Final Reflection

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about this class.  It proved to be extremely interesting and I hope to use a lot of what I learned in the near future if I have not already started to do so.  Luckily, a lot of the technology in the assignments were ones that I was somewhat familiar with. 

 

A few that I learned the most about were the QR codes, ScoopIt and Podcasts.  These are ones that I can put into use immediately.  I have already started to use QR codes for vocabulary and AR testing information.  Scoop It is a really neat way to  introduce a topic or even a person to the class.  Podcasts can be used a lot in my school because teachers are encourage to use a flipped classroom.  It is really easy to use podcasts and requires very little time. 

The most difficult technology was Instagram for me.  I couldn't seem to put words on my pictures even with the Overgram application.  I tried and tried but to no avail, could not figure it out. 

One of the only concerns for me about some of the technology is that it would not be accessible through the school district due to the filters in place.  Other than that, I cannot wait to get started in the Spring with what I have learned.  THANKS :)   

Teens and Technology 2013

Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Duggan, M., Cortesi, S., & Gasser, U. (2013). Teens and Technology 2013. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 1, 1-19. Retrieved December 6, 2013, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-and-Tech.aspx

Where do teens access the internet?

In a phone survey of 802 parents and 802 teenagers between the ages of 12-17, results show that the internet is accessed with a smart phone.  According to the article, 78% of teens have a cell phones.  As stated, "the teens represent the leading edge of mobile connectivity."  Smart phone ownership is on the rise among teens.  The translates to being able to connect to the internet at any time of the day.  Teens use a phone, tablet or mobile device 3:1 over the computer/laptop.  At least 93% of teens have access to a computer, and of that 71% share it with their family.  The trends demonstrated with this survey also mimic those in the adult category. 

My Response

It is not surprising to see the statistics associated with these topics.  A majority of the teens have phones.   It is great to see that when they have a question, they can get an immediate answer when needed with accessing the internet with their phone.  Hopefully this will lead to greater knowledge and more of an interest to continue to research when questions arise. 

19 pages

Parents, Teens, and Online Privacy

Madden, M., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., Lenhart, A., & Duggan, M. (2012). Parents, Teens, and Online Privacy. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 1, 1-29. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Teens-and-Privacy.aspx

 

                How do parent protect their children with online privacy?  How is it monitored?

There is a huge concern that too much information is available online about children and teens.  There is little legislation that establishes regulations.  It is simply hard to keep up.  In response the this problem,  a phone survey was conducted of 802 parents and 802 teens.

Some of the concerns for the parents of teenagers include: how much information advertisers are learning about the teens online, how much the teenagers interact with strangers online, how the online activity might affect the future academic and employment opportunities and how the reputation is maintained.  The parents of 59% of those surveyed had a conversation with their child about privacy.   Some parents even help set up privacy settings (39%).  Parents also used parental controls, internet searches.

My response

Unfortunately, the governments cannot keep up with maintaining up to date regulations when dealing with the media and internet use.  The regulations tend to come a little too late.  Teens are often naïve on the amount of information released in the social networks sites, even if there are privacy settings.  I hate the way some tragic needs to happen before major changes are made.  I would be concerned as well if I had a teen age daughter.  Fortunately, I have a couple more years to go.  I was also surprised about the responses by those surveyed did not have higher percentages in each of the question categories.   If parents are so concerned, then why do they not act upon it?

29 pages

Teens, Smartphones, & Texting

Lenhart, A. (2012). Teens, Smarthphones & Texting. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 1. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Teens-and-smartphones.aspx

   The use of smartphones is everywhere.  Particularly in the teen age range, texting has increased.  As a whole, it increased to an average of 60 texts per day.  Texting has taken the lead as a form of communication for teens, beating face to face, phone call, social networking, instant messaging, landline phone calls and emailing.  The amount of time spent actually talking of the phone has decreased.  Teens cell phone ownership has increased dramatically to 75%, up 30 percent in 5 years.  An interesting correlation is that the heavy texters are also the heavy talkers, or vice versa, light texters are light talkers. 

My Response

                It is very obvious to anyone watching that teens are losing touch with their personal skills.  This can be attributed to the cell phone.  Since cell phone are no longer just for the wealthy, teens from all social-economic status’ can have access to one.  Most are even able to have access to a smart phone or device.  Teens are using these devices to have access to information instantaneously.  Unfortunately, they have also become impatient, expecting everything to be instantaneous.  I believe this is going to lead to much larger problems in the near future.  Communication is a huge factor, not only in personal relationships, but also in recreation.  It is very important to know how have propper conversations with others, not through the phone. 

34 pages

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA & MOBILE INTERNET USE AMONG TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS

Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr. (2010). Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults, 1-51. Retrieved December 5, 2013 from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx

Who doesn’t have access to the internet via mobile, smart tablet, laptop, or pc?  Not very many people according to the research are without some reach to the internet.  There are definite trends in the arenas of social media usage as well as mobile internet.  The trend indicates various findings which include some of the following:  blogging is on the down for the teen and young adults while on the rise for older adults, an increase in social networking within all surveyed groups, Twitter is the one social media that is on the downtrend among teens, cell phone ownership and internet use has increase currently at 75% and finally, only about 4% of families did not have some form of internet. 

My response to article:

Truth be told, I was a little shocked by the article.  It might have due to my naivety, but I wasn’t aware the scope of social media.  I was awed that the largest upward trend in cell phone ownership was in young teens.  I would have thought that the trends started to show up at much younger age-even 6 to 7 year olds. 

I also thought it was interesting to know race and class had little to do to effect the ownership status of cell phones, but when it came down to ownership of a laptop of pc, race did seem to factor in.  So this obviously trickled down to the outcome of the other questions in the survey.  One of the questions concerned whether or not the teen got onto social media through the website via phone or laptop/pc.       

I hadn’t really thought about the positive side for teens using the internet and social media, until I read about teens, adults and online health information section.  I thought this was interesting because although teens are losing verbal skills due to using the phone as a means of communication, they also turn their phone use into somewhat of a research.  For topics that teens are not comfortable speaking to someone about, the internet gives them a means to find information and often useful, correct information. 

It was an interesting read.  Anyone questioning if the social media or phone usage is normal or not, needs to read this article. 

51 pages

Instagram and Vine

Another two pieces of technology for use in the classroom are Instagram and Vine.  Both are highly popular among the younger crowds.  There are various things you can use them for in the classroom.

Instagram 

These two pictures I took of my children.  As an educator, Instagram can be used in a variety of ways.  One of the obvious ways to use Istagram is to document memories throughout the year.  The yearbook club could make great use of this program.  Almost everyone's smartphone has a pretty good phone.  What better way than to use the tool and be able to tag who ever is in the picture.  It would make the lives of the yearbook committee a lot easier if students could take pictures using instagram and take the yearbook committee/class in the picture to use at a later date. 

I also liked the idea of using Instagram as a way to document what a famous person might say or post.  The students would have to place themselves in the role of the famous person and to do that, the student would have to have some background knowledge of the person. 

Students could also use Instagram to document the stages in experiments.  It would be great to be able to capture the processes. 

Vine

Here are some clips from the Vine. 



This is my daughter, Kenna getting ready for the Aggie football game. 

Students in the classroom can act out the main idea or big picture of different subjects.  I like that since it is looped, formulas can be studied for math and science. 

Since again, this smart tool is easily accessed with a smart phone, creative ideas can take place in the classroom with using technology. 

Information Curation

Scoop it is a web tool that allows its users to create a webpage with personalized topics of interest.  It is great because you create something that is based on your likes and personal touches.  This information curation tool would be great for teachers to use to make a webpage dedicated to various topics.  It is really easy to create a web page and edit to the users specifications.  Simply sign in using your Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.  You can simply edit what types of information you would like to include and the tool gives the user suggestions for the topics they selected.  Easy and neat to work with. 

 



Paper.li is a webtool used to create an online newspaper.  Think of the countless ways teachers could use this tool.  Plus it is free.  Can't get any better than that.  Users can sign up through Twitter or Facebook.  You are able to import information from Twitter, Google, You Tube, Facebook or RSS. 
It was really effortless to create the newspaper. 

 

 

Prismatic is a tool that users can use to create a webfeed.  There is an option of logging in via Facebook, Google, Twitter, or use the creation of the users own preference of name and password.  I like that this webtool allows users to sign in with a choice or creating their sign ins.  I found this tool to be a little more difficult to work with.  It is not as user friendly as the other two so far.  It is a little similar to Pinterest. 

 

 

Zite is an application for creating a personal magazine in which the user picks the topics to be addressed in the magazine.  It is obviously personalized to the extent of the topics selected.  However, there are times when the feed does not work or when the types of feeds do not necessarily fit the personal selections.  It is a creative ap that can allows the users to filter information to their personal desires. 

 

 

 

 

Flipboard is similar to Zite but the interface is a very different. It is more creative and is more interactive than that of Zite.  Users can save articles for a later read.  Users flip through the different pages making more like that of a magazine.  I find the information a little hard to read at times, but of course there is an option to have it on an Ipad or larger screen smart devices.  This one seems to be my favorite simply because it is user friendly and acts more like an actual magazine. An added plus is being able to listen to music when browsing.   

 

 

Google Currents is my least favorite application.  It is the least creative visually.  I like that you can save the articles.  I find it difficult to read some of the articles.  It is a great tool to be able to change it to different languages.  On another positive note, it can be linked to users other Google accounts. 

 

 

 

 



Screencasts

Really great way for teachers to educate their students would be through the use of screencasts.  This will work really well with upper elementary all the way to college to demonstrate and elaborate on projects due in class.

Here is one of the free websites that people can use called screencast-o-matic.  This is a quick sample of how a teacher can use the screencast to demonstrate a Toondoo.  This tool is really easy to use and very user friendly.  It was fairly easy to save and get a link to my video.  The process was painless :)




Here is another tool used to create a screencast called Screenr.  This website is another easy to use web based screen recorder.  Just make sure your laptop or computer is equipped with a microphone if you wish to records any details you would like to add. 

This is an example of how teachers can demonstrate how to narrow searches when doing research.  Too many times, students are required to do some type of research and the Internet generates millions of responses.  The following is a way to limit the number of responses while obtaining just the information of what is sought. 






Out of the two, screencast-o-matic seemed to give me the least amount of problems.  I had an extremely hard time logging into Screenr to be able to save my screencast.  It was less tedious to use screencast-o-matic.  Two thumbs up.  Whoop.

Playing with Words

Here are some word tools to use to create different pictures.  Below are some examples of different tools, both from a website as well as a phone application. 

Tagxedo-http://www.tagxedo.com/


This is probably one of the best of the word tools to use.  This free website allows users to create a word cloud with various formats.  Users can words from blogs, twitter accounts, tags, or  you can type your own words.  Users can change the shapes of the word cloud, as well as the font, color, theme and orientation.  I liked that there is a wide variety of shapes to choose from.  The entire process is not as user friendly as I would have liked, but it is easy enough to play around with. 


Wordle-http://www.wordle.net/





  

Wordle is a neat and free website for creation of word clouds.  There are two ways to input the word selection: manually typing or URL.  Once created, the user can change the layout, delete common words based on language, font or color.  Users can then save or print out their Wordle.  I did like the simpleness of the website but users were limited on choices within the layout, fonts, and colors. 

Tagul-http://tagul.com/

Tagul is another free website that allows users to create a word cloud with a creation of an account.  This was probably the hardest of the three to work with.  Users can enter the text from a URL, from text or from an uploaded list of texts.  I did like that users can create a list of words to filter when creating a word cloud.  There are limited shapes and sizes to choose from, as well as fonts and color.  But unlike the previous two websites, users can animate the picture. 





Quipio-available on

This application allows users to choose a picture and add text to the picture.  It is really a trend right now.  It does not take long either.  You can upload a picture or use one in the gallery.  Then decided on the font and placement of the text.  After it is created, users can share the picture with Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter.  I really enjoyed this one. 

Recite This

http://piccsy.com/post/view/2587427

 

http://piccsy.com/post/view/2587445

 

This is a website that allows user to do what Quipio does with the phone application.  It allows users to write text on top of selected pictures  Users can create and post the pictures via Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Stumbleupon.  It does give a link to refer back to the created picture.  You are really limited on the selection of backgrounds and you cannot upload your own chosen pictures. 

 

Students could use these websites in a variety of ways.  As an ELA teacher, a student could upload the text from an essay to make sure there are not too many words repeated.  This would be an easy way to check.  As a class, students and teachers could create a word cloud to demonstrate comprehension of a book read.  The more important words would be larger because they would occur more often in the text.   They could also be used for surveys.  The list can go on and on.  Point is, here is another tool for teachers to use some technology in the classroom.

Cartoon and Comics

With kids back to touch with reading comic books such as the Diary of the Wimpy Kid, what better to learn about than how to make some of your own.  The following are some websites to consider using. 

ToonDoo

This comic strip was easy to create.  It did take a while to figure out how to navigate through the different selections.  I do not think students would have a hard time utilizing it at all.  I was pretty easy to save, although I would have preferred to see a save button set aside instead of using a drop down menu.  I would have like to have been able to print out just the comic strip without all of other parts of the webpage.  It did give an option to be able to upload pictures and other clip art so the user is not limited to what is available on the webpage. 



Pixton




This website is by far the easiest to use.  It works a lot like Microsoft Word where you can type and edit at free will.  This makes it a lot easier for students to use because most are familiar with Word.  It was also easy to create and save.  There are a large amount of options of templates to use.  These comics can be created really quickly when needed.  I would definitely recommend this site to use.  It is FREE but does need an account created to use. 



MakebeliefsComics

 

This website is free and does not require registration.  It is easy to create and email yourself or others the created strips.  It was a lot harder to navigate throughout the selections.  It was hard to view them in smaller icons and you had to go through them one by one.  It took a lot longer to create this one. It also did not have an option to upload your own pictures.  Students would be able to use this website but it would be the easiest or the most interesting. 

 

There is also a neat ap called Tellagami.  It is FREE too.  check out mine.

https://tellagami.com/gami/CYDNQY/

Online Book Communities

There are various means to "shelve" and share book collections.  It can be used to display a proposed reading list or a recommendation of sort.  Here are a few online book communities that I have had a chance to play with along with my recommendations.

Goodreads

This online book community is really easy to work with.  You can get a synopsis of each book by clicking on the picture.  It is also tied to Barnes and Noble as well as a large assortment of other vendors.   This would be a good way for a group of people to keep up with what others are reading and their recommendations of the books each read.  Students would be able to use this as a classroom project, however most school districts will block this sight from their districts. 

Library Thing

This online book community is easy to use as well.  It seems a little better to view as compared to Goodreads.  It is easy to add books, but you can only do it one at a time.  You can add tags to the books.  Users can use change the amount of columns per page as well as the size of the book covers.  The book shelves can be arranged by authors, series, Melvil Decimal System and Lexile Measures. 

Shelfari

This was by far my favorite.  This tool is user friendly and visually appealing.  You can add followers via Facebook, Twitter, Gmail or Yahoo.    Users can import book lists as well as export book lists.  Users can establish groups as well.  This would be great to use the classrooms. 

Booklikes

Again, this is an easy program to use.  There is a drop down menu that is linked to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, as well as other book stores to check the price of the book selection.  It is also user friendly to add books and sort them from add date, read date, author, title and rating.  I love that you can add your shelf to a blog.  I don't like that font size is really small. 

Biblionasium

This seemed like the most appropriate tool to use for elementary age children.  It is very colorful and simple.  The books can be organized by displaying all books, favorites, recommended, required and classroom wish list.  Teachers and/or parents can even run reports on books read.  What I did not like about this tool was that there were a lot of books that I did not have access to, so I would have to enter one manually.  There were not any links to the book stores like Barnes and Noble or Amazon. 

Podcasts

                There are numerous uses for Podcasts, both in the classroom as well as the library.  It is referred to as an audio blog.  Teachers can use one to introduce a lesson ahead of time.  Maybe the background information, review, or definitions could be covered through a Podcast outside the classroom.  This frees up some more instructional classroom time.  Some of the students need a lot of repetition such as our ELL’s or special education students.  This instructional tool could be used to accommodate their learning needs.  Sometimes there is not enough time to cover the needed information, so an extension of the lecture can also be reviewed with a podcast.  Currently, some schools are using “flipped classroom,” which is when the teacher uses a podcast to deliver the lesson, so that the classroom time can be used for answering questions and doing projects. 

Librarians can use this tool in various ways.  With limited time and manpower, having podcasts can aid in assisting the students with topics that are easily answered.  Students can also upload podcasts of book reviews, so that other students might get a different perspective of a book. 

There are several free podcasting tools that students can use.  They are very user friendly and only require a microphone and a computer.  A lot of the newer computers already have a microphone built in, so it is even easier that one thinks to record a podcast. 

Here is an example from Soundcloud




Here is an example from Audioboo

listen to ‘Mikaela Saenz Podcast of Rodrick Rules’ on Audioboo

Webbing/Mindmapping

Spicynodes:  This easy to use Mind Mapping tool is extremely easy to use.  It has neat features that can be varied by user choice.  The font, background and color choice are a few of these features.  Users can also upload multimedia including music, audio, and photos to add to the concepts.  The maps can also be shared via twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and StumbleUpon, to name a few. 

 

 

 

Popplet:  This webbing tool is really easy to use .  You can create visual organizers with different styles.  Also simple in nature, users can add balloons or text boxes by a simple double click.  There is also a neat feature to be able to leave comments on other maps. 

Wisemapping:  With this webtool, users can embed images, use it as an ap on an Ipad or Android tablets, and add comments to other maps. 

 

The easiest one to use was Popplet.  This would be the one I would recommend to younger users because it is so simple to use.  Editing the map is very user friendly and easy to manage.  Spicynodes would be a great way to take notes and might be better for a high school population.   Wisemapping was really frustrating to work with.  I had a difficult time creating the map.  The tutorial was not existent.  It did not have many helpful hints to help the users.  I would definitely not recommend using it. 

 

Edwards, E. & Cooper, N. (2010). Mind mapping as a teaching resource. The Clinical Teacher, 7, 236-239.

 

 

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

Some of the following places have created a YouTube channel.  Within each channel, there are different videos that are uploaded for educational use.  Here are some of the following links to different channels.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNHSLibrary/videos

 

The NHS Library’s Channel-

Poetry for Students-This video seemed really helpful.  Any student was able to follow step by step instructions for library and poetry resources.  The instructor/librarian was able to give a lot of resources a student should use while working on their poetry assignment.  I think the students will get a lot of use from this video.  Students can definitely roll over some of the information to the different subject areas.

 

NHS Library Orientation-Although this is a short video, a teacher can use it prior to going to the library.  This will take away less time for finding books instead of having the librarian go over this during the orientation.  It would also be useful when there is a new student to the district.

 https://www.youtube.com/user/theunquietlibrary/videos

The Unquiet Library Channel-

Video Tutorial How to Embed a Prezi Presentation in Wikispaces-These types of presentation are great because they are user friendly.  Students can back up the video to repeat a portion of the presentation.  This is always helpful.  Embedding is something that students need to get a better grip of it.

Creative Commons Licensing: What Is It & Why Should I Care-I think the students should learn about this topic in more depth.  Students need to learn to give credit where credit is due.  This short clip help hint on some of the reasons why it is important to learn about licensing. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/pikesvillehslibrary/videos

2013-2014 Registration Process-This is a great video because, once again, when a student is absent, they can just review this video to obtain the information that is needed to register for the next school year.  Parents can also view this video.  It makes the life of the counselor a lot easier.  Students would definitely use this a lot. 

The Pikesville HS Library in Action Aug/Sept 2012-This type of video would be great to have going on any TV’s inside the school grounds.  Students will be able to see some snips of what is available at the library. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/bbmsmedia/videos

Taylor Swift hates overdue library books-This is a cute video done to attract teens and encourage students to be responsible and turn in books on time.  Students probably hit this video to see it creativity.

Overdue Games-This is a really cute twist on Hunger Games.  In this video, students are encouraged to make sure to turn in the books on time.

Overdue Twilight-LOVE IT.  Plus I love the song in the background.  Cute how it ties in the characters of Twilight into discussion on overdue books.

 

  Scan this QR code for a book trailer on perfect chemistry.

 

 

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

 

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

 

QR CODES

 

These are an awesome addition to the library.  You can have several of them around or outside the library for student/teacher use.  These can easily take the students to a particular website for use.  Pictures can also be used in the QR codes.  In math, reading, and science, we use them for vocabulary.  There are endless possibilities for teachers, librarians, or even students to use. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogs and Blog Readers

Out of all the blog readers available, I chose to use Bloglovin because it had a catchy name amongst other things.   It seems really easy to use.  You search for popular blogs based on categories or you can also narrow it down to popular posts on blogs of different categories.  A user can link this blog reader to their Facebook account as well.  Bloglovin is quick to read because it gives just a quick look at the picture/post for each post.  This saves time of not having to scroll thru the entire posts for each blog. 

 

Little Brown Book Publishing

 http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=6311753&link=aHR0cDovL3BhZ2UycnNzLmNvbS81MzNmYjkyYTc0ZWFiOWNkMTM5NTU3MTliMWI5ZTFjNA&frame=1&frame_type=b

For obvious reasons, I love this blog.  They produce some great books and keeping up with the blog will keep readers up to date on what’s being published and when.

Banned Books

http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=6681995&group=0&frame_type=b&link=aHR0cDovL2Jhbm5lZGJvb2tzY2hhbGxlbmdlLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8&frame=1&click=0&user=0

This is a great way for librarians and readers to read or discover information pertaining to banned books.  Some of these blogs have need ideas for discussions and activities to share. 

Book Displays

http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=8773487&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mbGlja3IuY29tL2dyb3Vwcy9ib29rZGlzcGxheXMv&frame=1&frame_type=b

This blog is dedicated to people display designs of book displays.  I think this is a great asset to have when you need something inspirational or if you can display some great works as well.

Library Stuff

http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=1448497&group=0&frame_type=b&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saWJyYXJ5c3R1ZmYubmV0Lw&frame=1&click=0&user=0

Staying current on anything library related is extremely important.  Why not use this blog as a way to do just that?  Anything to allow us librarians to work smarter, not harder is a great tool to have.

Library of Clean Reads

http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=3527626&link=aHR0cDovL2xpYnJhcnlvZmNsZWFucmVhZHMuYmxvZ3Nwb3QuY29tLw&frame=1&frame_type=b

This blog reviews books, both fiction and non-fiction for anything that might be inappropriate.  Working in a public library leads to risk when some of these books are not necessarily at the right placement.  We need to be careful and aware of what’s in our library.

Here’s another blog reader-  www.tumblr.com

You can follow another one of my blogs at http://aggiedeanna.tumblr.com/

Gig ‘Em

 

Where Teens Seek Online Privacy Advice

Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., & Smith, A. (2013). Where teens seek online privacy advice. Pew Internet and American Life Project, 1, 1-17. Retrieved September 16, 2013 from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Where-Teens-Seek-Privacy-Advice.aspx


Online privacy is a huge topic whether you are a parent or a teenager.  But who do teens ask for advice when online privacy is concerned.  This report describes the findings from phone surveys of 802 parents and 802 teenagers. 

Many teens rely on themselves to figure out to how to manage their privacy on media accounts.  What the survey highlighted was when they actually needed to seek other input, who would they turn to?

The findings:

   

 

My response to article:

I was surprised to see the percentage of teens that turned to their parents for advice.  Knowing that a large portion of teens have the "I can do it myself," issue, I would have assumed that the percentage would have been quite lower.  I had not even thought of teacher as being a response for who they asked.  This is definitely a topic that needs to be addressed as a parent as well as an educator.  I think these numbers will shift with higher percentages of teens seeking outside help due to all the increase in social media. 

17 pages   

Organizers

There are a variety of organizational tools available for people to choose from.  A lot of these tools available are also free for the subscribers.  Remember the Milk, Workflowy, Wunderlist, Evernote and Pinterest are some of these free tools.  Out of these tools, some would definitely work well with school age children with teaching them to organize their daily lives more efficiently. 

Remember the Milk is a simple organizing tool to create tasks.  While simple in style, it serves the needs of its users.  This tool allows the users to create tasks and lists.  Remember the Milk also allows for prioritizing the tasks and one of the best features in having a reoccurring task.  A student could use this tool by placing assignments on the list and prioritizing them by importance.  AR points for reading can be on the list and the weekly, monthly or even yearly reminders can help a student stay on track.  Research papers and other large projects can also be used in the same manner. 

Workflowy is another iTunes ap that helps one make simple lists.  Students can create lists of to do’s as well as due dates.  It also allows one to work collaboratively with others including research.  Students can take notes such as journals in this program.  It basically looks like a huge bulleted list that can be modified to your liking.  It is simple and sweet. 

Wunderlist is also a free organizer tool.  You are able to create lists with reminders of due date or times of events.  This would be really useful for not only the young but also the aging, like me, who tend to forget things if we are not reminded.  Students will also be able to share their lists which could definitely be useful when doing projects in a group setting.  When doing research, students can add the site information to go back to the article or video for a later time.  Wunderlist is also available in Amazon, Etsy and other shopping sites.  Students can use this tool with projects to develop budgets and also share them with the members of the group.  To top it off, this tool is also offered as an ap to phones and media devices and sincs with the programs on a personal computer.   In my opinion, this tool would work the best for students.  It is everywhere online or incorporated into the most frequented websites.

                Evernote is a neat way of keeping up with all the paperwork and clutter.  It is a program in which you can take notes with or scan/copy notes into a digital copy and store for a later time.  These notes can be divided into different sections to correlate with the different classes the students take.  Lectures can be recorded and slowed down for those students who need some extra processing time or ability to add more to their written notes.  You can also use Evernote in place of carrying around the class textbook if it is not already available online.  This program is great for students to use daily and to stay more organized.  This is definitely a great help to the teacher as well.           

Pinterest is a great tool that students can use in a variety of ways.  Students can use Pinterest to create story boards for their electives, history and definitely their English classes.  There are still many conflicts when trying to assign collaborative work with school aged children.  Pinterest allows for them to work collaboratively without physically having to be together at the same setting.    Student can also use Pinterest to create projects.  This would not cost the students money with supplies that ordinary projects would require.  Student could also get ideas from the other Pinterest posts as well as make comments or constructive criticism about other projects. 

 This is my Pinterest reading board.  Enjoy

 

TWITTER

There is so much access to information in the world wide web.  Wouldn't it be great to not have to filter through it all but rely on some sources to help you with certain topics?  The following is a list of some of the people that I follow to stay up to date on a variety of information.  I attached some of my favorite tweets along with the link so you can see for yourself.  ENJOY :)

Linda Braun  @lbraun2000

An eloquent argument for NOT sharing all of those cute photos of your kids online.

https://twitter.com/lbraun2000/status/375768200719237120

This is something that I am guilty about.  I always post pictures of my children.  Although I try to be mindful to make sure they are in good taste, you can never be too sure.

4 Resources For Finding STEM Grants For Your School

https://twitter.com/lbraun2000/status/375596717632401409

This could be a very important resource for teacher or grant writers for schools.   

 

Tony Vincent @tonyvincent

100 math apps for iOS are pinned here:

https://twitter.com/tonyvincent/status/375634674132860929

This is a great resource for those of us who use applications in your classroom. At Sharyland ISD, we have implemented the BYOD-Bring Your Own Device.  We will definitely be looking into these apps. 

Buffy Hamilton         @buffyjhamilton

The Cost of Censorship in Libraries: 10 Years Under the Children’s Internet Protection Act

https://twitter.com/buffyjhamilton/status/375799031538008065

There are two sides to every argument.  Does the good outweigh the bad?  Interesting to note how the implement of the CIPA law sometimes does a lot of harm as well.

The Daring Librarian  @GwynethJones

10 Google BEST Docs Tips For Teachers As They Go Back To School

https://twitter.com/GwynethJones/status/375059774184128512

Teacher always need free resources and tips.  Anything to make our lives easier.

Jim Lerman       @jimlerman

Why we have our best ideas in the shower: The science of creativity - - The Buffer Blog

https://twitter.com/jimlerman/status/375378491900170240

This happens to me all the time.  I get most of my ideas, although not always great, in the shower.  I thought it was interesting.

Why No Silver Bullet Can Fix Public Education in America | Education on GOOD

https://twitter.com/jimlerman/status/374032884526772224

This is another post that I feel strongly about.  People seem to think that “fixing” teachers would fix the problem with our education.  What the world doesn’t understand is that there are many factors to education besides the teacher.

Kathy Schrock             @kathyschrock

I am waiting to see what information she can share with her followers.