I recently attended a PTA meeting where a group of parents shared their concerns about the level of safety in using the internet at school.  The parents understood that using the internet was critical to teaching effective research, but were worried about some of the content that could show when students are trying to use a search engine to learn more about a topic.  Teaching and reinforcing safety for young people, in most cases, is a team effort on the part of all interested parties.  Sometimes, in an effort to completely protect children from damaging images, content, and people they could encounter online, some would throw their hands up and decide it’s best to “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.  

Dr. Darren Draper shared an analogy that really spoke to the concerns these parents had in the meeting.  He likened learning responsible internet use to responsible pedestrian practices crossing the street.  The street is an important part of life; it must be traversed in a safe way.  The internet is also an important part of life and must be navigated responsibly.  What I’m learning is that in order for me to be an effective educator who can teach students how to safely utilize the incredible wealth of information available online, I need to be aware of the dangers AND the resources.

Our Canyons Education Technology Department provides some information on online safety that is geared to parents, teachers, and students.  There are real dangers to be aware of, but once they are identified, they are relatively easy to avoid.  Find out more information about our Parent Connections project and download the brochures.  Education of these tools (social media-Facebook and Twitter, search engines, and other websites) for parents and teachers is critical to protecting children from the potential dangers they present.  The Parent Connections online safety literature includes some cautions, but also some academic resources for students to help in projects and other assignments.

Through my experience in the Ed Tech Endorsement program, I have learned about some incredible, free resources that teachers can use to help direct the students’ online activity.  A great hub of safe and credible information is the Pioneer Library website.  This service is provided by the Utah Education Network (UEN) and is available to all Utah students.  For at-home login information, check with the school or contact an Ed Tech.  It includes encyclopedias, copyright-free media(sounds/pictures), videos, and other targeted resources.  For a list of some other resources I have explored and recommend for teachers to use with students, click here!

--Katie Dewey

Class Dojo is a completely free tool that makes managing classroom behavior easy and fun!  If you have used it before, they recently made some great improvements.  Teachers need to create a free account, enter student names and customize behavior expectations before using with their class.  Dojo assigns an avatar to each student that will be displayed next to their name and behavior points.  Class Dojo can be controled from a computer by accessing the website, from an iPad, iPod or iPhone by downloading the app, or on an android device.  Teachers award students positive or negative points based on behavior.

This tool made difficult behavior situations in my classroom manageable, and changed the classroom culture.  I found that students were more aware, and loved seeing the positive feedback.  Give it a try!

Janae Hunt

So a "googol" is the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Have you ever wondered how many Google searches are happening out their in the techno sphere? Where did they originate? What is the language of the internet? Google has created an interesting graphic to illustrate this.

Click on this link and check out the activity. Spin the globe.

Here are some questions that come to mind: What do the colors mean? Why so few searches in China, North Korea and Africa? What else could you learn from this graphic? Enjoy!