Jesse Miler from Mediated Reality came to talk to our class today and kind of blew our collective minds. I’ll sum up  some of what he said here.

  • Using social media and mobile technology in education environments has impacts for our professional responsibilities
    • Need to be aware of how the personal meets the public
  • Captcha – I had no idea that the data from the “I’m not a robot” tests is used to train the technology in self-driving cars
  • Photo radar can be used to set minimum times that cars should need to travel dangerous sections of road (like the Malahat)
  • We need to be aware of what IS private online – screenshots and other downloads can negate the privacy settings
  • Educators are often focused on internet safety, but we should be teaching students about what networked citizenship looks like
    • digital identity – all the many, many profiles we create, maintain or forget throughout the internet
    • digital rights – 2014 Intimate Images Act in Canada – established implied consent to deal with issues like revenge porn
    • digital literacy
  • We have to be aware of how we use and maintain our communication networks – social, professional, personal
  • “We shape our tools and thereafter, our tools shape us” – John Culkin
  • There are times when kids are able to focus and not look at their phones, usually when they are ENGAGED, so instead of trying to control phone use, put your emphasis on building engagement in the classroom
  • Amy Orben is a researcher who has looked at screen time, kids and technology – found that kids are starting to make healthy boundaries for technology. This generation has always had it so it makes sense that they would develop some healthy adaptations to deal with it
  • Erase BC – a provincial strategy to give kids an anonymous way to report bullying
  • We need to address existing and emerging social media concerns with education and media literacy conversations
    • open constructive solutions-based dialogue with co-workers, stakeholders, clients, employers and the public about social media trends
  • We have personal use entitlement
  • Should be aware of balancing professional expectations
  • Higher income schools have lots of technology, but lower income schools may rely on things like Facebook Messenger to keep in touch with parents – no issues with cell phone bills that are unpaid etc.
  • The audiences for educators on social media are:
    • Public/parents
    • Staff/co-workers
    • Students
  • High schools now have esports teams – there are 18 in B.C.
  • Treaty 4 Esports in Saskatchewan – an elder in the community saw that many kids were playing video games. He approached a local casino for some space and created an Esports team. It is so successful that they built it up and started social and academic programs for kids in the same space
  • We have societal expectations of which activities are good and which are bad, but these ideas need to be examined
    • Having a diversity of extra curricular ideas is a good idea though

Jesse definitely changed my mind a bit about technology use, or at least alleviated some concerns about the new, scary modern world I’m heading into as a teacher. I guess we just have to pay attention as this generation grows up to see how things shake out from their unprecedented upbringing.