Yesterday, I had two instances where I had to be the "Fun Police," in my role as Digital Learning Specialist. It is not a role that I rellish, as philosophically, I want our staff and students to have an authentic experience as possible and utilize tools that may be of benefit to their learning. However there are times, when for safety or due to missuse of a tool, I have to put on the hat and shades...Case #1
The first instance was when I got a request for a group of 5th grade students to use Prezi as a presentation tool. Now Prezi may not be as popular as it was a few years ago, and some folks wish they had kept their "Classic" tools and format, but it still offers a nice way to make non-linear presentations.
However, for elementary educators, there is another component that makes Prezi problematic: their Terms of Service. Given this restriction, unless the student has been held back 3 years, odds are the 5th graders will not be able to use Prezi for their presentation.
Fortunately, the kids have options, and if they want to make it non-linear, they can create navigation on Google Slides.
We have created this site as a resource for staff to know the age restrictions and recommendations for most common Web tools. In many instances, the sites require teachers to get parent permission prior to having students sign into the site. Even sites that are popular with elementary teachers, like Flipgrid, require parent permission for students under the age of 18!
In a perfect world, organizations like the International Society for Technology in Education, ISTE would require vendors to include the age restrictions of their products in promotional materials. Currently, few vendors do this, leaving it to educators to read the "fine print." If they are truly committed to digital citizenship, ISTE should mandate that vendors at their conference give full disclosure.
Case #2
The second case of me putting on the Fun Police persona came last night. One of my colleagues sent me a direct message sharing this thread from Kathryn Byers, an AP World History Teacher from California. A quick look at her blog shows that she is a generous teacher, who is working hard to make connections with her students. She in the thread below, she talks about using Instagram Stories as a way to help her students prepare for the AP exam.
I've been using Instagram Stories to post daily review reminders and some review of content for my students taking the AP World exam and so far it is the number one thing my students ask me to do more of. This has had me super excited for a lot of reasons.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
A thread.
1) What a crazy amazing way to build community and rapport with my students. They get to see a different side of me and engage with me outside of class without me having to actually make time outside of class to do the work.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
2) I talk a lot about how in order to really teach digital citizenship we have to erase this us/them divide on social media and provide students with models of positive use. This totally does that, it shows that social media can be used in positive and impactful ways.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
3) By having a social media account for content and classroom stuff that students engage with I am creating a positive example that helps drown out the negative.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
4) My account can help validate the belief that social media is a place where learning occurs. I think adults in the room often forget that which is why the work of people like @samwineburg is so important, our kids learn from media so we need to teach & model how to navigate it.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
Byars does a great job here, articulating how and why she utilizes the tool and the modeling she is doing for her students. She is helping them learn about proper use of social media AND connecting with her students around World History. My colleague wanted to know my thoughts, and whether this was something he could pursue based on our policies?5) And finally, my favorite part, kids get to teach me how stuff works. They give me suggestions for things I can do to make my posts better and more interesting and in doing so they end up teaching me how to better use the tools. THIS IS SO EMPOWERING and a relationship builder.— Mrs. Byars 🌎 👩🏫 (@mrsbyarshistory) May 4, 2019
Up until about a month ago, Instagram was open on our network for students. While Byars is using the tool effectively as an educator, unfortunately, it was not being used that way by students in my district. My colleague, Jack Salaski, put together this presentation for our Technology Advisory Team that illustrates the distraction Instagram had become. Ultimately the group, made up of parents, teachers, students and administrators, chose to block Instagram on our network.
Fortunately for my teaching colleague, there are alternative options. Many of my colleagues use Twitter in a similar way that Byars uses Instagram. Erik Anderson is a great example of that...
Tweets by MrAndersonGoFor a more "walled garden" approach, especially for younger students, our learning management system, Schoology includes a built in Media Album that can be added to courses. It can act in a similar fashion to Instagram, with the added benefit that posts can be moderated. Granted it is not as authentic as Instagram, nor is it as accessible for students, but it is an option. Here is a quick video demonstrating the process.v
It's not always easy being the "Fun Police," but it is a necessary one to make sure that terms of use are being followed to protect student privacy and that the tools we use enhance learning and don't distract from it.
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