web awareness and digital citizenship
DON'T RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
“Just because I was born in world with tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and saws, does not mean I have any idea how to use them to their full potential,” writes George Couros in his blog post “4 Assumptions We Shouldn’t Make in Education.” (http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4177) I’m pretty handy with a screwdriver but my hammer skills are worthy of a spot on TV's “Canada’s Worst Handyman.” With some lessons on how to use a hammer, though, I may be able to hit a nail on the head, instead of the surfaces all around the nail.
Likewise, today’s students are familiar with the Internet, but they need guidance to use it to its full potential. When Couros, the Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning for Parkland School Division (@gcouros on Twitter), spoke at the U of L on October 16, 2013 during Anti-Bullying Awareness Week, he urged educators to set the bar higher than warning students about cyberbullying. We must show students how to use technology in a positive way. Couros shared one student’s Twitter account that tweets a compliment about a different student in this student's each day. Another school adopted the idea but used YouTube videos of a different student each day delivering a positive shout out to a fellow school student. Another school sends out its weekly newsletter through YouTube videos where students share the school's information (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk2XJB4lBK8). Yet another school set up a blog called “180 Days of Learning” where administrators, teachers and students take turns celebrating what they learned each day for 180 days. If we want our students responsible digital citizens, educators need to not only model the behaviour, but teach students how to appropriately use technology, too. We need to focus on more of the positive potential of technology instead of reinforcing the negative possibilities.
Likewise, today’s students are familiar with the Internet, but they need guidance to use it to its full potential. When Couros, the Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning for Parkland School Division (@gcouros on Twitter), spoke at the U of L on October 16, 2013 during Anti-Bullying Awareness Week, he urged educators to set the bar higher than warning students about cyberbullying. We must show students how to use technology in a positive way. Couros shared one student’s Twitter account that tweets a compliment about a different student in this student's each day. Another school adopted the idea but used YouTube videos of a different student each day delivering a positive shout out to a fellow school student. Another school sends out its weekly newsletter through YouTube videos where students share the school's information (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk2XJB4lBK8). Yet another school set up a blog called “180 Days of Learning” where administrators, teachers and students take turns celebrating what they learned each day for 180 days. If we want our students responsible digital citizens, educators need to not only model the behaviour, but teach students how to appropriately use technology, too. We need to focus on more of the positive potential of technology instead of reinforcing the negative possibilities.