Protecting Devices - Protecting Ourselves

In our BYOD session we had a quick conversation about protecting your own device and our concerns with protection our information. 

The question that was posed was "How comfortable would you be in giving your own device to someone else?" 

Many teachers at the session were worried about their privacy, the condition of their own devices when someone would use them or how someone else could send information out on their behalf.  More than that, they did not like the idea of someone else touching their device because of the information stored on it.  

My reflection is that this is a problem.  As teachers, if we are scared of our information being "sent out," or inappropriately used, then what are we teaching our students.  Instead of being fearful, we need to be the ones to promote digital safety by helping students understand the importance of passwords.  

How can I share this understanding and knowledge with my students?  How can I help them understand the importance of protecting their device and their own personal identity?  How do I bring this practice into every one of my subject areas such as mathematics and computer science? 

An idea that was brought up in our BYOD session was to help teach this to students each time we use a piece of technology and I think this is a great place to start. Looking at the math classroom, we use graphing calculators, Chrome Books, personal devices, tablets, netbooks, SMARTBoards, and so much other technology to help us understand how math works, but do I ever take the time and teach the students how to properly use this technology?  

Honestly, I have not.  When we use ChromeBooks, I have never once discussed the important of logging off completely and shutting down the device.  I just assumed that they would.  I never spoke to them about the importance of clearing the memory in the Graphing Calculator before and after they use it so their knowledge and hard work cannot be incorrectly "shared" with another student.  I have assumed that these key ideas had already been taught to the students in my high school classes, but that was a wrong assumption.  

Even if they had been taught, who says they understood why at the younger age?  Who says that EVERY student had the opportunity to understand it's importance?   Why did I not take advantage of this opportunity in my classroom?  

Reflecting back, I know that I could have great learning moments with classes about personal safety using devices, academic integrity (so important for University and College students!) and deeper research using the Internet.  But I assumed that they already had this opportunity. 

So here is my goal.  The next time we use a device, of any sort, in my classroom, we are going to have a quick discussion about the safety of our information and why it is so important that we identify areas where our information could be taken or misused. 

How do you help your students properly protect themselves and their devices in your classroom? 

Twitter Conversations

I am so happy that I was a part of the #edtechchat conversation on Twitter last night.   I have always read the conversations after they happen but was never apart of the opportunity in real-time.  This week was different. 

I had a chance to introduce myself and start to connect with other educators.  I had a chance to read the questions posted and post my thoughts and have people reply to them.  I had a chance to reply to others thoughts and start those conversations.  Among all of the great ideas going on I had a chance to retweet all of the ideas I did not want to loose! 

The conversation went fast but that was, in my opinion, a part of the experience.  You had to be continually looking for new information and always ready to reply.  I know that I missed a lot of information, but between retweets and reading the archives, we have the opportunity to catch up! 

Looking back I feel that my next step would be to engage in more on-depth conversations.  Looking back, many of my replies were comments such as "this is great" or "I would love to try."  These foster a good start in becoming comfortable in speaking with these other professionals, but do not foster further conversation.  For the next twitter conversation my goal is to seek out more information in my replies. 

How do you use Twitter and scheduled Twitter conversations to help develop professionally? How do you foster deeper conversations? 

When to Contact Home

The number 1 thing that a teacher can do is stay in contact with student's parents.  Ensuring that the parents know what is going on with their student's education usually provides a strong wall to help motivate students to do their best.  But what happens as the students get older? 

This semester I am teaching Grade 11 and Grade 12 classes.  The students in these classes are close to finishing high school and will soon be out on their own completing apprenticeships, college and/or university.  Many of these students have jobs, responsibilities and are beginning to create a sense of independence for themselves.  They are developing a better understanding of the consequences and know what is right and what is wrong. 

With this noted, how do you work on the fine line of student independence and communication with parents.  I have had students who tell me that they will "turn it around" and consistently come in for extra help whereas I have had students who continually make up excuses for their lack of motivation.  

I have a student, who is not working at grade level but is continually improving.  This student has improved from earning 30% to 50% over the course of two months.  With the exam coming up, the student will have to buckle down and work hard to keep his grades improving.   When is the appropriate time to speak with the parents?  When is it too late - or is it ever too late to contact home?

Looking for Clues

After travelling over the holiday I have had the opportunity to look back and reflect on what I learned.  Travelling to a different country with a different language, I found that I resorted to looking for clues; something my students do every day! 

When travelling I looked for clues such as words that looked familiar to the English or images that I could relate to.  I looked for friendly faces toast for help and stayed away from those who looked like they would shoot me down.  I was nervous to take risks; to fail. This gave me the opportunity to realize what many of the students go through each day. 

Our students come into class and some need to use the clues they find to participate in class, especially when they have missed a lesson or do not feel confidence in the material covered priored. They looked for friendly faces to ask for help and have to feel comfortable in the situation to take that risk.  

Our relationships with the students and our lessons designed with clue finding help our students find their own confidence and gain unstanding of the content. 

How do you help your students with finding clues in your lesson?  How do you develop a safe environment for students to ask questions to help their understanding?