You Are What You Post—Create a Positive Web Presence

April 22, 2012 | Author: Ed Brazee

Digital Learning Series

Free 45-Minute Webinar

 

Help Students Understand and Manage

Their Digital Footprint

 

It is a whole new world where young people must be proactive in building their online reputations.  It is critical for their teachers and parents to help them understand this process as well. Join us as we assist adolescents (and their teachers and parents) to learn about their digital footprints, understand connections between their online actions and their goals, and recognize how their digital activities determine their on and offline reputations.

In today’s world of instant access to information about everything and everyone, impulsive postings  have long-lasting ramifications.  College admissions, future employers, military recruiters, and even potential mates check you out online. What does your digital reputation say about you?

 

Free 45-Minute Webinar

May 9, 2012 —3 pm, EST

May 9, 2012 — 7:30 pm, EST

May 10, 2012 — 9:30 pm, EST

Register:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTMay910

Can’t attend on these dates and times?

Register instead to provide On Demand access for your entire student population!
You Are What You Post: Create a Positive Web Presence — On Demand

To register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTOD

Consultants:

Edward Brazee, Brazee Digital Learning Services

Jill Spencer, Senior Partner, Learning Capacity Unlimited

Chris Toy, Senior Educational Consultant, Learning Capacity Unlimited

Sponsored by JK Thomas & Associates Ltd.

 

More information about this free webinar

Intended audience:

  • students
  • parents
  • teachers, administrators, counselors and other school staff members

Ways a team might use this information:

  • In advisory
  1. Share the webinar  with students in 10 minute segments and structure conversations around the salient points of each segment.
  2. Use the information in the webinar to create your own interactive lessons.
  • Digital citizenship lessons
  1. Use quotes, statistics, etc. from the webinar to frame a lesson on cyberbullying or other topics
  2. Explore the topic of social entrepreneurship using examples of adolescents doing good in the world through online social activism; perhaps spur students into starting a service learning project.
  • Parents’ night
  1. Use it as the central focus of the parents’ night program to (1) help them understand the positive aspects of their children’s online participation and (2) give them some tips for guiding their children through the maze of web.
  2. Share the registration information as a good resource for parents to access.
  • Information to put in parent newsletters
  1. Create a section of your newsletter entitled “Tips & Facts” for Digital Parenting” and use information from the webinar to give parents some concrete advice.
  2. Copy links from the webinar for parents to use  (e.g. Common Sense Media).
  • Educate your community
  1. As you advocate for additional technology (hardware, software, & curriculum integration), use information from the webinar to demonstrate the urgency of providing 21st century resources for your students.
  2. Volunteer to go to the Rotary (take students!) and other civic organizations to do a program that emphasizes the world your students will be entering as they graduate. Use webinar information to help make your case.

Format:

  • Free 45 minute webinar

 

More information beyond this free webinar

Option to purchase six additional + 2 bonus modules, that go in depth on these topics…

  1. First Impressions Matter: Putting Your Best Foot Forward
  2. Improving Your Digital Footprint
  3. “To Be or Not to Be” Personal Branding
  4. Being Safe Online: Ensuring Online Safety and Privacy
  5. Presenting Yourself Online—Where Will You Be Found? (Hint: More than on Facebook)
  6. Weighing the Options — Making Choices

Bonus module #1: But, What About Young Adolescents (10- to 15-Year-Olds)? A Primer for Parents, Teachers, and 10-15 Year Olds

Bonus Module #2: Raising Children in the Digital Age—Any Century Parenting

Posted in Digital Citizenship, Parent and Community, Professional Development, Your web presence | Leave a Comment

Busier than ever…or more time than you think?

March 21, 2012 | Author: Ed Brazee

What do you do with your free time?

It is estimated that worldwide every year there are one trillion hours available outside of our work obligations. Free time, fun time, useful time?

In the U.S. we spend 200 billion hours each year watching TV. Yes, 200 billion hours. AND 100 million hours every weekend watching TV advertisements. Contrast that with the 100 million hours of human capital that has been used to produce Wikipedia.

If these figures catch your attention, you may be as fascinated by Clay Shirky’s idea of cognitive surplus as I am. Cognitive surplus (from the book of the same name) refers to the “free” time that we have available to do anything we want, from the creative, to the generous, to the ridiculous.  Shirky suggests that given the power of the Internet, we have the opportunity to produce and share like never before.

In the 20th century,  watching TV was our primary activity. We passively consumed TV, but not much else. In contrast, 21st century media still allows us to consume, but more importantly it allows us to produce ideas, experiences, and be creative and share all of this with others. Of course, not everything that is produced and shared is of equal value but Shirky believes that producing something is better than not producing something. The thousands of cat videos (lolcats) may not be on par with social networks that address global issues, but the gap between doing something and not doing anything is critical, according to Shirky.

Shirky also suggests that given a way to act on their desire for autonomy or competence or generosity and sharing, people will do just that. Author Dan Pink, Drive—The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us), says that same thing. People are motivated not by the carrot or stick, but by autonomy, mastery, and purpose. If given the opportunity, people want to contribute to something meaningful, we want to be good at something, and we want to have some say to do what we think needs to be done. Common sense, but backed by research in human behavior.

But this is the part that gets to me. What if we began to use some of our cognitive surplus to do something meaningful? Problem-based learning in schools could focus on solving local and global issues. What if every adult or every family decided to do something to improve their neighborhood, community, or world. Nothing major. Build or refurbish a playground or ballfield for kids; help an elderly couple paint their house or clean up their yard; prepare older computers for those who have none at home.

Critics ask why this type of generous behavior is dependent on the Internet. A good question. While Shirky notes that the Internet allows us to connect in unprecedented ways with others next door or half way around the world, the concept is the same. How are we going to use our time? And what if we used all that time checking email, waiting for and responding to texts, or mindlessly surfing the net when we could be doing something worthwhile. Would that give us even more of a cognitive surplus?

How do you use your cognitive surplus?

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A personal digital odyssey

February 19, 2012 | Author: Ed Brazee
Hobie the dog, ready for a walk

Hobie the dog, ready to log off and go for a walk

I thought by my age that I would be well organized in my professional life, concentrate on fewer and more meaningful projects, and generally be better able to plan my working life. If I ever thought I was on the way to organizational bliss it all changed with computers and easy Internet access. It exploded in the last 10 years with a mountain of digital tools, information, and demands for my time…and all so easily available at my fingertips. In short, at 64, I am learning all over again how to organize my professional life, my work time, and if truth be told, how to separate work and the rest of my life. This last is becoming even more difficult.

Why am I interested in this topic? Yes, certainly for myself, but more importantly for the teachers, principals, and students I work with. Everywhere I look, people are overwhelmed with information from dozens of search engines and distracted by email, texts, YouTube, Facebook. and a million other things. I’ve been popping popcorn the old fashioned way for 50 years, but several recent batches of burned popcorn sent me to my iPad and ultimately popcorn that is better than ever. Traveling somewhere? My wife is the master of Kayak, Priceline, and TripAdvisor and spends hours online searching for the best deals. Need to know how to fix a dripping faucet, what that glowing “idiot” light on your dashboard means, how much to feed your cat, or how many calories are in that premium ice cream you so desire? Google it. In fact, Google all of them.

Our family uses the phrase, “Wikipedia Journey” to describe the online journeys that some of us take whenever we log on, whether first thing in the morning or late at night. With good intentions we are prepared to complete Task A before we check our email, peruse the NY Times headlines, or watch the latest movie trailer, but somehow any of these or more takes us off track. Immediately and for much longer than we anticipate. Sit down at 8 am and before we know it, the clock is ticking over to 9:30 am. Where did the morning go?

Here is what I am working on. I am trying to waste less time. Read email only after I have completed at least one (legitimate) task and then stay off email the rest of the day until one final sweep before you shut down for the day. (Full disclosure…not doing well at this yet, but trying.) Next, I am trying to avoid the “Tech Penalty” defined by Royal Van Horn as “…what happens when you do something using technology that you could do easier, quicker, or more efficiently without using technology.” For me that’s easy. I still keep a paper calendar and I love it. I need to see an entire month at a time and it takes me less time to keep this calendar than it does to pull out my phone or computer. Not for everyone but it works for me.

I’m trying to stay on track, following my “to do” list and perhaps more importantly, not getting distracted. Time management experts say that for every interruption that pulls us out of our concentration (an email we glance at, a text we respond to, a stroll to our homepage on Facebook), it takes much longer to get back on track. Much longer! As an academic, I could study a topic forever. With the unlimited resources of the Internet, I simply have to focus and find the best resources, not all the resources.  One of the biggest lessons for our students in K-12 schools is how to search smartly, how to determine if a source is legitimate, and when to stop searching for more information. We must learn how to use the best and forget the rest!

Finally, knowing when to disconnect and do something else is essential—move outside, get some fresh air, be physically active, whatever it takes. That reminds me, time for my run with Hobie.

What is your personal odyssey to final digital happiness?

 

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Let’s try this from a different perspective

December 16, 2011 | Author: Ed Brazee

Are we upside down on digital citizenship?

More headlines…college students use their smartphones to cheat on exams…a national push to totally ban cellphone use while driving…prominent figures sexting…recently 65% of adults surveyed said it was fine to ask someone out on a first date via text (and if you like that one—24% said it was acceptable to break up with someone over text). And we wonder why children and adolescents have such a difficult time with the temptations and challenges of using technology and media in their lives? Look at the adult role models they have!

But it is hardly time to throw our hands in the air and walk away. We have only begun to figure out how technology, digital media, social media and the rest work in our lives. Just when we think we have some reasonable guidelines for using email, texting takes over. Just when we think we have the privacy settings on our Facebook pages squared away, the format changes and we have to ensure that we aren’t sending out information we want to remain private. And what about all those “friend” requests from people we hardly know?

Point one: What should we teach kids about using digital media and staying safe, but also being responsible users and ethical too? Are there guidelines that could help us know what to do? Are we focusing on what really impacts kids? Parents have been warned repeatedly about the dangers of adults stalking their children through chat rooms, games, and social media. Does that happen? Of course, and we must make kids aware of this danger, but it happens very infrequently. The real danger is in peer to peer interactions—especially cyberbullying— but also posting text and pictures that are inappropriate, not paying attention to their digital reputations, spending inordinate amounts of time texting and socializing with their friends and much less time using digital media to learn and make positive contributions to society.

Point two: Both parents and educators must educate our youth to be responsible and ethical digital citizens. That takes a great deal of thought and planning and…more than anything else consistency. It goes without saying that kids need many opportunities to talk with each other and adults about these things, both at home and in school. Children and adolescents must see the adults in their lives model good digital citizenship…and hear those adults talk about what they do and why. We may be seeing the tipping point where schools realize that banning devices, shutting off Internet access, and discouraging students from using the digital media they have outside of school, makes no sense. (But we still have a long way to go with that as well.) The other option is to explicitly teach our students about both the upsides and downsides of using digital media. And really, isn’t that the only real choice we have?

 

 

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