PRESS KIT
clieberman@cyberwise.org | dgraber@cyberwise.org www.cyberwise.org | www.cyberwisecert.com | @BeCyberwise | 818-368-3808
PRESS KIT CLIPPINGS
Editor's Note: As states and
Publislted August 22, 2012, in.Educatum.Week
districts plan fot the Common
Core State Standards, educators are left to wonder how digital literacy fits into the
standards. This Spotlight focuses on how to incorporate digital literacy, explores public-private efforts to dose
the digital-skills gap, and looks at some competency-based and te-chnology-driven programs, attempting to give students a head start on common-core assessments.
COMMENTARY
The Common Core's Digital-Literacy Gap
Tliecyl)er Gi,>ics progTa'iiiliiiS st uden earn abou t digi citizens 'pin the 6th grade, while 7th grade focuses on information and research literacy. Eighth graders Jearn about media literacy and work on a project that requires them to conduct research and correctly cite information online. Students also learn how to dissect computers in their last year to get a closer look at how they work. Diana c "!.[''all!l -"_C"'r, t"h_e_c_~ ...-r -cl·' VI "c. -:t_ @_ch -._-e-a-:-1·~ oumey, explained that some of the exercises she implements in class are designed to get students to think twice before they post something on a pubJjc site. "It's almost like safe sex," said Graber. "You teach them how to be safe before they go out there, so that hope fully they'll understand what can happen with private information if you're not careful.•
•I (":
C -_f l l
·~
... .
""
I•J
it"
•
•-
~
I.!.J
0
Back to Table of Contents Education WeeK Spotlight on Digital Literacy in the Common-Core Era
n
edweek.org
12
Published July 11, 2012, in Education Week Teaching Now Blog
Students Learn Cyber Skills At a No-Tech School
A
By Francesca Duffy
t the Journey School in Aliso Viejo, Calif., technology does not play a role in the classroom until students enter the 6th grade—and even then the emphasis is not on gadgets but on civics. The Orange County Register reports that the K-8 charter school, founded in 2000 by a group of parents, implements the “Waldorf” approach to education, meaning computers take a back seat to hands-on physical and art-based activities such as music, storytelling, gardening, and knitting. Even so, the school’s “Cyber Civics” program teaches middle school students about safe and proper online behavior. Shaheer Faltas, an administrator at the 300-student school, told the Register that cyber-bullying and sexting have not been problems at Journey partly because of the lessons taught through the Cyber Civics program. “As the children mature we recognize that, as they get into middle school, we want them to use these tools that we have for the
good and for their learning,” said Faltas. “We don’t think they need a lot of instruction in how you use Excel or Microsoft Word—what they need to know is what is the appropriate use of these resources.” The Cyber Civics program has students learn about digital citizenship in the 6th grade, while 7th grade focuses on information and research literacy. Eighth graders learn about media literacy and work on a project that requires them to conduct research and correctly cite information online. Students also learn how to dissect computers in their last year to get a closer look at how they work. Diana Graber, the cyber civics teacher at Journey, explained that some of the exercises she implements in class are designed to get students to think twice before they post something on a public site. “It’s almost like safe sex,” said Graber. “You teach them how to be safe before they go out there, so that hopefully they’ll understand what can happen with private information if you’re not careful.”
Published August 30, 2012 in Education Week Teaching Now Blog
Why Digital Natives Need Help With Technology
I
By Anthony Rebora
n a fascinating article in Scientific American, teachers Jody Passanisi and Shara Peters make the case that, while kids today have a seemingly innate facility with technology, they are quick to become impatient and discouraged when faced with complex tasks involving digital tools: Since children these days are classified as being native to all things digital, one would think they should be able to master the operation of anything with an “on” button. This mistakenly groups all technology, including video games and online search engines, in the same category. Just because a child jumps at the opportunity to program a TV to record his or her favorite shows does not mean that he or she will approach a classroom learning tool with the same zeal. In our experience, if students are not able to find answers to an Internet search in
the first few results pages, they say “I can’t find it,” instead of adjusting their search, or reexamining the results in depth. Passanisi and Peters go on to argue that teachers have a responsibility to help students use technology in ways that take them beyond the types of instant gratification they have come to expect (practically as a birthright) from consumer products and video games: Just because these students are digital natives, does not mean that they do not need guidance to navigate the digital world—both in terms of learning how to discern important and relevant information from a large swath of data, and also to be able to inquire and solve problems that take time, thought, and energy. This is perhaps the best response I’ve seen to the question of why schools should integrate technology into instruction when kids’ lives are already immersed in it. It’s an issue, partly, of making sure they don’t miss the forest for the trees.
Copyright ©2012 by Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Readers may make up to 5 print copies of this publication at no cost for personal, non-commercial use, provided that each includes a full citation of the source. Visit www.edweek.org/go/copies for information about additional print photocopies. Published by Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100 Bethesda, MD, 20814 Phone: (301) 280-3100 www.edweek.org
e dut o pia.o rg
http://www.eduto pia.o rg/blo g/digital-citizenship-reso urces-matt-davis
Digital Citizenship Week: 6 Resources for Educators WHAT WORKS IN EDUCAT ION T he George Lucas Educational Foundation Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest October 28, 2013 Trending: Common Core Resources
Technology Int egrat ion October 16, 2013
Photo credit: Massachusetts Secretary of Education via f lickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) I recently sat through a bullying prevention session f or parents, and the conversation inevitably migrated to a discussion of cyberbullying, smartphones and other f orms of digital media. Considering how ubiquitous smartphones have become, especially in high school, and now in middle school, questions about managing smartphones and educating students about digital citizenship are on a lot of parents' minds. T his year, in conjunction with October’s Connected Educator Month, Common Sense Media is hosting Digital Citizenship Week f rom Oct. 21-25. T hroughout the week, there will be a webinars and other ways f or schools and educators to get involved. But really, now is the perf ect time to discuss digital responsibility, saf ety and citizenship with students, and there are plenty of valuable events and resources that you can use. Here are six of my f avorite: Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum f or K-12: Common Sense Media’s interactive curriculum of f ers
something f or every grade level. From Digital Passport -- an award-winning trove of resources f or grades 3-5 -- to f ree lessons f or high schools students on iTunes U, their resources f eature videos, lesson ideas and classroom posters f or parents, teachers and students. Also, check out Common Sense Media’s Digital Citizenship advice f or parents and teachers f or links to a bunch of usef ul articles. Understanding YouTube and Digital Citizenship: YouTube’s online curriculum f or secondary students is a perf ect resource f or Digital Citizenship Week. Teachers will f ind ten lessons, all of which take between 20-50 minutes to teach, and they cover extremely relevant topics like managing online reputation and protecting privacy online. Digital Citizenship Learning Center f rom CyberWise: CyberWise produced an extensive list of digital citizenship resources, including videos, games and toolkits f rom a variety of sources. T he CyberWise Guide to Digital Citizenship is also available f or f ree download, which f eatures overviews, tips and strategies f or teaching digital citizenships and links to other valuable resources like MediaSmarts and iKeepSaf e. Cable in the Classroom’s Digital Citizenship Resources: Cable in the Classroom (CIC) is a one-stopshop f or digital citizenship resources f or teachers. Here, you’ll f ind usef ul and engaging articles, videos and other resources f or teaching digital citizenship, and students can work through CIC’s InCtrl lessons to learn the ins and outs of digital citizenship. BrainPop Jr. Spotlight -- Free Digital Citizenship Resources: BrainPop's Digital Citizenship resource page is perf ect f or younger students, and there are two sections on bullying and Internet saf ety. Each section f eatures a video overview, quizzes and lesson ideas, as well as other interactive resources. Digital Citizenship Teaching Channel Video Overviews: Here, the Teaching Channel has produced “Super Digital Citizen,” a behind-the-scenes looks at how one educator teaches digital citizenship to elementary students. Other digital literacy video resources cover understanding f air use and tracking media use online; there's something here f or every grade level.
More Fun Edutopia Resources Matt Davis's Blog
For immediate release May 7, 2013 Contact: Tina Peterson Tpeterson@namle.net
Media Literacy Board Broadens Leadership The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) announces the results of its recent election for the Board of Directors for the 2013-2015 term. Reflecting the growing reach of media literacy across multiple disciplines, the 15-member board now includes representatives from higher education, independent media, after school programs, media production, organizational communications, research and public health. Newly elected “At Large” Board Directors: • DC Vito, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project) • Rebecca Reynolds, Assistant Professor, Library and Information Science, Rutgers University • Cynthia Lieberman, Co-Founder of Cyberwise Current Board Directors elected to new terms: • Erin Reilly (First Vice-President) • Paul Mihailidis (Co-editor, JMLE) • Rhys Daunic (Secretary, Chair of Communications Committee) • Ethan Delavan (Treasurer) • Cathy Leogrande • Jasmine Hood • Carol Tizzano The newly elected and re-elected directors join continuing board directors Sherri Hope Culver, Lynda Bergsma, Tina Peterson, David Cooper Moore, and Emily Bonilla. Additional information about NAMLE and the board of directors may be found on the NAMLE web site, www.namle.net. The National Association for Media Literacy Education is a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to expand and improve the practice of media literacy education in the United States. NAMLE press release
ge t t ingsm art .co m
http://gettingsmart.co m/2013/07/10-to o ls-every-teacher-sho uld-master-this-summer/
10 Tools Every Teacher Should Master This Summer Aliso n Anderso n
Apps & Mobile, EdTech, EdTech Videos, Learning, Learning Innovat ions, PreK-12 / July 10, 2013 by 1.1kShares
According to Common Sense Media, 95% of teachers agree that using technology increases student engagement and 92% of teachers want to add more technology to their classroom. We at Getting Smart are still basking in an IST E af terglow… we’d like to share 10 great tools that we were introduced to there and the reasons they are so worth taking the time to master this summer. T hese are the tools that will transf orm your classroom in the f all because you will notice the def inite threads that run throughout all these applications… real-time, collaborate and creative! T hose words together are sure to build a lot of excitement around exactly how educational technology is developing and transf orming what school looks like! 1. LiveSlide – Ever have trouble getting students to pay attention and participate during class? Not anymore… T his August, Atlas Learning will release LiveSlide, which allows teachers to create or download presentations and share with the entire class, via ANY device, be it desktop, laptop, tablet…even a smartphone. LiveSlide takes it to the next step by allowing the teacher or any student to annotate directly onto any slide while the rest of the class f ollows along on each of their own personal devices. LiveSlide also records it all so students can review the lesson any time and has a notes f eature built right in, so that students can keep all their learning in one place. LiveSlide makes it simple to create, both on the teacher and student side and redef ines what student participation looks like. Learn more and sign up f or the release waiting list here.
2. Scoot and Doodle - It’s true- this name just sounds f un, because this Google application is f un! And, even better, it has incredible classroom potential! Google hangouts make it simple f or students, teachers, f amilies and f riends to come together in a virtual space any time, any where. Add Scoot and Doodle to a Google hangout and you can now draw, create, decorate, annotate, illustrate, plan and problem-solve together on one shared canvas! Scoot and Doodle turns hangouts into a “powerf ul and playf ul place f or learning and creativity with our real-time collaboration studios, where up to 10 students can work simultaneously and teachers can upload templates with their own educational content, such as math, science or storytelling.” T he best way to master Scoot and Doodle this summer is to check out the gallery of great examples and then just play, play, play!
3. Biblionasium – Having time to read, as a teacher or student is one of the best parts of summer! But we want to carry that enthusiasm into the school year, even when things get a bit more hectic. Maybe you’re already using Shelf ari or Goodreads f or your own reading… well now here is the grades 4-12 version! Sign up as a student, parent or teacher and import your entire class. It is a completely saf e site f or kids, allowing them to maintain their own “shelves” and search f or books inside the site, with lexile reading levels, reading resources and great book lists included. Parents and teachers can set reading challenges f or the students who will then be able log their reading minutes and earn digital “rewards.” T his seems like the perf ect place to encourage and develop independent readers! 4. Ujam “Make Your Music” – this f ree site was not necessarily created f or education use but the potential f or students is so exciting! First, it’s so f un, it’s instantly addicting. Anyone who logs in through a Google or Facebook account can instantly start creating their own music f rom scratch by simply recording their voice. T he next step is mixing the voice recording with instruments or melodies, remixing with other ujam recorded songs and creating your own masterpieces. As we try to teach our students about copyright and f air use, this tool is a gif t f or teachers who truly want their students to get creative while making videos and presentations about their learning. Ujam adds one more layer to the creative process, letting any student who knows how to work a mouse now able to compose their own music. 5. Teachley – Is a trio of app designers f ocusing on creating apps that ref lect the most current cognitive research. “Our f irst app, Addimal Adventure, teaches f our important addition strategies through playf ul characters and a f un, engaging game. Students practice addition f acts using a powerf ul visual model of each strategy. T he speed round encourages memorization and provides hints when needed. “ Not only are they working on more apps, but also working on a white paper explaining the reasoning behind their app development. So exciting to see such great research being applied at the back end to ensure the time students spend on these apps is truly worthwhile and we here at Getting Smart can’t wait to see what else Teachley has up their sleeve! 6. Sanderling- Field Journal - (f rom An Estuary) has just started its Beta testing and we are so excited we are already signed up! Using the f ield journal, educators will be able to make ref lective practice completely immersive. Teachers will no longer have to f ind time to stop, ref lect, sit and write at a desk about what worked and what didn’t work in the classroom. Instead they will have their “journal” at their f ingertips at all times… most importantly, when they are actually practicing! T he power of mobile technology harnessed within Sanderling will let teachers record, enhance, strengthen and share their practice without having to stop or take time away f rom their already busy days. Why hasn’t someone thought of this earlier? Well, we’re not complaining- we are
just so glad that brilliant educators at An Estuary are on it. 7. Graphite – Not as in what is inside pencils… but the new tech tool review site launching f rom Common Sense Media this summer. As the world of Edtech exponentially grows, we sometimes f eel like we can barely hold on, let alone be up to date on the best tools available f or our students. Well, Common Sense Media, long known as one of the best resources f or parents concerned about f inding the appropriate Media f or their children and its curriculum on digital literacy and internet saf ety has now created Graphite, an incredible resource f or teachers. Using Graphite, “teachers can search f or digital tools by grade, subject, platf orm, price and other variables and then view comprehensive reviews and ratings f or each one. In addition to including reviews f rom Common Sense Media’s own editorial team of f ormer teachers, the site enables teachers to contribute their own evaluations with the technology. Each review page also includes the key standards supported by that particular ed tech tool.” 8. CyberWise - No Grown Up Lef t Behind! Along the same lines of Graphite, we know we all strive to keep up as technology develops, but some adults f eel they have f allen behind and just don’t know where to turn to catch up. Parents want their children to be saf e, so sometimes that means basically banning technology at home because they just don’t know what’s good and what isn’t. As tech-savvy educators, we know that’s not the right answer but we are not always sure how to support parents and show them the powerf ul learning tools our students now have access to. Enter CyberWise… their cute owl icon is basically the 21st century version of Woodsy, the Owl… spreading a message of saf ety to all who want to learn. But instead of “hoot, hoot, don’t pollute” this owl is saying, “while kids seem right at home in this new digital world, many grownups f eel lef t behind. CyberWise can help! We provide all the resources you need to embrace new media f earlessly.” Cyberwise is a valuable resource f or any adult or child looking to expand their knowledge of web tools. 9. Wevideo - A cloud based video creation tool that has come a very long way this past year! When it f irst hit the web, it seemed like an incredible concept but in reality was conf using to use and changed user interf aces so many times you weren’t sure you were still using the same tool. Well, af ter our demo at IST E, we are pretty sure WeVideo has lef t it’s growing pains behind and has transf ormed into a tool any teacher would want. Similar to iMovie, WeVideo is a robust video editing tool but, unlike iMovie, it works on any browser and allows f or collaboration. One of the coolest f eatures, is that it allows teachers to create video “templates” and share them with their class of students. Imagine assigning a “video template” instead of a worksheet to check f or student understanding! “WeVideo f or Education allows educators to set up class video projects, making the relevant media available to each class. T he educator can also group students, view and comment their work, and monitor the progress of each video project.” 10. Klikaklu – So this is not actually f rom IST E, but was discovered very soon af terwards. T he name may mean nothing at f irst, but think digital scavenger hunts or geocaching… then think “click a clue”. Ok, now we get it. T his brand new app f rom developers in our home state of Washington will leverage the power of mobile devices we now have in the classroom and help us get our students physically OUT of the classroom! We’ve seen scavenger hunts and we think geocaching is great f or students but now with Klikaklu, the students can engage in their learning at a new level. Still using clues to lead your participants through a hunt, the students need to use the camera to take a picture of the target and only then will they know if they succeeded… very QR code – Augmented Reality like! T he best part is the hunt only has to be made once, and then can be shared publicly, with goals and rewards built right in. Gamif ication was def initely all the rage at IST E this year and with the huge amount schools have invested into buying mobile devices, this is the perf ect app f or teachers wanting to gamif y and wanting to get their students out and exploring beyond the conf ines of the classroom walls!
|
THE CYBERWISE TEAM
www.CyberWise.org | @BeCyberwise CYNTHIA LIEBERMAN Clieberman@cyberwise.org 818-368-3808 DIANA GRABER Dgraber@cyberwise.org 949-489-9330