filtering

Understanding Sharing

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Blogs, filtering, RSS, twitter 1 Comment

Sharing in 2103 is one of the easiest things to do. Understanding sharing is not that easy.

selfie of me looking at my Diigo acct
selfie of me looking at my Diigo acct

Ever since I asked about over sharing on my blog several years ago I’ve stopped worrying about it. That said, I’ve used several spaces with very specific intentions. I know others have different purposes, criteria and use different spaces to share but learning that is a critical information literacy skill. This became clear to me as I was redoing my Diigo network feed. As I pruned my list of 75 down to 9 I asked if anyone had any suggestions about who to follow. That’s a bit of a loaded and perhaps dumb question to ask. First of all, I gave no indication of what I was looking for. I suppose people might think I’m interested in education or technology, which I am but that’s far too broad to be of much use. Maybe 15 years ago when I began online bookmarking using broad terms like “education” + “technology” may have been useful, but not today. Then as folks began to suggest people, I looked at their sites and they were okay but I’m hoping to find people that are sharing things a bit more obscure and out of the mainstream. Something you may not always see on twitter. But bookmarking, to me remains one of the most personal forms of sharing. Of all the things I share, bookmarks are for me. I don’t care about sharing them. I don’t use any filter when I share and there’s very little context to what I share. I assume that’s similar for most people. I wouldn’t expect anyone to tailor their bookmarks for anyone.

When I think about the other spaces I share, I bring with it certain criteria and purpose. For example:

My blog

Generally I share more thoughtful, reflective stuff. This post for example is an idea I thought about and am using this to formulate an idea and perhaps illicit a conversation. Some folks suggest they blog only for themselves and that may be the case. I blog for me and for others. It’s a place where I  focus on learning.

Twitter

This is the blur of personal and professional. I’ve told people jokingly, don’t follow me on twitter if you want to learn something. It’s only partly a joke. I know some use it exclusively as a learning space but I don’t. I used to share this video with new followers so they wouldn’t be confused with how I used this space. I wonder if I need a video for all my spaces. 😉

Flickr

It used to be my primary place to share images and while it still is, Instagram has replaced the community aspect. The content is similar although I’m more apt to take a random photo to share a moment that may not get uploaded to flickr. Flickr is a slightly more vetted space.

Facebook

This is a place I use only because my kids use it and I know many folks use it as their go to space. Other than my daily photos, I don’t use it much and it’s not a professional space at all for me.

Google Plus

Pretty new to me still, I think it’s an interesting space but not one I’m willing yet to invest to understand it and utilize it well.

Diigo

The challenge with bookmarking is largely due to mobile. Since I now consume so much content via a mobile device, bookmarking is less consistent that it used to be. I use the little bookmarklet when working on my laptop which is essentially when I’m focussing on a particular topic or idea. You’ll see a string of sites all fairly similar that I hope to use in a course or upcoming presentation. I also have twitter favorites automatically go to diigo. I used to be better at adding little notes to sites which I really should, not for others necessarily but for my own reference.

There are several other spaces I use as well but my point is to suggest that sharing is more that the act of posting content online. Particularly from the viewer’s perspective, understanding these contexts is critical in determining who and what you want to connect to and with. As I redo my  RSS reader, it’s hard to let go of some older bloggers because I understand that context. You get to know people’s foibles, their attitudes and biases which aid you in gleaning ideas from them. Random bits of sharing online is so incredibly easy to do and yet very difficult to be useful unless context is applied. Sure, there is content that stands alone. A great article, video or image can be viewed by many as being useful or interesting. But there is also much that gets ignored or missed because either the creator hasn’t provided context or we’re too busy/lazy to understand it. That context lies partly in understanding how the creator uses a particular space. I think about the many workshops people give about any one of these spaces/platforms and brush over the idea that what makes these spaces so compelling is there is more than one way to use them and your way isn’t the only way.

After finishing this, I’m not sure I’ve said anything of interest or meaning. It started with my thoughts about bookmarks being judged purely on the quality but that quality starts with the user and their intent and then becomes my judgement which is based on a totally different set of criteria. There’s no conflict here, just an understanding on my part to know this exists and perhaps an urging for others to be more mindful of that context. I’m not asking creators to necessarily provide more context but suggesting users and viewers to consider there is always context.

This is what happens when you blog at midnight.

Podcast 44: Facebook, Filtering and all that

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Classrooms, filtering, Podcasting 9 Comments

Digital Learning Project
The question of filtering and facebook continues to be a major discussion item for schools. In my division, we do not block social networking sites and have a very liberal filtering policy compared to most. However, teachers struggle with students traveling to spaces they shouldn’t and being off task.  Rather than coming at them with my own position, I decided to enlist a number of teachers to respond to the following question:

Is  “off task” behaviour relating to technology an issue with your students? If yes, how do you deal with it, if no, what have and your students done to alleviate the problem?’

The following represents a request I made to several teachers in our school division. You’ll see a few different viewpoints which is what I wanted.

I see it as an issue of off-task behaviour.  Every teacher deals with it differently, but for the most part, they are instructed to get off of Facebook immediately and risk losing Computer/Internet.  In my Information Processing class, I allow for them to check e-mail/Facebook in the first few minutes of class.  I usually need a few minutes to get myself logged in and get the projector up and running.   They will also get to class early so that they can do this.  It helps.  We do not worry about its use during the noon hour, except that they are asked no to use the videos because they consume band width.  With special needs students, I have used  it to help them develop social skills.  They struggle with writing but they want to communicate with their peers (many of whom have graduated already) and I use Facebook to help with this.  I use Word to convert speech into text and they pastes it into Facebook.  With regards to content on Facebook, they are instructed that they are responsible for what they see and do on any site, including Facebook.  I have instructed them that I cannot possibly list every inappropriate piece of content which they might encounter, but they will know it when they see it and are to immediately move away from that content.   Dwelling or calling over buddies changes everything and it is dealt with as a discipline issue..

I hope they do not use a single blocking mechanism.  I can only see it going to a very locked down place.  Communities would be forced to accept the values of other communities, be it too much or too little content from the internet.   Are we going to see an internet blocked based on needs of Kindergarten students?  Will high schools be different?  What about K-12 schools?

Given that the internet is a moving target, we need to educate.  We need to educate our students, teachers, parents and administrators.  Do they realize that within a couple of hours of blocking Facebook, they will need to get IT to block a proxy server?  I have been so impressed with how well the filtering has worked and how helpful David has been.  I hope that it does not change and that people can be educated.  Easy solutions are not always good solutions.           Ed Fahl, High School teacher, Avonlea, SK

Is the Pope Catholic?  Believe it or not we even have off task behaviour in the classroom!  I know let’s use shock collars!

Is off task behaviour an issue?  Only if you let it run rabid.  How do we deal with it?  Supervision, education, learning, protocol, expectations (kids can come up with and agree on expectations – our cell project proved it – I did the same with facebook, no problems yet), respect, responsibility, and the odd consequence.  It’s no different than classroom management.  Same startegies work in the classroom as in the lab.  We need to move into the new millenium here.  Planning, preparation, and management.  Oh yeah, learning, engagement, and expecations.

Other solutions?  Let’s start teaching and learning about technology and respectful/responsible use.  We can’t put our kids in a bubble, but we can teach them how to be respectful/responsible people.  This is where we are missing the boat.  We aren’t going to be there to censor their activities when they are 19, so we better teach them right from wrong when we do have the chance.

I don’t know if this helps or not Dean, it’s pretty broad.  All I can say, is since we have adopted the philosophy of teaching/learning respect/responsibility for technology and the net, our off task behaviour has decreased because kids can make good decisions about their learning/lives, too.                        Gord Taylor, Principal Craik, SK

I am struggling with this issue in my classes and in general.  Usually the logical consequence for an off-task behaviour is, after a warning, removal of the stimulus.  In this case it is not possible to remove the stimulus.  Facebook, or any social networking tool, twitter, etc. is extremely addictive as it seems as if you are “out of the loop” you are truly missing out on something that seems impossible to catch up on at a later time.  I have to admit, I have checked my facebook during work hours myself.  The temptation is great.  I struggle with what consequence to enforce…denial of internet access?  Seems extreme when most of their classes require them to use the internet.  In-school suspension?  Meeting with a parent and having them promise not to do it again? How could this be enforced in any way but scanning their use logs everyday to ensure that anyone accessing off-task sites were given the same consequence.    My belief is that the temptation is great as our students are multi-taskers who are used to typing an essay, creating a spreadsheet while surfing you-tube for music and IMing on facebook.  They do not see this as a distraction at all.  They believe (may be true) that they can scan their facebook while doing other things and it isn’t a problem for their focus.

We have had an instance of bullying that was documented on facebook during school hours.  The student who made the comment on the wall of another student did so during school hours from a study period that is “supervised” by the library technician.  The issue was dealt with as a bullying issue, not a technology issue.  I supported, promoted, and stand by this.

We do not have adequate staffing to supervise all students on all computers at all times in our building. We have students completing on-line courses that are, unfortunately, not always supervised.  In my own classroom students are accessing off-task sites on the sly.  I have 27 students and one me.  They know that if I am helping students in the far corner that I can not see what they are doing on their computers in the other side of the room.  These are good, reasonable kids.

In the end, when all is said and done, what I am doing in my classroom?  I did my educational piece on internet, bullying, proper use of work time, what businesses expect (i.e. fireable offence to waste company time on off-task behaviour), etc.  This does not seem to curb the use of facebook…I teach PAA classes and so I am allowed to assign a mark for business-like attitude and behaviours.  I dock this mark for off-task time.   Does this curb the behaviour?  No.

The reason that I am harping on facebook is that of all the off-task sites, it is by far the most addictive as the very social networking nature of it makes it so tempting.  Games, youtube videos, etc…do not seem to be a problem.  The main problem is facebook in our school.  The main problem with dealing with facebook is the seemingly lack of logical consequence to enforce.            Lona Froshaug, High School teacher, Assiniboia, SK

Finally, this conversation is with Patricia Yeske, High School teacher at Riverview Collegiate in Moose Jaw,SK.

Podcast 40 Going Global, Going Public

Posted by Dean Shareski on in digitalcitizenship, filtering, Podcasting, presentations 12 Comments

I tried to record the audio from my presentation last week but I must have messed something up. It’s likely for the best since I was able to condense a 50 minute presentation down to about 18 minutes. After removing the videos, discussion and excessive rambling, this is what you’re left with; the slidecast below as well as the mp3 for the podcast portion.

Links:

[display_podcast]

My IT staff is better than yours

Posted by Dean Shareski on in EdTechs, filtering 22 Comments

The general consensus among educators using technology is that IT are the enemies. Obviously this is a generalization but when you listen to teachers, read weblogs, this is a clear message.

Not for me. I’ve touched on this before and am currently working with our IT manager on a presentation at Tlt in a few weeks that deals with how we work together.

Today I was trying to access the chat portion in ustream. I had mentioned it casually with our IT staff and they said since it uses port 666 which is generally used for IRC, it could be potentially a threat. Makes sense. That’s their job, to protect and insure our network is stable and safe. But I persist. Since we all use Gtalk, it’s a quick IM conversation and here it is:

me: how hard is it to open port 666? Is it like a click of a button or some weirdly involved coding? temporarily I mean
stinndler: i have to log into the firewall console
find the right access-list then add the exception to it
all so you can use IRC
me: It’s part of Ustream…lots of online presenters use it.
stinndler: how many is lots?
me: I could join one everyday
stinndler: ustream.tv?
me: yep
I’m watching this right now http://www.ustream.tv/channel/weblogg-ed-tv
It’s basically over but just curious to see if we can do it.
stinndler: so it allows you to ask questions of the presenter?
me: that and chat with participants
stinndler: checking my firewall logs it looks like it’s always going to the same server
i could potentially open up port 6667 to just that server
that would remove the risk
me: that would be cool
you rock….you knew that right?
stinndler is typing…

That’s all it took. Conversation, relationships and common sense. Unfortunately, there are not that many school districts that operate this way. We need more stories and examples of effective relationships. I’ll be sure to post our presentation and materials on May 15th.

Beatrice, you’re way off!

Posted by Dean Shareski on in filtering, news 7 Comments

Thanks to a tweet by Clarence, I just listened to a podcast of an angry parent upset with the Langley School District for not blocking social networking sites.

The mother, Beatrice, is conceded some authority by CBC since she has a computer science background. Unfortunately her knowledge of ports and key logging software is about all she has when it comes to her understanding of social networks. Admittedly her 12 year old daughter had been to some less than educational spaces and likely was pursuing content not fit for a 12 year old or anyone. Her reaction was to block all these sites, ban her daughter from the home computer and demand the school district to install content filtering that would prohibit any access to social networks. Craig Spence, a representative from the school division gives a very intelligent response in this interview to her complaints arguing the importance of teaching students about these spaces and recognizing these spaces will still exist outside the school. This article might indicate the school district is buckling somewhat under pressure.

This parent makes a number of comments that demonstrate a lack of understanding and fuels the fire of hysteria and in my opinion, bad judgment.

She admits that living in a rural area, the internet has become “for a lack of a better term, connection” for her daughter. Lack of a better term? That’s exactly what it is…a connection. From her eyes the connection is obviously negative, but that’s got nothing to do with the technology. Her daughter’s connections will remain questionable even without the technology. Her response is to ban her daughter from using their computer until she says,”it will be safe again.” When will that be? When all the nefarious sites have gone away? When her daughter is 18? When she determines that the only value of the internet is looking up stuff?

She worries that a child in grade 3 will be online at school and will accept a date with a stranger thinking it’s another child and will be whisked away by a predator. Once again, there is no case of anything remotely like this. While I understand why she might have this fear, the facts just aren’t getting through. That’s why in part, I don’t just ignore stories like this but feel compelled to speak out. Even the reporter lacked the background information to challenge her claim. I’ve written about this too often to reprise.

She also feels schools should be teaching reading, math, science and computers (how to use a computer) but social networking should be taught in the homes. Think about that statement for a while.

For every site one person deems educational, someone will disagree. For every social network site you block today, three more will arise tomorrow. These are bandaid solutions. Being proactive, supervisory and purposeful are by far the best approaches. Teachers are our best filters at school and parents should be the best at home.

This is why it’s so critical that we continue to promote teachers doing this in Kindergarten and Grade one. At some point we won’t even call it social networking. We’ll just call it learning.