Digital Literacy

Reading 8 Digital Life Skills All Children need   I started to think more about the section about the neglect of digital citizenship. I often feel left in the dark when I hear this because I grew up as a millennial with technology but also because the school district I work in is always embracing technology and trying to incorporate it into our teaching with ease. We have begun to use code.org in the last few years and even just this year I received a  Cubetto.  "A child should start learning digital citizenship as early as possible, ideally when one starts actively using games, social media or any digital device." I admit I use to believe most of the safe use of technology should rely on the parents. However after teaching for the last 5 years I have discovered that parents also lack training and knowledge to do so in many cases. Now living in the area we do parents often work at places like Microsoft, Boeing, and Amazon therefore they often have some great

In chapter 2 of The Art of Screen Time, Kamenetz discusses research that relates to screen time. She references Dimitri Christakis quite a bit given that he is the co-author of with the familiar rule to avoid television under the age of two. This was recommended  by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999. Like many doctors and researchers in this area he believes the harm of screens in related to the amount of time spent using them. As I mentioned in my previous post researchers are not willing to have children participate in any studies that would increase screen time to prove this point. Christakis has actually done media reduction studies in the past but the issue that came up was he was putting in a large amount of work for very little results. the amount of reduction amounted to about 20 minutes and it was too hard for families to control and change their media lifestyles for the study. "Christakis urges us to consider the profound implications of exposing children to

In the first chapter of The Art of Screen Time by Anna Kamenetz she acknowledges the confusion we feel as parents about what is the "right" amount of screen time. She presents this in an easily readable manner that feels as though you are having a discussion with a friend. I found this introduction very refreshing as a parent because it acknowledged many of my feelings about my child and screen time.  It was interesting that there really are not any studies or research to support or discourage certain amounts of screen time. Due to the fact that the studies would effect young children no one is willing to put them at risk. Considering children can not consent to a study knowing the full possible consequences of participating. While this is understandable it leaves this subject feeling devoid of proof or sound knowledge. Kamenetz mentions that even the "experts" are talk over and around each other further confusing parents in the process. Similar issues arose

This is how I feel when people who have never taught or been in education make comments and are negative toward teachers wanting fair pay. Boy would I love to invite them in this year, with it being my hardest year ever. "Welcome to my room were a 5 year old won't stop screaming and throwing tantrums all day long but don't forget you still have to teach the other 16 kids! Have fun!"  Sorry just being a bit bratty with this post. Yes, I chose this field knowing what the pay was but it doesn't mean I have to accept that for my whole teaching career. There is nothing wrong with fighting for what you deserve. 

"The labor of online content production is done with hopes of an audience in mind; memes are created for the very purpose of virality and, by extension, appropriation." (Poor Meme, Rich Meme) I came across the meme above recently and I thought I recognized it with another meme I had seen circulating a long time ago. After doing a very quick google search I discovered the original meme this young boy was placed in (without any consent of course). It really got me thinking about our use of children's photos and videos in memes and gifs. After all we often share many pictures of our children, not thinking they will become a hurtful meme that goes viral. Now when I see this meme come up as a mother, teacher, and human being I am mad! Seeing a child with a clear disability but also a child should not be subjected to the cruelty of being in a meme with such mean and hurtful comparisons and "humor". Someone found this child's photo and instead of usin

Reading Can Public Education Co-exist with Participatory Culture? by Elizabeth Losh and Henry Jenkins I thought more about the struggles teachers are facing with weather to embrace things like social media in the classroom. I have received the feeling that it is not very acceptable in my elementary school while just about every other form of technology is widely accepted and improved in my district. I went in search of more experiences by teachers in the field and their use of social media with Elementary Students. After all I feel that the younger we start teaching the appropriate use and tools it can provide the better these students will use it as teenagers. I came across the following article: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/introducing-social-media-lower-elementary-beth-holland Perhaps it was how she began her article that it caught me. "Let me begin this post by saying, "I agree." I agree that students should have recess and play outside. I agree that yo

Through The Fire Choosing to tell this story I knew I would struggle emotionally to hear it and tell it. I had wanted to tell a story about becoming a mother because it was a happy story. However, I could f… Go to this Sway I immediately knew which piece of writing I had that could be used to convert into a mediated writing piece. I took Digital Story telling over the summer and was able to tell the story of my grandfather's death. While the piece of writing I choose was a reflection on the process of creating it I knew it could be an opportunity to provide pictures and elements I was unable to in the digital story I created. This mediated piece allowed me to show more and provide more background information through the links embedded in the writing. I think this allowed me to share more than I had when I initially did this assignment. I could see how this could get carried away by the author losing the reader in the process. To much movement and information may be a

"Think of a social networking site as being like a huge party. There are people there that you know, as well as some that you don't know at all. Imagine walking through the party with all your personal details, and up-to-the-minute accounts of what you are thinking, written on a big sign stuck on your back so that everyone can read it without you even knowing. Do you really want everyone to know all about you?"- Tactical Technology Collective and Front Line Defenders . This part really makes a great point about sharing your personal details on social media. While come of this seems like a no brainer to me I have to remember the times we are in now compared to long ago. Initially signing up for social media sites like Myspace or Facebook it seemed very casual to put all your information on there. There were no stories to warn us or no real concern on many people's minds. Most people did it so I did too. We don't think anything will come of it but positive comm

"reporters have no choice but to chase clicks"-Anatomy of a Moral Panic The blog post  Anatomy of a Moral Panic really opened my eyes to the issue of Amazon's algorithm for suggesting other purchases. I hadn't ever seen any media on this topic before. I am use to seeing those suggestions however with the things I buy it usually suggests similar items. I would imagine Amazon doesn't have a team that is dedicated to looking for ingredients that make certain explosions. However the topic I was most interested in was about the click bait nature of journalists and their desire for large amount of clicks instead of quality journalism. I have noticed this on KOMO News a lot in the last few years. They put a nice catchy often relatable or eye catching title and you want to click it. Only soon to be largely disappointed that your click was a waste of time and the article contained little on that actual topic. I saw this on my Facebook feed a while back and I saw it

My husband and I traveled to NYC this past weekend. I was blown away by Time Square and just how much flashy billboards and screens there where. Television doesn't do it justice in terms of size and how it feels to be there. I spent a lot of time using Snap Chat and this is one I took of Time Square. It is a little crazy that one of the biggest attractions in our country is famous because of its screens and billboards. What can I say we love shiny pretty lights. Like bugs to a light. 

" In addition to improving engagement, photography provides autistic students with a subject that’s accessible and allows them to participate actively and inclusively alongside their peers." -Jennifer Sullivan Reflecting back on our last class and hearing about universal design I came across an article written by a teacher about her use of universal design in the classroom. She has started to use photography with her students as a tool to engage and make the subjects she teaches more accessible for all of her students. More then anything she saw the chance to improve the engagement of her students on the Autism Spectrum while benefiting all her students.  THE BENEFITS OF PHOTOGRAPHY FOR AUTISTIC STUDENTS 1. Photography encourages independence 2. Students’ creative and unique perspectives are valued and empowered 3. Students gain flexibility in their thinking 4. Students improve their communication skills Personally for me I have had students with Autism and

I am a bit behind on my blogging and honestly I have little to write about The Harry Potter Alliance readings from last week. I decided instead to read one of the articles in the feed the class website. I read Your Kid's Apps Crammed With Ads by Nellie Bowles.   The article discusses the research of pediatrician Jenny Radesky as she looks into children's apps advertised as educational. One immediate concern was the use of banner ads that started to appear throughout the game at the bottom of the screen. The ads also were very difficult to close and contained information that no child needed to see. One example she gave was of an ad that came up of a cartoon picture of Donald Trump and a button to set of a Nuke. These were in games aimed at kids under the age of 5 years old. I don't care who you are that isn't necessary for a child to see. This particular ad actually made the child concerned. Dr. Radesky and her researchers looked at over 135 games and the findings we

Trauma informed schools is the hot topic this year in my school, as it should be. We recently had a building day to learn more about the trauma our students are experiencing and just how many adverse childhood experiences (ACES) they are starting their young lives with. Some examples include: I couldn't help but wonder why our teacher preparation programs do not have whole classes dedicated to preparing teachers for this? Not just a few days but a whole class. I think back to my own preparation classes and only being required to take one special education class and can't help but think what a disservice that was because I needed more. I think the same now with trauma informed practices. The study that made these landmark discoveries began in the mid 90's so I find it hard to believe we haven't started to try and inform teachers from the start of their preparation programs. After all these ACES have a high impact on or student's health. I currently have a

"But Facebook is also causing us to face a redefinition of what friend means and makes it increasingly difficult to behave differently in front of different publics."- Howard Rheingold  I have always taken the word friend very seriously because I am not a person that has tons of friends. I am satisfied with having a few or at times one close friend other then my sisters. I don't let people waste my time and so I choose to have few friends. I also grew up incredibly shy so that may have contributed. When I read the section "Facing Facebook's Facts of Life" in chapter 5 of Net Smart   I immediately started think of the casual effect Facebook's use of the word friend to reference connecting with someone. This section also reminds me of the bad mistakes I first made when joining Facebook. When I signed up I added my phone number to my profile like it prompted me to. Well after years I forgot about the fact it was on there. I was now in my twenties wit

One piece of advice as a teacher mom that I wish I would give every single parent is to read to their children from the time they are born throughout school. While I experience the effects of reading to a child from birth with my own daughter, I experience the effects in the classroom as well. I can usually spot a child who wasn't been read to often or at all. This is usually a child that can't tell you where to start in a book or they will not turn through each page. They "finish" a book in about 10 seconds. Even if they are unable to read words they still are unable to simply look at the pictures and make up their own. I currently have at least 5 of those children in my classroom. Children that have been read to are able to elaborate on pictures even if they can't read words. These children have a wider range of vocabulary and creativity. Having attended the Reading Summit in Seattle I found out that it is a common shock to many that they should have been r

"The tasks they perform are becoming more complex and lifelike." Reading Chayko's section about "new and emerging technologies" in chapter 10 made me immediately think of the scene from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory when Charlie's father loses his job to a robot (you can see the scene below). The replacement of human workers with robots is rarely shown in a positive light in movies and television. The media often paints a picture of technology being bad because it is causing people to lose their jobs. Even at 15 when I first saw this movie after it came out you couldn't help but feel bad given their families economic status.  While there are still sad cases I am sure there is also the untold side of robots replacing jobs that are unsafe and undesirable. Robots can increase productivity and provide some of the products and services we desire. I was interested to find out more about what makes a company deside to switch other than mo

Chapter 9 in Chayko's Superconnected was an interesting read. It left me feeling slightly more informed but also wanting more. I found the parts about health to be the most interesting because being a "Millennial" I am constantly hearing the nagging of older generations about our use of technology and social media.The idea of it being an addiction often comes up as well. In the reading the comparison of digital media use and excessive reading bring up a great point about the idea of digital use "addiction".  "The same could be true of internet and digital media use, which is also sometimes dismissed as frivolous but is obviously used for a wide range of purposes with vast range of effects."-Chayko I find it tremendously unfair to call excessive digital use as an addiction. I think its use gets confused as the problem versus some of the pages of types of sites being used. The blame should rather be on a more direct type of site such as porn. Thei

One thing to know about me I LOOOVVVEEE Teachers Pay teachers! Reading Chapter 4 this week in Rheingold's Net Smart I couldn't help but think about all of the online collaboration opportunities for teachers out there. I am an open door teacher. Any one can come into my classroom looking for resources or advice at any time. The kindergarten teachers in my school are all this way. However I have been at schools that are not like this. They hoard their resources for fear of never having enough or because they bought it. I don't understand that!The more the merrier for me. If I can save someone from paying a couple bucks on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) and they get to use it in their classroom I am going to share willingly. Now for any one reading this that hasn't heard of TPT it is a website where teachers can sell or give away resources they have put together. It can be in any subject and teachers all over the world can use it as a customer or a seller. Teachers that b

For my play this week I used the Daily Create website and I had the website choose a challenge at random. I saw a perfect opportunity with this challenge to advocate for something I feel is extremely important for children to experience at school throughout early childhood. Play is one of those areas in education that we have fluctuated on over the years. For a couple years it is very popular and many districts make an effort to include it in their daily schedule and then we hit a span of years where it no longer made a priority. I have felt very fortunate to begin my teaching career in a time when my district has embraced all of the research on play in early childhood. It is expected that I include at least 45 minutes of play each day. We call it play to learn. As a kindergarten teacher I know how much children learn from play. My students are currently learning social skills, problem solving skills, and currently learning how a restaurant works with my dramatic play center. But

Motivated by the video Challenging The Algorithms of Oppression I decided to do a search of my own today. I didn't know exactly what to expect but the above picture is what I got when I searched female teachers, female teacher sex scandals. The first chapter in Net Smart discussed the high usage of use by the younger generation and it sparked a thought about how many might be female. With women historically being oppressed it felt like a natural connection once I heard the following quote from Reingold.  "This interest by U.S. youths in media production practices might well be a function of adolescents' needs to explore their identities and experiment with social interaction." -Howard Reingold For comparison purposes I decided why not search male teachers and this is what I got. Essentially all about why we need more male teachers. Such positive first results. Could it be because female teachers are sex offenders (haha just kidding)? I find this so te

Reading the introduction to Net Smart I immediately began thinking about my own "digital treadmill "that I had begun to "go on" as a young child. It motivated me to think about the introductions to technology I had, the main staple social media and technology platforms that got me here today. As new social media platforms take shape and gain popularity it is often difficult to remember just how long we have been going on the treadmill. One of the largest contributing factors for me continuing further and further was the reliability. My first introduction to computers was frustrating and unpredictable. Dial up internet took forever and often there were times it wouldn't connect at all. I only relied on a computer for occasional fun playing games and nothing else.  My families very first computer actually broke within the first 5 minutes of setting it up because a CD we inserted shattered inside and trickled through out it. We had to wait at least a week until we

Hip Dysplasia awareness is a very important thing to me. I knew nothing about it before I had my daughter.When my daughter Nyah was born the hospital very casually mentioned that she would be checking her hips to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary. The first few days she is poked and prodded so I didn't really think much of it. They didn't seem to say much about them when she was first born but then at one of her early check ups at about 3 months her pediatrician said she was feeling a click in her hips. She referred us to Seattle Children's Hospital so we could see a specialist. The day came for the appointment and I went in so positively. After all she look perfect and nothing seemed off. After the x-rays the doctor came in and told us our daughter had Hip Dysplasia and that one hip was worse then the other. She was going to need to be in a Spica cast that went from her chest down to her ankles for 3 months. I felt like I had been hit by a train and ther

"Some consider fake news to be simply information with which they disagree. Others claim that we can no longer regulate truth in an era where fake news spreads so easily and that we therefore live in a "post-truth" society." -Mark Chayko The idea that some consider fake news to be information they disagree with gives me great concern. In a country that prides it self in being some where with freedom of speech it strikes me as petty to then  hold information as fake if they are unable to support it. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of things I read and hear that I don't like or really want to hear but I feel that the term fake news is a phrase spread like wildfire now. With the election of our newest president this phrase has been everywhere. I didn't think much of it until it was thrust into our faces everyday. I grew worried because I know as an avid celebrity gossip follower that I maybe gullible enough to fall for fake news. Chayko says "