Filtering, one step away from Censorship?

Here's something that has been bothering me and I am interested in hearing if anyone else sees this connection. At the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong last weekend, one of the forums was about blocking internet sites and AUP policies at different schools. Each panel member discussed the different filters their schools were currently using. From there the discussion moved on to how, as adults, we need to be careful what we are exposing children to on the internet. As I sat and listened to others engage in this conversation, something did not sit right for me.

How is filtering any different from censorship?

Who gets to decide what should or should not be filtered? Why does anyone think they have the right to decide what is right or wrong for my child? Why does anyone think they have the right to decide that? The discussion sounds so much like a discussion I have had many times as an English teacher. How is the issue of blocking certain websites any different than a special interest group telling me that I should or should not teach a certain piece of literature that they have decided is inappropriate for their child?

And perhaps my real question is this: When is education going to stand up and tell parents that it is their job to teach their values and beliefs at home, and if they do not agree with the way a school is teaching their children, they can chose to attend a different school?

Because let's be completely honest about the situation, as soon as we tell children that they are not allowed to do something, they want to do it. Students of today can break any firewall we put up. The second I tell my students that a book we are about to read has previously been banned somewhere in the world, they want to read it. The issue is not about taking things away; it is about teaching right and wrong. These discussion belong at home, not in my classroom, because each of us have our own ideals and values. What is the sense of creating a perfect AUP, if there is a solid code of conduct to which we expect students to uphold?

The internet and web 2.0 need to be seen as a tools for education. As a parent of 3 children, it is my job to educate my children about responsible global citizenship. I am well aware that my children may come across content that may be inappropriate. But honestly, that can happen anywhere. It is my responsibility to teach them what is and is not appropriate. How else will they know what to do when they come across something that is inappropriate? I can not shelter them forever. But my children need to learn the skills of online safety at home according to our family's set of values. As parents, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about the policies, procedures and curriculum of a school and see if the institution is the right fit for our children. Schools should not be expected to cater to my individual needs and values.

Why are we losing site of this in the area of technology?

Read more...

Haiku Flickr

This week for our COETAIL course at ISB, we were asked to use an image from Creative Commons to illustrate how visual imagery can support curricular content.

In my high school English 10 class, we are studying poetry. My students were asked to create a minimum of three haiku poems that represented one small moment in nature. After they wrote their poems, students had to find an image to accompany each poem on Flickr using Creative Commons. The results were fantastic and it helped spark a great conversation about cite sources and using the correct image to illustrate their ideas.

Read more...

Finding a Voice Through a Blog

At the end of the day I am shy. To meet me, you would probably not necessarily catch on to that one, but the more I watch myself in certain situations, I realize it is more true than I care to admit. This weekend I attended the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong. Each time I attend one of these conferences, I listen to the experts and surround myself with some of the top educators from all around the world and yet I still clam up. I am still learning and each time I am too afraid to raise my hand and become involved in the discussions that are happening all around me.

The people around me are connecting F2F, and I feel safer connecting behind the safety of my blog. My ideas may be out in the public, but I can read them, edit them, and refine them until I feel confident about what I have to say. This is the main reason why blogging can be such an amazing tool for students in your classroom. In my classes, sometimes students do not have the confidence to raise their hand in a class discussion. Behind the safety of a blog, students can have control of how they are being perceived by the class. I find this to be especially true for my ESL students. Their writing and their thoughts on a discussion in class can find a voice in the safety of a blog. they have had time to process what has happened, comprehend the aspects they were unsure of, and ask questions of trusted students, before they contribute.

So maybe I am the ESL student I have always taught, except for me, the language I am trying to learn is technology.

When does one learn to come from their version of safety and protection and begin to trust their own voice? I decided that if I couldn't do it, how can I expect my students to find the courage to do it? So, at the conference I decided to finally speak up and contribute to the conversations that were happening all around me. Instead of listening and perhaps not always agreeing or seeing the meaning in a particular discussion, I made myself contribute.

All of a sudden the conference became more meaningful to me. I was able to have the conversations I have searched for and although I fully admit that I am a non-native speaker when it comes to technology and web 2.0, no one seemed to mind. I was able to engage in some of the most meaningful conversations about the future of education I have had in years, especially with some fabulous teachers from Saigon South International School (Robert Appino, Gary Bertoia, Angela Cleeton and Chris).

Now my job as a teacher is to somehow translate my awakening to my ESL student. Hopefully their class blogs will continue to help them find the confidence to trust their own voice. I plan to continue to find the courage to use mine.

Read more...

Transferring Technology from the Middle School to the High School

For my current Certificate of Educational Technology and Informational Literacy (COETAIL) course, I was asked to reflect on how the previous courses have affected how I will teach this year. Last year I was teaching MS Humanities in grade 7. Technology was integrated in almost every aspect of my classes. My students using blogs, Google docs, nings, wiki spaces, you name it, I tried it. Anything and everything I learned about, I was able to immediately utilize in my class.

The bigger question is not HOW I am using it this year, but what am I NOT using this year.

Although I am a huge proponent of ePortfolios for HS students, I find I am using very little of my new knowledge in my every day lesson plans. So far I am not using anything else. I might use my class ning, Reading4Life, for independent writing, but the in-class discussions of literature this semester have been rich and full of discussions that have lead to fantastic discoveries about other novels.

In all fairness, I am currently overwhelmed by content. There is so much to teach and so many amazing resources already shared by my colleagues on the various literature units we are covering, I am struggling to keep up. There is so much to teach, so many ways to look at literature, see it, touch it. How can technology help me? In some ways, I know it can. This week we are looking at the poetry of Maya Angelou and nothing I can do will compare to hearing Angelou read her poem aloud on youtube. I get that.




But a wiki? Google docs? I am still unclear how to translate my newly acquired knowledge to the high school. This seems to be the digital divide in technology that educators seem to want to avoid. In the ES and MS, technology and all of the bells and whistles are amazing and I can see multitudes of ways they can enhance learning. But now, how do I integrate the knowledge and skills of web 2.0 into a high school classroom? I am still looking for answers.

Read more...