Danah Boyd at “making connections where none previously existed” has posted an excellent paper delivered at the the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting.

It’s all about youth and their online identity making activities on My Space and other similiar social software technologies. Her paper gets at issues related to Internet safety, parental and school over reactions to their online behavior and much more. You can read the rough notes of her paper here.

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I liked this article a lot. It points out the importance of not forgetting that learning and education is about people not content (curriculum). Here is the summary excerpted from the Moving at the Speed of Creativity blog.

People are the curriculum. We need to remember that, living as we do in dark times when many around us are confused. Perhaps through the stories we tell each other and share, we can remind those who need reminding (and there are many) of this basic educational truth.

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I’ll be needing resources like this in the coming months. The links and good advice stem from A Difference blog by Darren Kuropatwa, a math teacher from Winnipeg.

Posts Teachers Use on Their Classroom Blogs
Student’s Made This! (Darren Kuropatwa’s class policy)
Safe Blogging (Mrs. Simpson’s class blogging policy)
Etiquette (Mr. Malandrakis’ class blogging policy)

Posts from A Difference
The Fear of Transparency
The Fear of Losing Control
Distrust Breeds Fear
The Conversation

From Bud Hunt‘s Blogging Wiki
Main Page
Blogging Parent Letters
Sample Blog Acceptable Use Policy
Student Created Blog Policies
Vignettes

From the Free Expression Policy Project (NYU School of Law)
The NRC’s May 2, 2002 Report, Youth, Pornography, and the Internet, Agrees with FEPP on Three Crucial Issues (“learning to swim” – thanks to D’Arcy Norman for this link)
There are many more valuable resources here that can be accessed from their home page

Podcasts
Inappropriate Blog Post (6 min. 38 sec.)
An excerpt from an interview where I discuss how I orchestrate ethical blogging practices in my classes and how I dealt with a student who posted something inappropriate nonetheless.

Websites
nonscholae.org
A grassroots organization of educational professionals devoted to the responsible use of blogs, instant messaging and other social software in schools.

BlogSaftey.com
A site where teens, parents, teachers and adult bloggers can learn about the benefits of safe blogging.

Stories From the Classroom
Just two clicks …
A student posts his phone number. It turns out to be a phoney number. The teacher turns it into a teachable moment. – The student’s post, The student’s follow-up post, The teacher’s story

I know there are many more blog posts out there that give teachers and parents the tools to practice and talk about safe blogging. Please email me or leave a comment on this post if you know of or have written such a post and I will add it to the list. I’m particularly interested in collecting class blogging policies that teachers post to their classroom blogs or that are explicitly used in their classes. I’m also interested in collecting “stories” of how teachers have dealt with students posting inappropriate material. Keep those stories coming …

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Alan Levine’s blog is called CogDogBlog. He has written a very interesting piece on social software, using his experiences at the 2006 Northern Voice Conference held in Vancouver.

It just happened, almost in its own?, as do many meaningful social interactions. ‘Social Software’ has less to do with software than the internet protocols that allow it, and everything to do with the “social” end of it.

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Rick’s Cafe Canadien blog has a beautiful set of calming photos from Kevin Spreekmeester that are stunning. Stephen Downes posted them some time ago and I stumbled across them this morning. Beautiful photography and oh so calming.

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I am interested in using (or at least putting it in our resource folder) digital storytelling as part of our Youth Community Mapping Program. I found a few links that show how we might adapt what we are doing to a storytelling approach. I think the personal voice is a powerful medium and can convey a lot of what we are trying to say around youth poverty and homelessness. It will be interesting to explore this further with the everyone involved in our Program.

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Christopher Sessum’s captures the essence of what blog’s and wiki’s are all about in this post. It’s a useful statement that I can utilize for my elevator pitch to those unfamiliar with ICT and related learning experiences.

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Risky Business: Teachers and Pedagogical Change
Stephen Downes picked up on this article from Chistopher Sessums on his blog – community learning space. I haven’t reviewed it in depth, however it looks like a very focussed piece that I can learn from. Here are a few excerpts.
How receptive are educators to changing how they teach? That’s obviously a loaded question with a host of potential reactions.

One major factor that impedes change is a fear of taking risks. Behind this fear lies issues of control, issues of embarrassment, and a fear of failure.

What are some concrete strategies for working with educators to assist them in overcoming these barriers, these emotional fear factors, and embrace change?

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An excellent article from Salon.com gives a more historical look at the fallout from the cartoons printed in a Danish newspaper. Going to Salon.com to read the full article requires clicking on a link that makes you view a very brief advertisment. A small (but irritating) price for a very good read.

“Rather than merely an East-West issue or a clash of civilizations, the caricature controversy should be seen as part of a culture war within Muslim societies. Precisely because the issue is distant and not very important, it is a cost-free bandwagon on which everyone can jump in search of greater legitimacy among Muslim publics. It isn’t just about some cartoons. It is about independence and the genuine liberty to define yourself rather than being defined by the imperial West.”

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This letter is loaded with some painful reminders about the disconnect between what youth are learning at the high school level and what is awaiting them in the technology driven business world. It was written by David Warlick, a feature writer at the Techlearning blog. This site is really a portal for teachers, tech coordinators and administrators and is well worth a look, although it appears registration is required.

There are some very sharp criticism’s and supportive comments that follow his “letter to the Principle” post. Reading these comments, I can see how David Warlick’s perspective and insightful letter (I liked it immensily) rankled many in education.

David Warlick’s blog 2 Cents Worth is one of my favourite reads. On his blog there is a follow up to his original letter. He answers a teacher’s question “ …so what am I, the teacher in the classroom, supposed to actually do?”

January 23rd, 2006

A Letter from the Principal

Dear Parent,

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done to support our school in it’s endeavors to accomplish our mission. Your services as a volunteer, membership in the PTO, and attendance at parent conferences and our open house are all greatly appreciated.

As the principal of your child’s school and the administrative representative of your school district, state, and national education system, I also want to offer my sincerest apologies. We are failing to achieve our mission, and your child’s future is in jeopardy.

Posted by David Warlick at 07:20 AM

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