describe significant opportunities for use of web 2.0 tools in curricula and teaching materials
- sharing visual media files
- creating polls and surveys
- participating in online projects
- blogging
- sharing music or sound files
- site-building (FreeWebs)
- playing interactive games
- participating in virtual worlds
- social networking

We found those web 2.0 tools that would require a change to be made in the ways teachers taught and students learned have been adopted LEAST

5th finding: Curriculum directors reported that web 2.0 will be used most effectively in the content areas of writing, social studies, and reading at all grade levels

6th finding: While there was broad agreement that web 2.0 applications hold educational value, the use of these tools in American classrooms remains the province of individual pioneering classrooms

THIS LAST FINDING IS SO TRUE. IT IS NOT HAPPENING SYSTEMATICALLY. VERY SPOTTY. INDIVIDUAL PIONEERS. NOT SYSTEMIC.

finding 7: Few district leaders have systematically begun to research, plan, or implement effective uses of web 2.0, nor have they yet restructured their schools to enable participatory reform

THIS IS NO SURPRISE, REALLY.

generally we found urban and suburban schools were much more open and much further along with understanding and utilizing web 2.0 technologies

we are continuing to write this report, will be formally releasing it in April to COSN and the MacArthur Foundation

Now comments from Jennifer Barrett from ASCD
- last year ASCD signed on as member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills
- P-21 framework highlights problem solving, collaboration, critical thinking, and others as essential skills

Story from yesterday’s pre-con with Marco Torres, took a photo of a menu and had someone in his learning network help him order
- also shared example of Japan who had taught himself guitar and 3.5 million viewers and had shared their own video

I ACTUALLY THINK THERE WERE MORE VIEWERS THAN THAT! I ALSO THINK MARCO DOES THE BEST JOB I’VE SEEN OF FRAMING THAT STORY. SOMETIMES ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS HEAR THAT STORY AND THINK, “SO WHAT. THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SCHOOL.” INTERESTING THAT JENNIFER IS QUOTING MARCO FROM YESTERDAY SEVERAL TIMES. CLEARLY HE MADE A BIG IMPRESSION. GOOD JOB MARCO!

ASCD feels that by integrating 21st century tools, including web 2.0 tools, to change our educational systems and schools

we need to begin by empowering our communities and educational leaders

EXACTLY. I AGREE. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF CELEBRATE OKLAHOMA VOICES.

teachers need a network of support

ASCD is committed to do this

JENNIFER IS NOT USING ANY SLIDES AT ALL TO COMPLEMENT HER COMMENTS. INTERESTING. THIS COMMUNICATES “DO WHAT I SAY, NOT WHAT I DO” WHEN IT COMES TO MODELING AND MANY OF THE IDEAS SHE IS TALKING ABOUT.

ASCD is establishing podcasts and providing free/open access to presenters and ideas

Now comments from Linda Burch from Common Sense Media
- a year ago we did a study comparing parent views to teacher views on learning potentials of social media
- worked to use a similar research tool this time
- what I think is profoundly important about this research, is I think it’s the first time this group of school leaders have been asked these questions with this type of depth

I AM THINKING THESE QUESTIONS WOULD BE GREAT FOR OKLAHOMA SDE TO ASK ALL SUPERINTENDENTS

I believe our President in the US is now focused on 21st century skills
- is talking about new assessment tools around critical thinking and problem solving

Keeping students engaged should be our top priority

IS SHE TALKING ABOUT KEEPING KIDS ENTHRALLED OR KEEPING KIDS ENGAGED? SO OFTEN WE’RE HEARING PEOPLE USE THE WORD “ENGAGE” WHEN THEY REALLY MEAN “ENTHRALL.”

Our study found critical thinking skills is one of the top things parents saw about web 2.0 tools, from World of Warcraft to other games/websites

exciting innovations about alternative learning environments
- in Chicago and New York: connecting schools to libraries
- virtual worlds and games
- new school in NYC, will be focused on games: quests and challenges
- we can pick up on that finding too

LINDA IS NOT USING ANY SLIDES OR IMAGES AT ALL IN HER PRESENTATION EITHER. SO INTERESTING TO HEAR PRESENTERS HERE NOT USE MEDIA AT ALL, TO TALK ABOUT THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA. KNOWING THE POWER OF VISUAL LITERACY AND VISUAL MEDIA, WHEN A PRESENTER COULD BE USING IMAGES TO ACCENT AND SUPPORT THEIR IDEAS/POINTS AND THEY DON’T, I ALWAYS WONDER: DO THEY REALLY WANT ME TO REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE SAYING? ARE THEY REALLY TRYING TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON MY BRAIN? IT’S ALWAYS EASIER TO JUST LECTURE AND NOT SUPPLEMENT WITH MEDIA. BUT IN MANY CASES THAT IS LESS EFFECTIVE.

We are looking for better research on what is the learning which is happening with web 2.0
- real effort to create a group to work on assessment
- until there are evidentiary standards for this type of learning, we won’t see broad adoption in our schools
- we need professional development, and need it to be defined “bottoms up”
- we need a parent awareness campaign about digital learning across the country
- lots more curriculum development to be done in local schools
– people trying things, really getting creative, like we heard from Marco Torres yesterday

Common Sense Media does 3 things
1- rate and review all kinds of media from a kids and families perspective (for consumers who are parents and educators, so adults in kids’ lives can understand what they are engaged with and why they love it)
2- create “recommended lists” of websites, movies, about different topics and for different purposes (websites for tinkerers and adventurers is an example)
3- we educate with simple, 3 minute videos for parents
4- we are an advocacy organization promoting “digital literacy” and “digital citizenship”
– reframing discussions about internet safety, directing kids to sites which involve civic engagement

I LOVE COMMON SENSE MEDIA FOR ALL THESE REASONS!!! THEY ARE GREAT!!! THIS IS WHY I HAVE THEM LINKED IN MY BLOG LEFT SIDEBAR!!!

james [dot] bosco […..

From James:
- the tragedy of these meetings is that we never have enough time for these Q&A times and conversations

MY RESPONSE: THIS IS JUST A FUNCTION OF SCHEDULING. THERE IS NO REASON A “CONVERSATION WITH THE PANEL” SESSION COULDN’T BE SCHEDULED TO FOLLOW THIS. THIS HAPPENS AT SOME CONFERENCES. WHY NOT COSN?
- ACTUALLY MANY OF THE SESSIONS I SAW AT COSN LAST YEAR IN WASHINGTON DC WERE SHORT PANEL

MY QUESTION: WHERE ARE BEST PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON DIGITAL LITERACY AND DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE COUNTRY?

Linda’s answer:

Common Sense Schools program was launched in November 2008

State of Virginia has been doing good work on parent education
Kansas City schools have also been doing good work

MacArthur Foundation is supporting “Good Play Project: Digital Ethics”

Also see the Spotlight blog from the MacArthur Foundation

MacArthur Foundation 21st Century Learning and Assessment project (can’t find a link)

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macarthur, foundation, cosn, #cosn09, commonsensemedia, common, sense, media, web2, technology, school, education, research

It is amazing to me how many students and others continue to view and comment on Rachel’s VoiceThread digital story, “Getting a new haircut,” which she created when she was 3 years old. Most of the comments which are left are very positive. Lately, many of the comments seem to be coming from students possibly leaving their first VoiceThread comments. For students who have not participated with social media previously, this is doubtless an exciting activity. In addition to leaving audio comments, often students will also draw on photos with their mouse pen. I have comment moderation enabled for this VoiceThread because of the large volume it continues to receive. I end up approving most of the comments which are submitted. This evening, however, a student commented and left both her full name and phone number. (I’ve obscured the full name and number in this photo, however.) I didn’t approve this comment, because (of course) if I did her information would be visible to everyone.

We shouldn’t assume that all students understand Internet safety and the importance of protecting personal information (like your phone number) online. While the act of sharing a full name and phone number online may be innocuous, it also may be a cry from someone to connect and communicate.

The PBS Frontline Special from a year ago “Growing Up Online” remains one of the best television specials I’ve seen to date about the risks of the online world for troubled teens and digitally-fearful adults. I love the fact that ALL the episodes from that full program are viewable online, free. (A downloadable version is available on iTunes for $1.99.) Compared to the stories related in that special, seeing an example like this of someone sharing their name and phone number online seems like small potatoes. Eating disorders, struggles with identity, cyberbullying, underage alcohol abuse, and other issues are real and very serious. In watching the entire program, I was struck by how many dads I actually know right now who have a daughter battling anorexia, or even a son who has recently written suicide notes that were just discovered.

It is distressing and painful to learn about these societal problems, and particularly difficult when situations like these hit close to home. We live in a suffering world. We have enduring needs to connect with and support each other, and a major part of our focus in schools should be helping establish supportive learning communities where respect, understanding, and care for one another is emphasized and expected.

I am likely going to share another presentation on cyberbullying prevention and Internet safety in Watonga and Kingfisher, Oklahoma, next month, for a middle school health fair their schools have every year. In some ways I feel I have so little to offer in the way of advice and help to teens, because the issues they face are in many cases so formidible and complex any advice I have might seem quite simplistic. Yet, knowing the difficult challenges teens DO face, one of the most important messages I think I can share (and try to) is the importance of reaching out to others around us to be a friend and positively support them. It is amazing how destructive and hurtful words can be. At the same time, however, positive, encouraging words can be powerful and transformative as well.

My eight year old daughter received Shel Silverstein’s book “Where the Sidewalk Ends” this past Christmas, and we’ve been reading poems from it recently before bed. Last night we read “Listen to the Mustn’ts” and it resonated with us both:

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’Ts
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me–
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

The world can be a dark place, but that dark place can become abruptly brighter and warmer because of the thoughtful and caring words of a TEACHER or friend who can speak words of truth and love into that darkness.

Listen close to me. Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be.

Technorati Tags:
cyberbullying, bullying, safety, internet, isafety, education, school

Do you use content filtering on your home network? (This free PollEverywhere survey will permit 30 people to vote on this question.)

I’ve written in the past about how draconian the content filters are in most of our Oklahoma public schools relative to countries with fewer legal freedoms for citizens like China. I am definitely an advocate for differentiated content filtering in our schools as well as reasonable content filtering, which recognizes that ultimately we want to help our students “become the filter” rather than attempting to block out most of the interactive web in the naive belief that authorities can “block all the bad and distracting stuff out.” In the United States content filtering is the law for schools and libraries receiving E-Rate funding, but the form and degree to which Internet content is filtered is left up to local authorities. I think a basic level of content filtering is not only a good and prudent idea for organizational networks (like schools) but also a very good idea for home networks. The proliferation of WiFi capable devices in our own home including laptops and iPods makes our need for “network level” content filtering which does not rely on software or settings specific to individual devices even more apparent.

A year ago I discovered the free service OpenDNS which provides customizable content filtering at the router level of your network, which means ALL DEVICES connected to your network can be content filtered.

OpenDNS is relatively easy to circumvent, since a user can simply put alternative DNS addresses into their Internet device to bypass the filters, but this is not something many casual users are likely to do and I think the service can provide an excellent level of basic content filtering. It is also free and compatible with all routers, as far as I know, so I think it’s fairly easy to make the case for using this at home. I’ve written previously about OpenDNS in several past posts. Today, after using OpenDNS for a little over a year, I still have nothing but praise for the service and functionality it offers. As you might expect, I don’t have our home network ridiculously locked down, but I do have a basic level of content filtering in place. Since we just run Apple computers at our home, our potential risks from adware/malware are minimal, but I think it’s still a good idea to have that type of content filtering enabled as well as phishing protection. Nothing is a 100% guarantee of safety, of course, but these selections make sense to me.

Having available checkboxes to block all website categories like “blogs” and “webmail” make me cringe, however. Sadly, many of our public school districts in Oklahoma DO (often through the filtering companies they utilize) block website categories like these. In a way, it is ridiculous to block an entire category of websites like “blogs.” That is like saying, “We’re not allowing any pencils to be used in our school, because sometimes students write inappropriate notes and we can’t stand for that possibility.” Certainly like any other tool, a blog can be used in a hurtful, destructive or inappropriate way. Blogs also can be used in wonderful and constructive ways as well, of course. Your reading and utilization of this blog post for your own continuing education is likely a case in point. Hopefully someday we’ll get beyond our current mindset (in some circles) that “all blogs should be blocked.” That is an ignorant perception which can significantly limit the potential for constructive learning on the part of others, IMHO.

Are there other reasonable, free solutions out there which are better than OpenDNS for home content filtering? I don’t think OpenDNS seems to have very good reporting features in terms of its statistics when it comes to blocked domain requests, but at this point that is not a real big deal for me. Still, it would be nice to have in the future. As I’ve written previously, common sense approaches to Internet Safety involve LOTS of regular dialog between family members about Internet use and activities. Technology can never be a substitute for conversations and good, open lines of communication. Technology can play reasonable roles in helping establish limits and boundaries, however, and that is an essential part of parenting.

What are you doing in terms of content filtering at home?

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The video “Hero in the Hallway” is one I often like to use as a conclusion for presentations with students about cyberbullying prevention.

I’m sharing this blog post and question primarily for students at Howe High School in Mrs. Parks’ journalism class following our recent videoconference, but the following questions are open for anyone to answer.

How do you think the themes and messages of this video connect to what we need to be doing in our schools to address bullying, cyberbullying, and other issues together?

What action steps can you begin taking NOW at your school to make a positive difference in the lives of those who are victims of bullying?

For more links related to this topic, see my wiki page for the presentation “Proactive Approaches to Address Cyberbullying and Digital Social Networking.”

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cyberbullying, bullying, safety, school, schools, education

Beth Knittle presented a session this afternoon at the MASSCUE 2008 conference in Sturbridge, MA, titled “All A Twitter about Twitter.” Handouts from the session are available on Beth’s Wiki. I shared a few ideas during the preso as well. We Ustreamed the session, and I also archived the Ustream text chat.

Thanks to Ustream participants, we learned about the Twitter directories http://twitter4teachers.pbwiki.com and http://justtweetit.com during the session. The session description was:

Twitter is a free social messaging service for staying connected in real- time, using the web, your phone, or IM. It is a cross between chat and micro-blogging. Twitter can play a key role in developing a learning environment. Participating in the network can provide just-in-time support and continued learning, and it facilitates a better understanding of the people you collaborate with. Come discover some tips and tricks to make Twitter work for you. (We’ll also examine Plurk, another Twitter- like tool.) Wesley Fryer, a world-class Twitterer, will join the discussion.

This is the first time I’ve been listed in a conference program as “a world-class Twitterer.” Since that term is largely undefined, I suppose it is very much up for debate whether or not my use of Twitter qualifies me for such a title. Honestly, I think the best thing about Twitter is the opportunity to both contribute to and benefit from the shared learning of educators networked together. This, to me, is a big part of Connectivism.

I was glad to hear Beth demo Edmodo, which is a walled-garden “twitter-like” application for use by teachers and students.

Presenters had trouble with bandwidth/WiFi connectivity at the conference hotel during sessions today. Thankfully (for this and other sessions) I was able (again) to BYOB!

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twitter, masscue, masscue08, ustream

In response to some questions we’ve had in the past couple of weeks regarding the Ning website we’re using for our “Celebrate Oklahoma Voices” statewide oral history and digital storytelling project, I posted the following in our forum (“Clarifications on our COV learning community (Ning) website”) and also on Classroom 2.0 (“Specific guidelines needed for Ning subdomain content filter unblocking.”) In addition to whitelisting our main project domain (http://celebrateoklahoma.us) Steve Hargadon stated our participating schools also need to unblock http://api.ning.com for the images. The following is available as a 4 page PDF file as well.

To: Celebrate Oklahoma Voices Project Participants
From: Wesley Fryer
Date: November 11, 2008
RE: Learning Community Website Issues

We have received several questions regarding our “Celebrate Oklahoma Voices” (COV) learning community website (http://lc.celebrateoklahoma.us) recently. The purpose of this memo is to address several of these questions, clarify some issues, and provide insight into the ongoing development and direction of our project. Celebrate Oklahoma Voices is presented by The Oklahoma Heritage Association. (www.oklahomaheritage.com) COV is a statewide digital storytelling project empowering learners to become digital witnesses, archiving local oral history and sharing that history safely on the global stage of the Internet.

HOW IS THE COV WEBSITE MODERATED?

COV workshops are led by teams of Oklahoma educators who serve as facilitators. Facilitators are set up on the COV learning community website as administrators with authority to moderate members and content on the site. New members who join the learning community must be approved by a facilitator/administrator, and new videos or photos added to the site must also be approved. To date, I have been handling the moderation of new members and newly added videos to the site, as well as following all activity on the site including comments which are posted by members to videos or to others in the community. Anonymous commenting is not permitted on the site. As we further develop our co- facilitator program for COV in 2009, we will offer guidelines and training for our facilitators in moderating website members and content. Past participants in COV are welcome to become project facilitators. More information about that process will be posted to our website in December 2008.

WHY IS THE WEBSITE SETUP THROUGH NING.COM?

Our website is accessible from the address http://lc.celebrateoklahoma.us. If your school district’s content filter is set to “whitelist” the domain “celebrateoklahoma.us” then you should be able to view content (including videos) on our learning community website. You should NOT have to unblock or whitelist the entire ning.com domain and subdomains. Please contact me directly if you need assistance working with your IT department or the company providing your content filtering service for your school.

One of the important purposes advanced by the COV project is providing a safe, moderated online community environment for both Oklahoma teachers and students to post, share, and discuss videos as well as other issues relating to our digital storytelling project. For students as well as educators to learn digital citizenship skills in the 21st century, it is vital that safe environments be provided where learners of different ages can practice safe and ethical online behavior. Our Ning.com website has allowed COV project facilitators to create a dynamic and safe web environment which serves primarily as a location to post, share, and respond to project videos. Our project grant pays to have advertising removed from our Ning website, the Ning promotional links removed, and to use a custom domain for our site. While our site is accessible from http://celebrateoklahoma.ning.com, it is also accessible from http://lc.celebrateoklahoma.us and we recommend schools whitelist “celebrateoklahoma.us” to provide access to the site for all students and teachers.

During late fall of 2008 and spring of 2009, we are spending approximately $20,000 of our COV grant from AT&T to purchase dedicated server hardware and pay for the development of a custom learning community website using the open-source content management system Drupal (drupal.org). Via an extensive RFP process our COV server advisory sub-committee selected the Oregon-based company Funnymonkey (www.funnymonkey.com) to develop this website which will have the functionality of our current Ning site with additional user and site controls for teacher participants as well as project administrators. OneNet (www.onenet.net) is providing unlimited bandwidth/hosting for the COV project server on its network, and we are very enthused about the potential for our project to grow in the months and years ahead.

Our Ning website has served us well, and we plan to continue using our current site through the Spring of 2009. Prior to the start of our summer 2009 workshop series, we plan to transition over to our new Drupal learning community. That website will not use Ning.com at all, so content filtering issues related to Ning should not be a factor at that point. The main project website will continue to be http://celebrateoklahoma.us. We will migrate videos and content from our Ning website into our new Drupal website.

DOES THE USE OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITE LIKE THE COV NING SITE ENDANGER STUDENTS?

Absolutely not. Most teenage students today are already utilizing social networking websites on their own, but the vast majority of those sites are entirely unmoderated by caring adults in their community. The COV learning community site is moderated by Oklahoma educators, and provides a safe, accountable website for learners of all ages to engage in video sharing and discussions about project videos.

All of the schools in our state receiving E-Rate funding provide some level of content filtering for students and teachers on their computing networks as required by law. Unfortunately, some leaders are mistakenly operating under the assumption that blocking access to websites which permit users to engage in social networking is a complete strategy for helping students become responsible and ethical decisionmakers as 21st century digital citizens. Limited content filtering on school networks IS important, but students and teachers MUST be provided with opportunities to practice safe and ethical social networking AT SCHOOL if we are to fulfill our obligations to provide students with a relevant education which prepares them for today as well as the challenges of tomorrow.

No one can learn to swim by watching a teacher explain the process using a chalkboard. We have to get into the water and actually swim to learn how to do it, and overcome our fear of the water. Similarly, no one can learn safe and responsible social networking skills without actually practicing those skills in an online environment. Our moderated environment provides that opportunity for students in Oklahoma.

HOW DO COV PROJECT FACLITATORS AND SITE ADMINISTRATORS HANDLE THE POSTING OF INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS OR MATERIAL TO THE WEBSITE?

I, along with other COV project facilitators and administrators, work directly with teachers in our Oklahoma schools to address any questions or concerns which come up regarding the propriety of online discussions and shared content on our COV learning community website.

To date, after having over 100 videos posted to our site and over 200 people join our learning community, we have had only two incidents of inappropriate content on our site. Both instances were resolved by working directly with local teachers in schools, who were former COV project participants. We have established a policy in which COV students are required to use an “avatar” rather than a photograph on their learning community profile page. By moderating new user accounts as well as submitted videos and photos, we have been able to facilitate safe dialog in our accountable digital learning environment.

In the Drupal version/revision of our learning community website being developed for Spring 2009, teachers will be afforded more direct control over the moderation of student comments as well as accounts for students from their school/classroom. This level of control will be in addition to the moderation abilities already afforded to project facilitators and site administrators. What will not change in the future revision of our site is the accountability which is present in our community TODAY. Individuals are not permitted to participate, comment, or contribute anonymously, and contributions by those approved to be included in our learning community are moderated by project facilitators / administrators.

CAN STUDENTS UNDER AGE 13 JOIN THE CURRENT COV WEBSITE?

No. Because of COPPA restrictions, students under the age of 13 are not permitted to join any Ning website (including ours) and establish a user account. We are working with Funnymonkey to ensure our revised website will also be COPPA compliant.

CONCLUSIONS

I hope these answers provide more background about our COV project and learning community website, as well as insights into where we are headed in 2009 together. As the director of technology and education outreach for the Oklahoma Heritage Association, I am pleased to continue partnering with a diverse group of Oklahoma educators and organizations to refine and develop the COV project. Our project started in the fall of 2006, and has been ongoing now for two years.

We are continuing to open up doors of opportunity for valuable digital learning on the part of teachers as well as students in our state through our collaborative work together. While many older adults less familiar with new digital technologies are fearful of the Internet and may perceive technology to be an isolating and alienating influence, the powerful stories and personal networking opportunities provided by our COV project offer critically needed contexts for cognitive dissonance on the part of those adults. Digital technologies can and are being used in many positive, powerful, and constructive ways, and the work of Oklahoma teachers and students in our COV project provides many cases in point.

We need your help in further amplifying and sharing these wonderful stories and constructive examples of digital video use and social networking in our Oklahoma schools and communities. If you have not already, I encourage you to share the web address for videos on our learning community site with others in your community. That address is:

http://lc.celebrateoklahoma.us/videos

Please also share the website of The Oklahoma Heritage Association and Gaylord-Pickens Museum, which is proud to present the COV project in collaboration with a growing number of organizations throughout our state. More information about our project partners as well as current COV initiatives is available on our website under the EDUCATION link for EDUCATOR WORKSHOPS:

www.oklahomaheritage.com

Please offer to share videos created by student and teacher COV participants at meetings of local service clubs, church groups, and other community organizations in your local area. Share the stories of “Celebrate Oklahoma Voices” with others, as we seek together to not only archive and share our own valuable histories, but also move our Oklahoma communities and schools forward in embracing the positive learning potentials latent in new digital technologies.

If you have questions about the COV project, please contact me directly at wes [at] oklahomaheritage [dot] com or by phone toll free at 888-501-2059. The COV Advisory Committee will be meeting in December to schedule workshop dates for 2009, and those will be announced on our learning community website.

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oklahoma, ning, cov, networking, social, school, technology

These are my notes from Nancy Willard’s afternoon breakout session “Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge” presented at the 10th annual “Safe and Healthy Schools” conference in Oklahoma City on November 10, 2008, in Oklahoma City. Safe and Health Schools is sponsored by The Oklahoma Department of Education. MY THOUGHTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. I WILL POST SOME SYNTHESIS IDEAS / PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE POINTS SOON IN A SEPARATE POST.

Dr. Nancy Willard
- director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use (www.cyberbully.org)

My old definition of cyberbullying: “Cyberbullying is being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material or engaging in other forms of cruelty using the Internet or other digital technologies
- also called online social aggression or electronic aggression
- “mean kids online”
- survey people are now asking about cyberbullying are asking if young people have received hurtful messages, lots of kids say yes
– we need better measurements: repeated acts, widespread dissemination
– we need to focus on significant issues, not minor or isolated issues

cyberbullying is primarily a bullying problem, not an Internet SAfety problem
- three specific technology-related concerns
– material is posted in an electronic form
– ability to hide or create a false identity
– dealing with harmful online strangers

in 2004 Nancy started this research
- created a taxonomy of forms
- Flaming: online “fights” using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language
- Harassment: repeatedly sending offensive and insulting messages
- Denigration: sending or posting cruel gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships
- Exclusion: intentionally excluding someone from an online group like a “buddy list”

New forms
- Impersonation: impersonating someone to make the person look bad, get the person in danger or trouble, or damage reputation or friendships
- Cyberstalking: repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating
– engaging in online activities that make a person afraid for his or her safety
– using technology to control a partner in an abusive dating relationship

Love Is Not Abuse website

other new forms
- Outing: sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing info or images online
- Trickery: tricking someone into revealing embarrassing information, which is then shared
– deceiving someone online to humiliate or cause harm

Megan Meirs case: police chief told Nancy what was reported in the media was not what he understood to be the facts of the case

Cyberthreats
- Julie was talking about cyberbullying in her earlier session in the context of cyberbullying
- cyberthreats are direct threats or disressing material that raises concerns or provides clues that the person is emotionallly upset and may be considering harming someone, harming himself or herself, or committing suicide

big problem” “Off-campus, Not my job” perception of administrators
- the impact of cyberbullying does or could:
– jeopardize the safety of students
– interfere with educational performance
– damage the school climate

why school officials might not respond
- lack of clarity about legal parameters when responding to off-campus student speech
- situations can be difficult to resolve
- school officials often do not understand the technology or teen online culture, so they feel unfomfortable

We cannot move forward without a partnership between educational technology folks and safe schools / prevention folks in schools

Observation Insight
- How: posted on social networking profile or sent via social networking, instant or text messaging
- When use of specific technologies expands, then cyberbullying associated with those technologies emerges

When Nancy started researching this in 2004 YouTube did not even exist
- she did not include/know about social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook
- this landscape has changed QUICKLY and is continuing to change

Where take place?
- significant amount occurs off-campus, but it is impacting relationships on campus
- also occurs through the district Internet system or personal digital devices used on-campus, including image devices

Story of Nancy’s teenager being taught by peers how to bypass the school filtering system, and erase her web history to cover her digital footprints

We can’t address this by stopping kids from using these technologies
- we can’t just block them from this
- we have to move to more engaging uses of these technologies for learning in schools

Who does the cyberbullying? Possibilities include:
- total stranger
- known individual
- anonymous, but has a relationship
- cyberbullying-by-proxy
- impersonation

many kids are pretty bad about hiding their identity
- can look at friendship links, other clues, often can figure out who is involved
- law enforcement just gets involved in when they believe a crime has been committeed

sometimes cyberbullying is a continuation of face to face bullying, sometimes it is a retaliation
- you absoulutely cannot figure out what is going on JUST looking at the online information and materials
- do not immediately assume the student posting harfmul material is the origin of the problem
– substance of the communications must be analyzed

Girls tend to be more involved than boyx
- sometimes personal and sexual relationships are involved
- can be fights between or fights about

sometimes can be about race, religion, obesity, and frequently about sexual orientation
- can be students at different schools
- can lead to violence at competition events

IMpacts in some situations can be greater than F2F contexts in some cases
- vicioius communications
- no escape
- wider distribution
- anonymous bullies
- bullying-by-proxy

have been 2 school murders reported internationally related to cyberbullying (1 in Japan and 1 in India)
- many school violence situations now involve some online communications leading up to the indicdent

Reporting:
- kids are reluctant to tell adults because they fear they will overreact, blame them, not know what to do, make matters worse, retrict their online access

MUST focus on bystander strategies / peer leadership
- role of friends are key
- adults are simply not present in most of these situations
- many times it is friends who step in to resolve these situations

Nancy’s son in 5th grade is getting trained as a “peer mediator”
- we need training in helping address and resolve these problems

Young people can powerfully influence online social climate in many cases
- can give the targets strength and guidance
- in some situations, confront the perpetrator

There are different groups with profit motives promoting the predator
- degree of harm in research is often tied to how the questions are asked
- we are not often distinguishing between minor and major incidents

results from Disease Control study
- depending on how questions are asked, between 9% and 35% report victimization
- girls outnumber boys in victimization
- no differences in gender in perpetration
- approximately half of targets reported they didn’t know the perpetrator or just knew them online

Students NOT involved in F2F bullying reported involvement in cyberbullying
- most frequent victims online ALSO report they are victims at school

are/were significant differences between online stranger and known-peer situations
- a significant number of online stranger-incidents were needed with simple or no action
-

those harassed by known peers are also significantly more likely to also
- engage in online harassment
- more…

Both targets and perpetrators demonstrate significant psychosocial concerns

Targets were 8 times more likely to report bringing a weapon to school

students view this as a problem, they don’t think school personnel can help, they can easily bypass the school filter
- majority of incidents are off-campus but there is a harmful impact at school
- cyberbullying text messaging is also occurring at school
– but students will not report this because using a cell phone at school is a violation of school policy (in many cases)

Often student knew they could block or ignore the cyberbully
- but did NOT know how to file a complaint or respond as a helpful bystander

Conclusions
- this is a significant concern that is impacting SOME children (not everyone_
- we should pay attention to this
- increasing use of technologies increases the potential uses of these tools for bullying

We should:
- edcuate young people about how to avoid and effectively respond to online-only or other minor incidents, this will help make these incidents more easily manageable and less distressing

young people make threats all the time
- their tone of voice, posture, overall interaction allow others to determine if it is “a real threat”
- Nancy thinks students are biologically incapable of assessing how others will perceive that threat

just because it is posted online, that does not make it by itself MORE of a real threat

online material that looks like a threat could be:
- a joke, parody or game
-

Online “leakage” photo from FBI report after some school shooting incidents
- “when a student intentionally or unintentionally reveals clues to feelings, thoughts, fantasies, attitudes, or….

Jeff Weis, shooter at Red Lake

some students who are victimized at school by students or teachers, are retaliating by expressing anger or threats online

simply cutting these kids out of school, espcially when they are the ones being victimized, is not appropriate

the manner in which officials respond to a situation that was not a “real threat” will influence whether students will report suspected threats in the future
- severely punishing a student who was found not to pose a “real threat” could lead students to decide not to report the next time they see an online threat

If you don’t want students “figuring out threats by themselves” you’ve got to address these perceptions

continual reassessment is necessary to determine whether

follow the secret service guidelines on threats
- not if threat was POSTED but if the person POSES a threat

threat assessment protocols and suicide prevention plans MUST be revised to incoroporte the reality of posting information online

Range of material posted that targets school staff
- targeted by “nasty” student
- convenient target and lack of sensitivity
- student perception of “inadequacy” (highlighted by some student created videos of teachers in class losing patience(
- student venting frustration
- student bullied or mistreated by staff (this is an issue not being effectively addressed)
- legitimate objections

NEA example of cell phone videos of teachers proselytizing in class, calling students names in class, etc: students are capturing evidence of this online

- Nancy is seeing significant issues in school contexts where students are targeting school staff
- this is similar to documented cases of police abuse

school staff bullying of students is REAL
- reporting by students is VERY risky because of retaliation
- some teachers ARE inadequate, removing those teachers is costly and difficult

If a student is being abused by a staff member and retaliates online when there is no other safe reporting mechanism…

Do not immediately assume the student is the origin of the problem
- look at the entire situation
- understand students have a free speech right to protest the actions of staff and school policies, but they can and should be held responsible/accountable for the impacts of their actions

Sexually related risks
- engaging in activities online related to emerging sexuality
- teens must understand
– the kinds of sexual risks

self-harm communities in which students are involved
- these can provide strong emotional support for highly vulnerable youth
- a safety plan must be established to disentangle a teen’s association in these communities
- you can’t just tell a parent to cut off access for the child at home

teens involved in hate groups, gangs, or may form troublesome youth groups
- gang prevention efforts must address…

Online gaming
- cyberthreats could be related to online games
- forming guilds to work together to execute a violent attack, take over a village
- have had some some reports of students planning violent attacks at school who have been attacking vitually together in their guild
- there may be a transfer here (NANCY’S CONJECTURE, NO RESEARCH ON THIS)

Many teens do not understand the potential harm from unsafe communities…

addictive access
interacting with others: need to know how to safely interact with those they know and those they don’t

Why might students NOT make good choices online
- young people at risk in real world are at greater risk online

4 groups
1- savvy youth have effective knowledge, sills, and values to independently make good choices
2- Naive youth lack sufficient knowledge and skills to make good choices
3- Vulnerable youth are facing temporary emotional challenges
4- At Risk youth are those who are “at risk” in other areas of life

greater the degree of risk, the greater the liklihood the young person will be:
- searching for acceptance and attention
- vulnerable to manipulation
- less likely to make good choices
- less attentive to Internet safety messages
- less resilient in getting out of risk situations
-

Saavy kids can become peer leaders

Brain development
- teen’s frontal cortex, they are biologically incapable of consistently making good decisions, but biologically compelled to make their own decisions
- learning to make good decisions requires paying attention to the consequences of your actions, and that is more difficult to do online

We must give guidance to teens to solve these problems independently, but also highlight when it is appropriate to seek helkp

perception of invisibility or creation of anonymity reduces concerns of detection that could result in disapproval or punishment
In face people are NOT invisible online
- they leave cyberfootprints that can be traced
- anonymity is greater in chat rooms than in social networking environments

Need to focus on the development of internalized control
- is this the right thing to do?

“I can’t see you” element
- lack of tangible feedback about consequences of actions
- interferes with empathy, which leads to remorse

we have to focus on consequences (predictable ones) with kids and discipline that helps them to understand the harm, not simply the power of the authority to punish them

students are exploring who they are
- that can result in disclosure of material that can be used for harmful purposes
- attacking people to gain attention

We must set up web 2.0 learning activities where students can learn to present a good public online image and evaluate the images presented by others
- review good and bad examples of adult online images and postings
- encouraging students to create higher quality online standards for their generation

How are we going to teach our kids to use these tools in safe and responsible ways if we are not using them in the schools in moderated communities? We can’t

Question for kids: “Am I Hot?”
- our culture, kids are emerging sexually in a culture that promotes provocative sexuality
- students post provocative images
- explore sexual relationships online

we must have media literacy classes that help students learn to challenge this culture

American Psychological Assn report on the Sexualization of Girls

we need from a media literacy to teach kids how sex is being used to sell, to manipulate
- we need to provide comprehensive sex education
- we need to address sexual orientation

Some online social norms support risky or harmful behavior
- “life online is just a game”
- “It’s not me, it’s my online personna”
- “what happens online, stays online”
- “I have the free speech right to write or post whatever I want regardless of the harm it causes”

What kinds of norms are students helping create for their generation’s online communities
- seek to empower students

Question of teens “How far can I go?”
- exploring boundaries
- need to teach about risks for online behavior, not by fear mongering or taking the just say no approach, but rather by providing them with accurate information

techniques now being used to influence attitudes and behavior
- usually involve providing attention or goodies
- need to teach kids about this

Legal issues
- offline speech presents challenging
- the more harmful incidents are occurring when kids are off-campus, but the harmful impact is also taking place at school
- students have free speech rights but officials have responsibility for safe schools

regardless of where the speech occurs, when the impact is at school and jeopardizes…

Basic constitutional standard
- authority to formally respond to off-campus speech to protect the rights of other students to be safe and receive an education
-

supreme court cases on free speech: court has upheld both standards in school
- school officials can restrict speech (natural rights - Tinker case)
- under Bethel: student officials can restrict speech that is totally against the schools’ educational mission

for cases involving offsite speech, school officials can’t restrict speech to inculcate values
- but CAN restrict if that speech could cause concerns for the safety and well being of students, or restrict the delivery of instruction

there needs to be a “school nexus” for speech being restricted
- something about that speech relates to school
- impact at school that is material and substantial
- or is reasonably foreseeable will be a material or substantial impact

Disruption or Interference
- significant interference with instructional activities, school activities, or school operations
- physical or verbal violent altercations
- a hostile environment that impairs a student’s ability to participate in educational programs or school activities
- assessed based on objective and subjective analysis

Speech that targets school staff or challenges school policy will often not meet this standards
- frequently will not meet substantial disruption standard
- unless substantial disruption of instruction, school operations, or school activities
- students have the right to petition school officials to right a wrong or correct problem

Our founding fathers called King George a “tyrant” in the Declaration of Independence

School officials must respond to online material that raises a concenr a student may pose a threat
- issue is not whether a threat was posted
- issue is whether the student POSES a threat

respond to on-campus speech
- legal standards are not very clear on authority and responsiblity to respond to harmful speech through district internet system

Does Oklahoma have a student free press statute?
- watch out on that: that is for school newspapers, often that does not address things students post in other places

School officials have authority and responsibility to respond to any harmful speech that takes place while students are using personal digital devices on-campus
- ability to monitor and review is limited
- must address the concern that students are not reporting because of fear of consequences for cell phone policies

What if student speech has created a hostile environment for students at school
- school officails LIKELY have the responsiblity to respond to off-campus online speech that has created a hostile environment at school
- they definitely have a responsibility if the district Internet system was used or are associated with on-campus harmful interactions
- failure to investigate and respond could constitute “deliberate indifference”

VERY important to get the bridge between edtech staff and safe schools staff
- review team mebers who could include an administrator, counselor, tech coordinator, librarian, school resource officer, and community mental health rep

if there is an imminent threat, contact law enforcement
- remember an impersonation could be taking place

Evidence gathering should be well documented and preserved
- determine identity of cyberbully(ies)

Search for additional harmful material
- conduct analysis of all involved students through district internet system
- ask about related on-campus actions

What appears to be off-campus behavior may not be

Bypassing the filter by school officials is NOT a violation of CIPA
- this IS essential to protect student safety
- failure to be able to bypass the filter can be construed as “deliberate indifference”

Sometimes the student how posts harmful material is a victim

Because of litigation: DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
- officials must be able to prove disruption or potential for disruption
- need to document the degree to which something is a hostile environment

personal digital devices
- have a lot of unresolved issues related to wiretapping law and investigation of student cell phones
- if need to review and no consent, confiscate device and contact school attorney
- if possible criminal concern, contact policy

Imposition of formal discipline will never be an entirely sufficient response to resolve the problem
- stopping the harm and rebuilding relationships are the most important objectives
- ensure removal of harmful materials
- prevent retaliation
- address support needs of target
- help the perpetrator remedy the harm

Nancy supports a focus on “restorative justice”
- can respond both formally and informally

Nancy’s research-grounded, comprehensive approach
- grounded in Olweus bully prevention program
- not research based
- enhanced with insight into cyberbullying, technical issues, and legal issues

systematic change in organizational structure of schools and how we are addressing these issues
- edtech staff and prevention staff must work together
- need more formal and informal needs assessments on this

bypassing the internet filter needs to be a policy for staff

cyberbullying policy: expanding definitions of bullying (already happening in Oklahoma)

Revise threat assessment protocol and suicide prevention planning to Internet communications

work with legal counsel to craft personal digital device policy that is in accord with state wiretapping law

also addresses digital devices: what if students are bringing their own devices to school
- how can we get students to report these cell phone incidents that they are not reporting now

need policies specific to taking pictures on school grounds or at school events
- school is not a public place to take pictures
- specific permission should be required before taking a picture of anyone at school or activities
- exclude journalism and public events
- prohibit use of imaging device in restroom or locker room
- taking a picture of someone at school with an intention to harm should be a major policy infraction
- reporting procedure should be clarified

if you are being cyberbullied: DON’T RETALIATE!
- save the evidence
- try to figure out who the cyberbully is, if you do not know
- decide whether you can handle the situation yourself or should tell an adult

steps to try first
- simply leave a public site
- calmly an strongly telling the cyberbully to stop and to remove any harmful material or you will take further action
- ignore or block the communications and remove the friendship links
- file a complaint with the website, ISP, or cell phone company
- your parents can send the material the cyberbully has posted to his or her parents and demand they make it stop
- if the person cyberbullying you goes to your school, your school counselor, principal, or resource officer can help
- parents can contact an attorney to send a letter or file a lawsuit against the parents of the cyberbully
- parents or the school can contact the police if the cyberbullying includes any threats or is a crime

Be a good friend
- take action if you witness it
- help the person being cyberbullied

the fact that harmful material is or can be preserved in electronic format, and the true author can generally be identified, provides significant advantages for cyber-savvy school personnel to more effectively discover and intervene in situations that are negatively impacting students.

Larry Magid article from today “Obama raises hopes for online civility”

Technorati Tags:
cyberbullying, safety, school, internet, technology, isafety, networking, social, socialnetworking

These are my notes from the opening session at the 10th annual “Safe and Healthy Schools” conference in Oklahoma City on November 10, 2008, in Oklahoma City. Safe and Health Schools is sponsored by The Oklahoma Department of Education. MY THOUGHTS ARE IN ALL CAPS.

– NOTES BEGIN –

Demand for Crystal Meth has not gone done in Oklahoma, although enforcement efforts have been stepped up and more labs have been shut down

www.crystaldarknessoklahoma.org

This documentary will be aired in Oklahoma on Jan 13th, 2009 at 6 pm CST on Oklahoma television

MY THOUGHT: WILL THIS BE AVAILABLE LATER AS AN ON-DEMAND DOWNLOAD ONLINE? IF NOT IT SHOULD BE.

28 min documentary on how meth has affected children and our families
- working with this documentary for months
- watch parties are being sponsored around the state for this documentary
- town hall meetings in churches and other community locations are encouraged

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics would be glad to provide free speakers, curriculum, and professional development

Senate Bill 1941: Bill about cyberbullying, lockdown drills, etc

Dr. Nancy Willard is here to present a workshop, is going to share a few thoughts
- director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use (www.cyberbully.org)
- These are Nancy’s opening comments for our conference before breakout sessions begin

“The young people who are at greatest risk online are the ones who are already at greater risk in the “real world”

I TOTALLY AGREE AND HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR

We have fear / techno-panic that is disproportionate to the risk
- we also have non-factual fear

research is clear: young epople face far greater risks from peers and known people than strangers

Almost everything you have heard about online sexual predators is WRONG
- very few incidents
- predators do not target children
- predators do not decieve about age or sexual intention
- predators do not track and abduct teens based on personal information

No indication of increasing stranger danger online now
- predators get others to talk about sex online

NO ONE has documented even ONE CASE where predators are tracking and abducting teens based on personal info

predators:
- target emotionally vulnerable or “seeking” teens
- teens meet knowing they are men and knowing they will engage in sex
- 75% girls, 25% boys
- likely that acquaintance abusers are now using technology to groom and control victims (this is Nancy’s opinion, there is not data on this yet)

MOST NOT AT RISK
- the vast majority of teens appear to be making good choices online
- report healthy responses to negative online incidents
- are not distressed by these incidents
- but some ARE at risk!

Risky sexual activities
- sexual harassment
- online activity leading to “sexual hook ups”
- students creating and disseminating child pornography of themselves online
- use of porn in abusive relationships

Cyberbullying
- repeated and/or widely disseminated cruel material using communication technologies that causes emotional distress
- continuation of in-person bullying
- in retaliation for in-person bullying
- issues of disparity of power are being addressed online: retaliation by victims in many cases

Unsafe communities
- online communities that support self-harm
- anorexia or bulimia
- self-cutting
- drug or steroid use
- suicide

“the unsafe community issue”

Online groups that foster hatred or support illegal behavior
- hate groups
- gangs
- hacker groups
- pornography groups

Virtually every issue being addressed F2F at this conference is an issue and taking place online

underlying factors
- posting material online that can lead to harm of self or others

cyber-distress
- if a young person is emotionally distraught it is highly likely that he or she has posted online material that will provide evidence of risk and risk factors

Does this pose risk
- Red Lake Shooter, Eric Harris
- they all had very disturbing information online
- if you have a teen walk into your counseling office and say “so and so has posted

I hear stories of counselors who have to go to their local StarBucks to try and access teen websites which are reported by peers
- the only people who can often show content that is locked behind protected profiles, however, are the reporting teens themselves

we have to make it easy and comfortable for students to report
- it does not violate CIPA for you to bypass the filter at your school
- bypasses are documented

THIS IS A RESTATED CASE OF WHAT I’VE CALLED BEFORE “THE CASE FOR DIFFERENTIATED CONTENT FILTERING IN SCHOOLS”
- NANCY SAID SCHOOLS’ FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS TYPE OF FILTER BYPASS FOR COUNSELORS AND TEACHERS CAN AMOUNT TO INDIFFERENCE TO STUDENT THREATS / DANGERS IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AND CAN HAVE LIABILITY IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOLS

current internet safety messages
- fear-based messages
- not grounded in fact
- simplistic rules about personal information and strangers
- warning against normative behaviors
- approaches like the DARE approach are KNOWN to be ineffective!

My new approach
- address youth risk online within safe schools
- expand committee to include
– educational technology
– internet crimes
– public library, youth services

Have new requirements under E-Rate program that schools do E-Rate
- if that ends up in the hands of edtech people that is a PROBLEM because they don’t understand or know the research (in many cases) on youth risk
- so this is a place where edtech people need to get together / combine forces with prevention staff

Recent presentation to Washington State Librarians
- telling of young people coming into library who are drop outs or skipping class
- they get a lot of at risk youth at the public library, on the computers
- many librarians don’t know how to deal with them
- recommendation was for school librarians to talk with public librarians

we need to assess youth risk online behavior in manner similar to YRB survey
- coordinate collection so we can identify risk and protective factors

Under safe schools initiative
- requires initiatives meet standards to achieve a waiver of Principles of Effectiveness
- no research-based based practices
- implement research-grounded approach with evaluation

I hope you realize all your teens can bypass your Internet filter
- Nancy is working on narrated slideshow presentations
- Cyber-Savvy Teens: A Guide for Parents
- Cyber-Savvy Teens
- focusing more on digital citizenship, where students are both creators and consumers of content

— END OF NOTES —

Technorati Tags:
safety, internet, cyberbullying, cyberbully, technology, school, schools, filter, content, digital, citizenship, digitalcitizenship

I am co-presenting a session Monday, November 10th at the 10th annual Oklahoma Safe and Healthy Schools conference here in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the Clarion Meridian Conference Center with attorney Julie Miller. Our session is titled “Internet Safety, Social Networking and the Oklahoma School Security Act.” Presentation slides for my portion of our session (licensed Creative Commons Attribution-Only) are available as a PDF file. (16.8 MB) A more descriptive title for my portion of this session would be “Contentions, research, and proactive strategies for digital citizenship.”

I have linked these presentation slides from both my main handouts page on my blog and my wiki curriculum page (which includes extensive links) titled “Safe Digital Social Networking (DSN) -or- Proactive Approaches to Address Cyberbullying and Digital Social Networking.”

In this session, among others, I’ll be extending the analogy that social and educational digital networking is a lot like swimming. We’re going to have to get in the pool with our kids and get wet if we’re going to help them learn to safely and deftly navigate the opportunities as well as risks in this new digital environment.

Some of the updated reports and resources I’ll be referencing in this session which I have not included in previous presentations on this topic include:

1. McAfee, Inc. Research Reveals Mothers Rate Cyber Dangers as High as Drunk Driving or Experimenting With Drugs (22 Oct 2008)
2. Examples of social networking power and influence in the 2008 elections (Obama campaign YouTube site, Liberal Dems Top Conservative Reps in Donations, Activism article from 23 Oct 2008)
3. Website allofme.com - an aggregator for individual’s digital footprints
4. Students Competing For Slots At Elite Colleges Resorting To “Facebook Sabotage” (23 Oct 2008) - nod to Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach for this link
5. Bullying of teenagers online is common, UCLA psychologists report (2 Oct 2008)
6. Schools soon required to teach web safety (13 Oct 2008 from eSchoolNews)
7. IBM Social Computing Guidelines (schools need to have guidelines like these)
8. The E-Discovery Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure And School District IT (Document Retention Systems) (1 Oct 2008 from the EdJurist blog)

Technorati Tags:
socialnetworking, safety, online, students, kids, technology, schools

Perhaps this was inevitable. This evening we had our first instance of a student creating a profane and inappropriate account profile in our Celebrate Oklahoma Voices learning community, and posting a profane comment on the profile wall of another student member. I’ve used Skitch to hide the identifying information of the student in question in the screenshots below, because I want to highlight the issues and challenges this raises rather than stigmatize a student, teacher, or a school.

Thanks to the RSS feed I keep in my Safari web browser’s bookmarks bar notifying me whenever there is new activity in our learning community, I learned about this profile and the inappropriate comment the student left for (most likely) a classmate about an hour and a half after it happened this evening at 6:30 pm CST.

This led to about an hour and a half of work on my part taking the following actions:

1. I took screenshots with Skitch of the user’s profile page and the comment they left for another user.
2. I deleted their comment and banned the user from our Ning site using my administrator tools. (It turns out I didn’t need to delete their comment manually, by banning their account from the site all their contributed content on the site also was automatically deleted.)
3. I enabled account approval on our Ning learning community, and also enabled media moderation (for posted photos and videos) on our site.

I also sent a message to the student who had received the profane comment, letting them know what actions had been taken and asking them to have their teacher contact me.

Based on context of the profane comment that was left, it was not difficult to hypothesize the school they currently attend and the teacher at their school who has attended our COV workshop in the past. My Ning administrator site management interface for user accounts shows me the email address of that user (now banned) and I composed messages to the teacher that I sent both via Ning, and via regular email. I sent unmasked versions of the screenshots I’d captured to the teacher. This is the email I sent to the teacher, with identifying names removed:

Hi [TEACHER FIRST NAME]:

I’m sending you this email to provide documentation which may assist you in investigating the identity of a student (who I suspect is from [NAME OF CITY]) who created a profile with profane and inappropriate language this evening on our Celebrate Oklahoma Voices learning community website, and left an inappropriate comment on the profile of another [NAME OF CITY] student. For your own documentation and mine, this is the message I also sent you this evening as a message in our Ning learning community:

— start of message —

Hi [TEACHER FIRST NAME]!

This is Wesley Fryer, co-director of Celebrate Oklahoma Voices and one of the administrators for our online COV community. Let me first say I am DELIGHTED that you have students who have created oral history interviews and digital stories, and are sharing them on our website! That is great!

This evening we did have a student, who I suspect is from [NAME OF CITY] based on the profile info he/she entered, create a profile using profanity and inappropriate language. The student also left another inappropriate comment on our learning community site for another [NAME OF CITY] student.

I have recorded screen captures of these posts, deleted them from the learning community, and banned the student’s account. I also have enabled account moderation and photo/video moderation on our site. Perhaps this was inevitable, but this is the first instance of profanity and inappropriate language we’ve had on our site to date.

I am going to email you copies of the screenshots which include the student’s email address, and the account of the person who they left the inappropriate comment for. If you could, it would be good if you can find out who this person is and use this as an opportunity to discuss digital citizenship and appropriate uses of online learning communities. We know this kind of thing is going to happen, and it is good for us to be able to talk about this with students and learn from these situations.

I will email this to you at the account I have on file for you, which is [EMAIL ADDRESS]. I will email you from [MY EMAIL ADDRESS]. You can call me at [PHONE NUMBER] to discuss this if you want. I will help you in any way I can to help investigate and deal with this situation.

Again, the participation of your students from [NAME OF CITY] in COV is GREAT and I don’t want you to think that this incident will in any way reflect poorly on you or your school. These kinds of things are going to happen and we’ll work together to deal with them.

Wes
— end of message —

The email address this person/student registered with was [STUDENT EMAIL ADDRESS]. As you can see from the attached screenshots, they did not use their full name when they registered. (Not surprisingly, they apparently wanted to remain anonymous, but did apparently use their real email address.) I strongly suspect they know the student with the account “[OTHER USERNAME],” since that is the person they left the comment for. You might (or your principal might) start your investigation by interviewing that student privately about the identity of [STUDENT EMAIL ADDRESS].

Please contact me if I can be of more assistance, and also let me know you received this email. I’d like you to please follow up with me by phone when convenient (no rush) so I can learn what you found out and were able to do. We are all learning in this new environment– While situations like these are unfortunate they are going to come up and I will work togther with you to help in this situation.

I would suggest you get your campus principal/administrator involved in investigating this situation, so you can have their support and they will know/understand what is going on. With account moderation now enabled I anticipate our incidents like these will be minimized, but there is no telling what will happen.

I have NOT contacted this student directly through our learning community or via email, nor do I plan to– I am going to leave that up to you and your administrator. I have (as I stated above) deleted their comment and profile from our learning community, and banned their account (registered with the email I mentioned above) from the learning community.

On a positive note, I saw on your learning community profile that you’re interested in doing more with Veteran history, so I wanted to be sure you know about [ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT AN UPCOMING VIDEOCONFERENCE DELETED].

Thanks

One of the first thoughts that might enter your mind as an educator or parent might be, “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just banned or prevented students from joining and participating in a learning community like this?” The answer to that, of course, is “yes.” However, we NEED to have conversations about appropriate uses of online learning communities like this with our students. If we never provide students with opportunities to engage in appropriate social networking in contexts like this, how are we all going to learn how to practice digital citizenship? We have to “get in the water” if we are going to learn how to swim.

photo credit: tsuihin

While it has been great to be able to leave our learning community website open to registrations from anyone, it does make sense to now moderate accounts as well as submitted photos and videos as the profile of our project moves beyond teacher professional development and involves more students and community members.

Do you have any suggestions for things I should have done or still should do with regard to this incident? I’m sure we are all going to learn a great deal from this situation. Hopefully the learning we experience and share can benefit many. This is a good conversation to be having about 21st century communication and collaboration.

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