Brown Symposium on Technology and Society

Today I traveled to blue and gold territory - the University of Michigan, cross-state rivals of my alma mater, Michigan State University.  U of M hosted the John Seely Brown Symposium on Technology and Society.  danah boyd was the keynote speaker.  danah (lack of capitalization is not a typo) is a social media researcher at Microsoft Research New England and a fell0w at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.  

The setting: a beautiful auditorium at the Business School.  I arrived a few minutes late, just as the keynote was starting.  I ended up in the back row of the balcony.  I noticed that there were many college students in attendance and there were several hands on laptop keyboards all around the auditorium; I felt right at home.  As Ms boyd was speaking about her research about social networking, the two young adults sitting in front of me were checking email, and posting to Twitter and a Skype chat.  They were back-channeling; deeply engaged in sideline conversations that the presenter made them think about.  Others might have thought they were off-task, but I don't believe so, because I often do the same thing.

Ms boyd found that kids prefer to spend time with their friends face-to-face, but that the high amount of structured activities (clubs, sports teams, etc), and parental rules often keep them home.  So they tend to hang out on MySpace and Facebook out of convenience.   They don't  use social networking sites because of the technology; they use it because all their friends are there. 

Teens participation in online social networking sites is viewed upon by most adults as frivolous, unsafe, and a waste of time.  However, teens are learning how to live and interact in ways that are very important in today's world.  Just like most other human behaviors, there are "good" and "bad" examples of how social media is used.  I've seen awesome teen-generated digital media, created with a purpose and communicated with originality.  Some examples that come to mind for me include the teens who made the YouTube video of the water slide they constructed from the second story window (requiring advanced physics knowledge, the reaction of the 3rd grader to President Obama's speech, and the blog of a high school student trying to make positive changes in his school.

However, what is in the news more often is the negative; fear is used to spin a story... Teens sending pornography via their cell phones, writing inappropriate comments on Facebook, or meeting a stranger who turns out to be a predator.  Ms. Boyd is very concerned that the culture of fear of the "bad" is causing a lot of damage.  She believes that adults need to help guide teens into making good choices while using social networking tools, a significant part of their lives.  I agree with her. 

Read danah boy'd reserch here.  Warning: over 400 pages

MACUL/DEN Virtual Conference, Oct 24

 Day of Discovery: Tech or Treat Conference

Saturday, October 24, 2009

8:30 am to 3:15 pm

Registration is now available for the "Day of Discovery: Tech or Treat Conference" at Harper Creek High School (map) in Battle Creek, MI. Click here to register now.

This event is jointly sponsored by the Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) and the Discovery Education Network (DEN), featuring MACUL’s “Making It Happen” award winner, Andy Mann.  Choose virtual sessions from nationally known speakers and/or face-to-face sessions with experienced technology trainers. There is no cost for the conference. Lunch is provided. All teachers are welcome, although space is limited. SB-CEU’s available. Door prizes provided by Discovery Education and MACUL.

Virtual Sessions by Discovery Education’s National Speakers:

Can I Help You With That?  The Student as Collaborator

Do You Have the Audacity to Podcast?

Thinking Outside the Slide

Putting the Bling in Your Builders

What on Earth is a Gloggle?

Be Nice and Share: Publishing Your Media-Infused Projects

In Person Hands-on Sessions: (subject to change)

The Best Open Source & Free Windows Applications (Andy Mann)

Google Earth: All Over the World and In your Backyard (John Phillips)

Hands-on: Geocaching in the Classroom (Gina Loveless & Pam Shoemaker)

SMART(board) Discovery Streaming (Melissa White)

Thinkfinity: Free Lesson Plans and Educational Resources (Jim Stewart/Karen Lemmons)

Podcasting: Supercharged Writers

Digital Storytelling: Make it Personal

Google Docs: Really, I can do that? (Lisa Wickman)

Get Connected with Social Bookmarking (Melinda Waffle)

 

Click here to register: https://lrougeux.wufoo.com/forms/den-fall-virtual-conference-battle-creek-mi/

For more information, email Lisa Wickman at: wickmall@haslett.k12.mi.us

 

What Does the Internet Think?

I listened in on a Discovery Educator Network webinar this evening.  Steve Dembo shared a website that I find very interesting.  It is whatdoestheinternetthink?  I don't understand exactly how it works, but it seems to be a search engine of public opinion.  It scours the Internet quickly and will tell you if the term is positive, negative, or indifferent.  I tried it out three times using these terms:  health care reform, taxes, and Flickr.  Could it be accurate?  It would be fun to compare the results over time.  Try it out; think of a few topics in the news of late and see what results you get!

1.  Health Care Reform



 

2.  Taxes



3.  Flickr

Did You Know?, version 4

I'm sure you have seen one or more versions of the Did You Know? video.  The original version was created August 06; since then at least three more versions have been made.  The most recent version was released this month; it was created by XPLANE, The Economist, Scott McLeod, Karl Fisch , & Laura Bestler for The Economist's Media Convergence Forum in October 2009.  Enjoy!



You may enjoy reading about the history of the video, or seeing earlier versions.  If so, visit the Shift Happens! wiki.

Discovery Education Network Fall Streamathon

Mark your calendar for an awesome day of learning:  Wed., September 23, 2009.  See schedule below and tune in when you can.

9 AM: Back to School Changes in DE streaming          

10 AM: A Day in the Life with DE streaming         

11 AM: Streaming the Solution: DE streaming in the Math Classroom

12 PM: Supporting 21st Century Literacy with DE streaming     

1 PM: Back to School Changes in DE streaming        

2 PM: Dialing in the Digital Compass: DE streaming with Social Studies

3 PM: Multimedia Einsteins: DE streaming with Science

4 PM: Homework Gone Digital

5 PM: A Day in the Life with DE streaming

6 PM: Back to School Changes in DE streaming         

7 PM: Crunching the Numbers - Using the DE Admin Tools to Show Your Success

8 PM: The Discovery Educator Network 2009-2010

Register today!

I Need My Teachers to Learn

Kevin Honeycutt is a teacher educator for the Educational Services and Staff Development Association of Central Kansas.  He used to teach art and continues to bring incredible creativity into his work.  He wrote and helped produce this video, "I Need My Teachers To Learn."

I saw this just days after our awesome local technology conference, the Walled Lake Spice it Up Conference.  Feedback from the conference has been overwhelmingly positive.  Lots of new learning took place for sure!

Spice it Up! 2009

The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools Spice it Up! Technology Conference is on Thursday, August 27, from 8am-3pm. All WL staff are welcome to attend. This annual sharing of best practices in education comes to you as a result of the efforts of dedicated teachers and leaders of educational technology. This year’s presenters come from Walled Lake, Oakland Schools, and the One-to-One Institute. There are 50 session offerings this year!

The conference brochure/schedule of sessions is now available for download:

Electronic handouts will be posted here.