EdTechTrek

Here’s today’s headline:

Teen Dating ‘08: Nude Pix On Cell Phones

The CBS news article describes unabashed teens sending sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to others. A psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies young people’s trends, is quoted as saying:

“Adolescents are not known for thinking things through – that’s a generational constant,” she said. “Now, with the technology that is out there, instead of taking a picture and passing it around the classroom, it’s online, which is a whole different ball game. (Teens) don’t see it that way.”

It reminds of the video series on YouTube, Think Before You Post. There is absolutely no control over the content once it is sent, as the article briefly touches on.

Where are the parents in all of this? Where is the village that is required to raise a child? It would seem like there are a large number of children raising themselves in these digital times. Kids, more than ever, need involved and caring parents, teachers, and significant others in their lives like never before. Peter Benson, from the Search Institute, has a short article with some great information titled, “What Happened to My Little Angel”. See also the document, Building Assets for Youth. Kids need us more than ever! Here are a few of the Search Institute’s findings when it comes to adult responsibilities for growing healthy children:

• helping young people feel loved, supported, and accepted;
• giving young people appropriate boundaries and structures;
• providing constructive, healthy activities for young people;
• helping young people stay committed to education and learning;
• nurturing positive, caring values in young people;
• building basic life skills and positive views of themselves and the future.

These are things that happen week after week and year after year in families, congregations, schools, and communities. These are the things that make a difference! It makes a real difference when . . .

• parents make it a top priority to spend time and talk with their teenagers;
• adults in a congregation or from the community volunteer to be mentors for youth;
• youth ministry programs provide positive activities that involve youth;
• young people learn how much they have to contribute to their community and world through volunteering to serve others;
• teenagers get involved in positively influencing public policy;
• schools learn about assets they can offer youth and seek to strengthen those assets for all students.

We can’t abandon kids. We must engage them in positive and healthy ways, in the classroom, at home, and in the community – this includes the digital community (see Freerice.com or GlobalNomads). We must empower them and equip them for success in a highly connected, complicated digital age.

Funny how it is so much more interesting, exciting, invigorating, meaningful, memorable, personal, enjoyable, powerful, …. when we participate.

Photo Credits

So, I wanted to attend a few sessions held this weekend at Learning 2.0: A Colorado Conversation. Problem: I am at home with my two kids, activities, lunches, dishes… you know – the stuff that real life is made up of. Solution: UStream in the kitchen! I set up my laptop on the kitchen counter where I could view and participate in the sessions, and presto! The only problem was dirty or wet hands. They are not the keyboard’s best friend. And, even if I could not attend live, sessions and backchannel chats are archived.

But, I think that this type of professional development is so valuable in our busy lives. Many teachers can’t seem to find the time for professional development. Both asynchronous and in this case, synchronous (UStream, TalkShoe, Elluminate…), opportunities have really grown over the last few years. They have helped me out tremendously. However, so far, they have not really taken off in the more “scholarly” educational conference venus like SITE, AERA, NCTE, NCTM, CUE and the like. Granted, some do have a few webcast sessions, but little to no opportunity to “participate”. Of course, things like membership and dues play more of a role here, but how long are we these “fences” to professional development going to stay up in this web 2.0, connected, collaborative world? How much do such fences contribute to NOT attending?

Finally, those not involved in these current conversations are probably not even aware of these types of opportunities. After all, I only found out about them from reading a few select blog posts and from a few tweets that came in on folks that I follow. What about those folks who don’t have developing borderless 2.0 networks? All the more reason to hop on board, I’d say. Teachers NEED to know about these opportunities with such limitations on time, finances, and schedule.

And, just as I am writing this, Will Richardson tweeted a new post that fits like a glove here! My point exactly. No RSS? No Twitter? No Network? Then, you are most likely not to be in the “know”. Will writes:

“But I would still venture to guess that 75% (maybe more) of educators in this country still don’t know that they can have a network….The passionate learning network of which I am a part is an amazing and important part of my life. The fact that most teachers still have no idea that is possible is distressing on one hand, motivating on the other.”

I couldn’t agree more. Teachers need time to talk, share, network,… and that time is often not going to be during the school day when their students are there. But, sadly, I think, as Will writes, that most are not really aware other options. My graduate students are not aware of such options and are so excited to be learning about them in class… one class in their entire degree program. Hopefully I can get some of them to explore these “kitchen conferences” and realize that their professional world and lifeline is not contained in the walls of their school or classroom.

Stumbled across an article in the NY Times titled, “If You Can’t Let Go, Twitter“. It it, the writer describes her attempt to connect with her 3 daughters (digital natives, right) via Twitter. Let’s just say, it didn’t work. After trying a number of tactics, including giving away money, she consults with a Walter J. Carl, an assistant professor of communications studies at Northeastern University, who said he wasn’t surprised. He is quoted as explaining the problem in the following way:

“You want to use these tools to keep up on others, in a good way, of course, and to let them keep up on you,” said Professor Carl, whose research focuses on social media. “But their perception is it’s surveillance.” One of the main reasons people embrace social media — Facebook, for instance — is to create identities for themselves and control other people’s perceptions of them.”

And then…

“Maybe Twitter isn’t the right tool for that job,” he said. “The people who I see using it are an older demographic, people in marketing or P.R. or advertising, who use it for work, to present themselves as particular types of people. They’ll twitter, ‘I’m traveling,’ or ‘I’m going to interesting restaurants.’ They’re using it to do identity work.”

Isn’t it interesting how this new communication tool that so many adults are using is not considered all that useful with kids… that they are more concerned with “creating identities for themselves and control other people’s perceptions of them”, as happens on Facebook and MySpace. But here’s my question: kids to love to IM and text. They thrive on social networking. One would think, in combination with social networking services, that a tool like Twitter would be “phat“. Huh!

In this new age of information glut/data smog, the importance of being information literate has grown exponentially. How do we reconcile this generation’s desire to “control other people’s perception of them”? Seem’s natural, for sure. But is the digital realm blurring the line between fact and fiction in a way that we must better address in education? Are students more accepting of blurred realities? And, if so, how does this impact one’s ability to value the truth and seek it out?

Okay, I don’t know if you have already played with Twittervision or not. It has been around for a while, but , I just discovered it the other day and sat there staring at the screen for quite a while, pretty amazed. It allows you to see twitter posts as they are happening, but within a globe or map view. You also have the option to allow it to track your own tweets. Here are a few clips of what it does. First, the 3-D version:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x90Y0VKyXV4&rel=1]

And there is also this 2-D view of the same thing:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAP0IlpHAwo]

I am not sure what the educational value of it is – or if there is one. If you have any thoughts, please share!