Innovation in the Instructional Technology World

One of the IT blogs I follow recently had a great posting. Ms. Nielson (The Innovative Educator) has served in the Office of Instructional Technology for the New York City School Board for five years. She put together an online resume and portfolio of programs that she oversees in the NYC school districts. Her blog includes a slide show that she produced in Google Docs and contains many projects and links to professional development sites for the IT professional.
For all those who are interested, the blog can be viewed as a professional development class in its own right. I have spent a few days reviewing the information and still have not completed all 17 slides, but have discovered several web sites that I will be using in the future.

Schools Using Mass Notification Systems

One of our recent assignments included the evaluation and recommendations of mass notification software for use in school for scheduling to notifications and information. eSchool news recently ran an article summarizing some recent trends and shortcomings identified among colleges in the United States.
This article discusses the increasing need for administrators to obtain and implement mass communication programs that allow for practical communications with students. Schools are using electronic message boards, texting, and emails to alert students of severe weather alerts, acts of terrorism, and acts of violence. These systems typically run from $10,000 to $100,000 to install, and may suffer failures during peak usage. Some are using multiple alert systems to provide backup messaging if the primary system fails,
The eSchool News article outlines several methods currently in use and the passage of a federal law the encourages the implementation of mass notification systems. It is a good reference to administrators and technology directors in schools.

To live and Die on the Web

The attraction of the Internet to change lives and lifestyles is becoming a major topic in the news. Sexting and suicide are two of the hottest topics in cyberspace today, especially the occurrences of these activities among teen-aged user of the web.

Sexting involves the use of cellphones or digital cameras to capture a photo depicting an explicit sexual scene or nudity and sending these photos to others. The problem with modern technology is that this process is so easy, to snap and send, that teens may quickly complete the process without considering the possible life altering consequences of sexting.

In the US, state and federal governments are pursuing teens who transmit (upload) and receive (download) nude photos of underage persons as participants in child pornography. Anyone who transmits or receives these photos may be charges with distribution of child pornography. Recently, Several men have been charged with such crimes, after they reposted photos of their ex-girlfriends in the nude to others. This is often viewed as an act of revenge, or payback on the part of the boyfriend who is paying the former girlfriend back for breaking off the relationship.

As educators, we have a certain ethical obligation to explain the laws and possible legal consequences that our students face if they engage in sexting activities. It is illegal to participate in any such activities in the United States. It is not a joke, it is not hazing, and it is not a new form of self-expression, it is a crime that will be prosecuted if discovered. It is equally important to discuss the incidents of depression, loneliness, and isolation that may occur among web related users, and steps to alleviate the untoward effects of such emotionally charged situations.

The problem that seems to be developing among teen and preteen users of social websites have developed a subculture that is substantially different from that of their parents who were not raised on social websites as children. I teach at a career college, and most of my students are the parents of teens. We discuss the sexting phenomena, and many parents do not understand the mind-set of their teens. I suggest that their teens have developed a different set of values online. Nudity is widespread on the web, and some teens do not find the experience of posing nude in front of a camera as distasteful, and may find some degree of acceptance from others in the process.

Recently a young woman committed suicide after she involved herself in sexting by sending nude photos of herself to her boyfriend. He later sent these photos to her friends when she broke off the relationship. Her friends ridiculed her and she was humiliated by the release of her revealing photos. She experienced depression, and even appeared on a morning television show in an attempt to warn other teen aged girls of the cruel treatment that she had experienced and find help. But, a few days ago, she was no longer able to face the life of a sexting teen and ended her life.

In a separate incident, a depressed teen-aged boy, in Florida, told others in his social network that he was depressed and planned to commit suicide. He went home and turned on his web cam and took a fatal dose of drugs and alcohol. People watched as he died and either chatted about the situation or ignored the situation, taking it as an Internet hoax. This situation has raised concerns about the level of responsibility demonstrated by Internet users.

I discuss these situations with my students, and explain that the use of social web sites by teens has changed the culture of adolescents and their norms have changed from those held by their parents. I suggest that parents discuss acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for their children on the web. The culture of the Internet leads to isolation, and different children will respond in various ways, and need guidance on what to do while online. An additional problem is establishing what is inappropriate content or activity while online. Both deaths were avoidable, but there were no reports of inappropriate activity, and no intervention.

I was reading a blog by an educator in Australia, Ali Hall, and noticed that there is a web site available for people in Australia who are depressed and need help with their condition. The web site is www.sane.org, and offers resources for depressed and distressed people. This is definitely a step in the right direction. As teachers, do you have suggestions about how to resolve these problems with students? Do we need better safeguards? Is education the key? Is there an equitable solution to the problems of sexting and web related suicides?

Presonal Learning Networks, iTunes, and iGoogle

I have been following some of my educational knowledge networks and blogs, and find that I benefit from the ideas of others. I like to know what is going on around the world in new educational techniques.

Additionally, I try to also keep up in the areas of online learning especially, since I do teach online classes. My school has recently committed to creating a separate online department with global outreach. I was recently asked by my online supervisor about the Apple iTunes University concept. I told her that I had produced some educational PodCasts and had become familiar with the iTunes product at that point, but was not completely familiar with the process of setting up a school program.

Today I stumbled on the Apple website for iTunes University setup process. So, I read through the materials and called my e-supervisor and asked if the college is ready to further explore the iTunes University concept further. Now I wonder if that was a good idea since the whole program is in its infancy and not Web 2.0 friendly. If they contact me again, I may get even more busy than now.

The good news is that as an educator, iTunes is available as a resource. There are thousands of educational PodCasts available for download for free. You do not need to have an iPod or MP3 player to download and use. It can download directly to your desktop. Many selections are available as either audio lessons or as video lessons. This is an area that is experiencing considerable growth and is a hot topic in education technology. As I was upgrading my systems, I was acquainted with the latest version of Google Earth version 5.0. It is more comprehensive and educational than previous versions. It now has an expanded virtual field trip section that can be accessed, including videos that can be downloaded for classroom application. It seems more user friendly and education based, as such, it is a great Web 2.0 educational resource.

I recently expanded my personal knowledge network by setting up an iGoogle webpage. It is easy to setup and by selecting from a series of available widgets, I now have a daily glimpse of the world as I have selected it. I subscribe to several educational resources such as Scientific American, Science Daily, CNet News, and several other features including a world clock. I have a daughter who lives in India, in a village near Hyderabad, and every time I visit iGoogle I am reminded of her time. India is on a half-hour time zone when compared to the rest of the world. For example, when it is noon in the US Central Time Zone, it is 11:30 pm in Hyderabad.

India is quite unique in many ways. My daughter teaches as a private school which is located at an orphanage, and the school is open to the public, so many children from the surrounding villages walk to school each day for lessons. My daughter does not have a degree in education, but teaches classes for grades 2-10. The educational system in India is quite different from the United States, and seems to work to keep the masses in a state of confusion. In the region where she lives, there are almost no critical thinking skills used or taught in the classroom. Most teaching seems to be rote memorization, with no deviations between what is taught and what is tested. For example, if a student is taught that 5+7=12, they would be mystified if they were asked to solve 7+5, it is not as learned and would not be recognized as a similar principle.

One day she contacted me by IM and was asking me questions about blood typing. She was assigned to teach biology and was unsure of the whole concept of ABO blood types and what Rh factor has to do with blood typing. So we had about a 45 minute chat about the whole topic. At the end, I emailed information that she could use as a reference in class. Since I teach Anatomy and Physiology at my college, I was able to explain the concept to her in a way that she could understand.

I consider myself especially knowledgeable about a mother-fetus condition known as erythroblastosis fetalis which may occur when the mother is Rh- and the fetus is Rh+, but can be medically prevented through RhoGAM injections. So, we had a discussion about that concept as well.