Tag: safety

Google Digital Literacy Tour

Kelly Tenkely6 Comments on Google Digital Literacy Tour3876 views
What it is:  No matter what subject(s) you teach, digital literacy is something we all need to take the responsibility to expose our students to.  iKeep Safe (one of my favorites for Internet safety with Faux Paw the Techno cat!) teamed up with Google to create a curriculum for educators to teach what it means to be a responsible digital citizen.  The outcome is wonderful, it is designed to be interactive, discussion oriented, and hands-on.  Each separate piece of curriculum (workshop) includes a pdf resource booklet for both educators and students, videos to accompany lessons, and presentations.  The three workshops available are:
  1. Detecting Lies and staying true
  2. Playing and staying safe online
  3. Steering clear of cyber tricks
How to integrate Google Digital Literacy Tour into the classroom:  Google never disappoints, and the Google Digital Literacy Tour is no exception!  These are a great discussion starters for every classroom.  I like this Digital Literacy Tour because it doesn’t give a lot of drill and kill type exercises to find out if the student can tell you the “correct” answer.  Instead, it invites conversations and deeper thinking…exactly what is needed for true digital literacy!
The videos and presentations can be used throughout the year (and multiple times throughout the year) to open discussions about online behavior.  Too often educators assume that because students are adept at using technology, that means they know how to properly use that technology.  Students can understand the freedom and benefits that technology brings without knowing how to properly manage that freedom, that is what digital literacy is all about!  It is up to us to help students understand what their digital relationships represent in real life, and how their actions online can affect what they do in real life.
Use the Google Digital Literacy Tour as a conversation starter for the whole class or ask students to break into smaller groups to discuss before they share with the larger group.  If you have some added time for reflection, ask students to write about their own experiences, or reflection, on why digital literacy is important.  Every year I have taught Internet safety, I am amazed by what students tell me they have encountered online!  I am telling you now, no matter what grade you teach, your students have encountered something online that they didn’t know what to do with.  Help them navigate that!

Tips: Share these resources with parents.  They often hear reports that emphasize the negative aspects of online behavior and, instead of teaching students how to properly manage their freedom, restrict it all together.  This is okay for the short term but does nothing that is beneficial for students long term!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Google Digital Literacy Tour in  your classroom!

Internet Safety with Professor Garfield

Kelly Tenkely11 Comments on Internet Safety with Professor Garfield8174 views

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What it is: Professor Garfield has offered an array of interactive games and activities for kids.  I learned from blog Educadores Digitales that he has now teamed up with the Virginia Department of Education and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia to help students protect themselves online.  Internet Safety with Professor Garfield is offering lessons on online safety, cyberbullying, and coming soon: fact or opinion and forms of media.  Each lesson is composed of three parts, watch, try, and apply.  In the “watch” section, students watch a video starring Garfield and his friends.  The video teaches an important Internet safety lesson.  In the “try it” section, students are given a chance to play a game that checks for understanding and redirects thinking if students missed a concept.  In the “apply it” section, students help a character from the video to make wise Internet safety decisions.  

How to integrate Internet Safety with Professor Garfield into the classroom: This is an excellent place for elementary students to begin learning about how to keep themselves safe online.  I make it a point to visit Internet safety throughout the school year.  I always start out my year with a few weeks that are focused on and dedicated to Internet safety.  I make a big deal of the activities that take place during those weeks.  At the end of the Internet safety unit, my students take an interactive quiz (usually using our ActivVote system) so that I can gauge their understanding.  Each student must pass this quiz in order to receive their Internet drivers license for the year.  Professor Garfield’s Internet Safety is the perfect addition to the Internet safety week.  The videos and activities are fabulous!  Revisit the site throughout the year so that students are reminded of the safety rules they agreed to follow at the beginning of the year.  I find that mid-year students start to get critical of each other.  The name calling and bullying seems to start up every February.  This is a great time to reintroduce Cyberbullying, and the lesson on Professor Garfield is a great way to do this.

In the lab setting, each student can go through these lessons at their own pace. Students will receive immediate feedback from the activities if they have any misunderstandings.

If you are a classroom teacher without a regular computer lab time, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to watch the videos as a class.  During the try and apply, turn the questions into a class discussion and choose the answers together.

Tips: Internet Safety with Professor Garfield has lesson plans and unit quizzes, an Internet safety certificate that can be printed at the end of the unit, and a printable poster for your classroom to remind students how to stay safe online.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Internet Safety with Professor Garfield in your classroom.

Clicky Live

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Clicky Live1568 views

 

What it is:   Clicky Live is a free Internet safety webcast for kids being held on December 10, 2008.  Clicky is the NetSmartz kids robot and is an expert on Internet safety.  This year, Clicky wants to make sure kids ages 5-10 have all the tools they need to stay safe online.  The NetSmartz live webcast will engage kids in a dialogue about Internet safety through chat or call in features, allowing them to have an interactive experience with Clicky.  You can sign up individuals or a whole class for Clicky Live by RSVPing and submitting questions to Clicky for the show.  There is also a step-by-step guide to facilitating the Clicky Live show and accompanying NetSmartz activity pages.  

 

How to integrate Clicky Live into the classroom:   Clicky Live can be enjoyed by a group of students or individual students.  The Clicky Live event is held on December 10, 2008 at 5pm and 7pm EST, because most kids are out of school at this time, you can send fliers home to encourage students and parents to participate individually, hold an Internet safety night where parents and students can come back to school for a Clicky Live event, or use Clicky Live in an after school program.   Be sure to check out the step by step guide to facilitating the Clicky Live show for some great ideas.

 

Tips:   Offer extra credit to those students who participate in Clicky Live at home with their families.  

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Clicky Live in your classroom.

My Mobile Witness

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on My Mobile Witness1728 views

 

I am on Fall Break this week (hallelujiah!) so I am thinking of things non-school related and found a must view for all of you gals out there- guys check it out for the loved ones in your life.  My Mobile Witness is a completely FREE program that turns your cell phone into a personal safety device.  Basically, any time you feel uncomfortable about a situation (weird guy following you at Target, blind date, first time meeting an eHarmony match, etc.) you take a picture and text it to your My Mobile Witness account.  My Mobile Witness stores the picture with a time stamp in the digital vault.  Should anything happen, My Mobile Witness works with law enforcement…now you always have a witness!   So, you can use My Mobile Witness when you meet a blind date for the first time, enjoying yourself on spring break, your car breaks down and someone stops to help, a new repair man comes into your home, a friend leaves a party with someone she just met, you worry about an obsessive ex, a guy eyes your shopping bags on the subway, you spot a suspicious van in the parking lot, you go for a jog in the park after dark, a driver gets hostile with you on the road, you go on a trip away from home, or you go hiking in the back country.  This is truly an incredible service, check it out, sign up, and then send it to everyone you love.

KidZui

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on KidZui1944 views

 

What it is: KidZui is a web browser made just for kids.  It has access to over 800,000 websites, pictures, and videos that are reviewed by teachers and parents who don’t just approve content, but also categorize it for age appropriateness and by topic.  Kids will be able to get to all of their favorite sites (and more) in a safe, engaging environment that rewards learning and teaches independent learning skills.  Parents and teachers can get weekly emails that keep you up-to-date with what kids are searching on KidZui.  KidZui is free for the basic account, they also offer a membership account that gives some nice additional features.  KidZui is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

 

How to integrate KidZui into the classroom: KidZui would be a great web browser to have on classroom computers in the elementary school setting.  Students would be able to easily access all the information they need online without being exposed to inappropriate content.  The interface is very user friendly and teaches students great search skills as well as teaching great learning skills.  

 

Tips: I often have parents asking me what they can do at home to keep their kids safe online.  KidZui is an excellent recommendation, the parent reports are a great way to keep parents involved in their children’s online activities.

 

Leave a comment and share how you are using KidZui in your classroom.