Throwing the idea of subjects out the window

It turned out that I got a lot of twitter support for the idea that this picture represents: saying goodbye to subjects.

Here's what I said:

Now I am not totally against subjects per se.  Hey, I like organization just as much as the next guy.  But my heart was begging my mind to look at things differently.  And I needed to do physically what teachers end up doing in their heads.  It all started with this:

For years now, my middle school team has been divvying up the subjects (and therefore divvying up the BC Prescribed Learning Outcomes) and teaching courses to our grade 6's and 7's.  This led to, I believe, an experience of being out of touch: out of touch with what was going on in other classes, and out of touch with the students themselves.  It was the latter that caused us to do things differently this year.  Going to a more project oriented class is a by-product: a by-product that feels right.

So what did I find:
Well two types of projects emerged as I looked through the PLOs and started combining them: term projects and year-long projects.  Here is what grade 7 began to look like: (excuse the goofy titles)

Year-long:
Classroom Meeting
Reading Plus
Anthology Panthology
Blogging Makes Me Happy
Math for Smarties (Math that doesn't fit anywhere else)


Term: (having a beginning and an end)
The Perfect Classroom
I want an Accent
Job Me
More Ancient than My Teacher
The Novel Novel
The Atrocity Project
They Lie!!!
What are the Chances
My Money Making Scheme
Media: It's more than Youtube
My Man/My Gal

These projects included all grade 7 PLO's except for Science and Art and those were left out for school organizational purposes.  They would have fit into this process swimmingly.

Where to go from here:
Really, the students should be doing this kind of organization themselves.  Valerie Irvine (@valerei) jumped on that right away.  Hoping to collaborate with her to make the PLO's accessible to students.

Then they can organize how they want to tackle them themselves...with support.  

Thanks to all who retweeted.

I trust you. You trust me

Trust.

It's one of the big ideas that has come out of the edtech chats I have been involved in. It has been part of my recent discussions concerning BYOT.  And it has been on my mind.  When you have your students take the world out of their pockets and have that world right there sitting on their desks in class, trust becomes an issue.

Before summer holidays, I surveyed my middle school students.  The benefits of having a big class is that I get a variety of opinions.  I have a great sample size.  And I get a few of those kids that just tell it like it is.  So sometimes rather than asking the adult experts, it is just more helpful to ask the students.  Here is a Wordle from the responses from the students on my survey about trust:

What did I ask?

 Yes everyone, the survey was on paper.  Sorry. 

What was I expecting?

I was thoroughly expecting that the majority of my students didn't feel I trusted them.  With BYOT being new to me, I spent a lot of time walking around, checking up on what was going on.  I felt the relationship I had with my class was strained.  I just plain thought our trust-matters could be better.

And what did they say?

Results of my Informal Trust Survey

Do you feel that your teacher trusts you? 85% said yes

Do you trust that your teacher wants the best for you? 89% said yes

Do you trust that school will help you achieve your goals?  37% said yes

Some highlights:

I was surprised that such a high majority of my students felt I trusted them.  Possibly I have given them what they have never had before: a chance to use their device in the class, a chance to fail and then to try again.  Maybe.

I was pleased that the majority of my students felt I wanted the best for them.  With my teaching co-focus being attachment, having them know that I want the best for them is what the relationship is all about.

Don't think, however, that I have forgotten about those in the minority: those that feel that I don't trust them, those that don't think I want the best for them.  It's not great thinking that some students spend a whole year with me and feel that way.  There's always more work to do.

Their comments:

The most meaningful information from the survey, however, were the comments.  Here are a few of them:

What would cause you to trust your teacher more?

- connect with students more

- do more things (risks)

- if he trusted me more (said twice)

- not to over explain things

- more freedom to do things in class

And what could lead you to becoming more trustworthy?

- if I didn't get in trouble as much (said twice)

- if class were more fun (said twice)

- if you trusted me more

I believe, however, the most poignant answer was the one student who said: "I trust you.  You trust me."  How else can trust be built but by mutuality.  One party takes a risk with another.  It goes well and trust is built.  But trust can't grow one-sided.  Without the other party doing the same, trust plateaus.  So I am hoping to take some more risks next year, and open it up for my students to do the same.  A BYOT classroom without trust is just another computer lab.

On a side note, the fact that only 37% of my students trust that school will help them achieve their goals is not lost on me.  But that is for another post. . .

Top ten meet-ups at ISTE 2013

For me, ISTE13, the biggest educational technology conference in North America, was about meeting the people.  Workshops and keynotes took a back seat to the disruptive meet-ups that I had in the dry heat or AC cool of San Antonio.  But these meetings didn't require me stalking the keynotes or standing by the VIP sections for nods and smiles.  These were the real deals: the educators in the trenches, the innovators who scare up buried resources to make things happen for students, the coordinators who support thousands of teachers ranging from early adopters to email shrugging Luddites.  Below are ten of my best meet-ups and my take on their deal.

@cordym
The meet:
While grabbing my Surface RT at the Microsoft command centre, a young educator with a twinkle in her eye sat down beside me.  She picked up that I was confused about something and asked me: "What is your burning question?"  I was kinda sorry that I didn't have one.  Through conversation, we discovered that we were both Canadians.  She revealed that she was going to be sharing at the opening Ignite session and that I needed to cheer loudly for her.  I mentioned that I wanted to follow her on Twitter but I didn't have data.  She said "I don't have data either but I just used the code the Microsoft's techs were putting in the Surfaces."  I was instantly impressed.  Who knew she was going to be doing this Ignite (TED-talk-like) presentation in front of 10,000 people.  And she killed it.

Her deal:
She blogs here about Hacking the Classroom, sharing her adventures in transforming education.  It's genuine stuff: she is a true hacker.  She hacked her way into "basically a keynote", karaoke, and several after parties all with a pizazz that showed the she should be there.  She has an amazing and inspiring way of turning things on their head.  She brings out the inner hacker in everyone she meets.  Made me think that anything is possible. 

Now to hacking a pool into my backyard.

@bkuhn
The meet:
"hey we should connect, I arrive around 5" "landed, should be settled 5:30ish" were the tweets I received Saturday night at ISTE13.  We had never really talked before.  But in minutes I was about to hang out with someone I had huge respect for.  His current title is the CIO for Vancouver School District.  I knew him from his previous school district and only had a FTF when I attended one of his workshops.  I read his blog regularly though and have connected with him on Twitter.  We had dinner by the river; we visited the Alamo; we cruised the Riverwalk.  All the while I got to pick his brain about the big ideas and the details of technology in education.

His deal:
Very much looking at the big picture.  He both strives to mold and prepare for the future.  Conversation with him inspires ideas about what the future can be like and what the great disruptions and disruptors that have molded our present are.  When I am thinking about "hand in boxes", he's thinking about the future of augmented reality in the classroom.  When I'm pondering a good learning management system, he's wondering how he can form a student "genius bar" for teachers to turn to for advice.  One of his tweets: "Education needs to become a covert operation where learning secretly happens and the kids don't realize it but they love it"

@jagill
The meet:
My partner in crime all ISTE13 long.  Yet this was the first chance we really got to meet.  He promised me he would introduce me to some great people and he did not disappoint.  And though he got me 1 breakfast, 2 parties, 3 dinners, and a whole wack of karaoke, it was the many connections he helped me make and the inspirational conversations we kept up that made my trip worth it.  With him as a sounding board, we plotted how all of this ISTE learning could work back in SD43.  We're planning some disruption of our own.

His deal:
His blog here is called Gone "Digital" Native.  And it is so aptly named.  For the nearly six years since this guy has started blogging about his dive head first into technological solutions for learning, he has been immersing himself in the business of teaching better through tech.  Whether it is using embed codes to beef up classroom websites, using Google translate to help ESL kids read, using Voicethread to give aboriginal students a more authentic voice, teaching Kandinsky to a computer class, or using Audacity to help LD kids write, he masters the tech and then imparts it to students.  But he is so much more than his tech.  It is the connections he makes with his students that speaks even more loudly.  You'll hear him say: "tell kids they are smart enough", "empower kids to troubleshoot" or "so I decided to ask my students on this. . ."  He really loves what he does and inspires the rest of us to do the same.

@BYOTNetwork
The meet:
One's first (first love, first car, first house) is always special.  Well, I stumbled into the edchat world serendipitously and discovered  #byotchat, my first edchat.  It was amazing.  I felt I had found my home.  People there were truly interested in helping this novice get somewhere with his BYOT environment.  And @BYOTNetwork was one of the facilitators.  He helped me start my BYOT class and so getting to meet him for a FTF at ISTE13's blogging café was amazing.

His deal:
He's about sharing and connecting.  Even when we met at ISTE he made sure I got connected with yet another edtech person.  He's about taking people from the no-no's of tech in the classroom to Acceptable Use Guidelines, focusing on the 95% of students who are going to do the right thing.  I love his Forsyth County Schools' "I will" approach, as opposed to "You can't": 

And he's about cultivating a learning community of trust--whether on twitter in his #byotchat gathering or in the hundreds of classrooms that he supports.

@dkvandergugten , @LJakes42 , @rorypayment
The meet:
I was excited to meet BCers at ISTE13 more than anyone else.  They know the FIPPA problems we deal with; they're not preoccupied by thinking Common Core, and they share a common need to be able to address and surmount the BC curriculum.  I talk about these three individuals together as they came across as a united team.  The meet was over several dinners and Riverwalk walks; it was great to pick each brain.

Their deal:
I'd like to say that they come from an innovative school district but it would be more accurate to say that they are developing an innovative school district.  I enjoyed hearing about their reading fluency enhancing Ipod touch/Ipad project in particular as it related to my own BYOT classroom.  You can learn about the project here.  I also appreciated their foray into a new report card template which includes pieces such as these: a student inclusive conferencing model, a section on critical thinking, a spot for student self evaluation, and an emphasis on teacher and student coming together to set learning goals.

@troystein
The meet: Over enchiladas and gelato

His deal:
Introduced to by @jagill, I had a chance to have several motivating conversations with him.  Being a Techsmith employee, you'd think he would be all about Camtasia, SnagIt, and Jing.  Really, the software wasn't the focus, though he knew his stuff.  Through conversation he inspired me to think about teaching better.  And while I was interested in classroom flipping, he prompted me to inquire about. . .inquiry.  He made sure to introduce me to people I had to meet.  One was @ramusallam. 

@ramusallam
His deal:
You have got to see his Ted Talk here.  He's a chemistry teacher whose teaching has been transformed since his operation for a life threatening heart aneurism.  He, like his surgeon, decided on three rules to guide his occupation: curiosity comes first, embrace the mess, practice reflection.  He implores teachers to become cultivators of curiosity and inquiry.  He challenges teachers to confuse and perplex students, bringing out their own natural questions.  What could this look like in an elementary classroom?  What could it look like in middle school?  I'm very inspired to pursue this more.

@stevewandler
The meet:
I've got to give credit to this fellow as he was the one who told me about ISTE13.  He was surprised I had never heard about it.  So was I.  But that conversation lead to my attending.  And as Obi Wan says, my "first step into a larger world". Our meet-up almost never happened as the conference wifi problems created time travelling tweet black holes.  By the time I got his message that he was coming to me, I was already where he said he was.  It was very Three's Company-ish. 

His deal:
Though he isn't a teacher, he has a lot of the characteristics of a great one.  He's a connected learner who listens carefully and applies the learning to the next step.  It's formative assessment.  It's crucial whether you are a teacher imparting fraction adding or an entrepreneur teasing out the need and looking to meet it.  He's one of the founders of Freshgrade, an app to aid teachers with student assessment.  The team is using technology and innovation to make assessment meaningful, immediate, and even easy.  It's every teacher's dream and they're working on it!

Many people have asked me what I learned from ISTE13.  It has been hard responding to the question.  To me, learning cannot be disconnected from connection.  I have a hard time sharing a new concept without mentioning a person, an expert, and "inspirator".  Connection, attachment, and learning: is it any surprise that this is where the post ends up.  It's the people that make the learning enjoyable.  As teachers, as parents, as leaders, we can never forget that.    

From Latitude to Latitude: a look at Dell's Latitude 10

Dell's Latitude 10 is as most hybrid's become: not a master as either a tablet or a desktop but a fine solution when wanting to have both in a single package.  I had three weeks with the Dell Latitude 10.  I moved my 6 year old Latitude XT to the side, plopped the dock down, and began kicking the tires. Here are my thoughts:

As a teaching tool

Having a tablet that sported Onenote was awesome.  Where my old fliptop Dell would sit at my desk, rarely carried anywhere, the Latitude came with me around the room. Handy if the connection to the projector failed, but

more importantly it became a teaching tool.

My notes on Onenote became my answer key as I walked around the room giving immediate feedback to the students.  I would write on my virtual paper at students' desks to demonstrate Math concepts.  It was engaging for the students and quick and easy for me.

The docking solution for teaching, however, could use some work in my opinion.  When docked to a digital projector, the tablet screen configured to the dimensions of my projector.  This made the image on the tablet even smaller and in turn harder to work with.

And further thought needs to be put into how teachers draw on the device.  When I teach hooked up to a digital projector, drawing on the screen is paramount.  My old Dell had a screen that flipped around and down to become a tablet to write on. On that old Dell: one instance I am laptopping, in another, I am tableting, writing with a stylus on the screen.

The Latitude 10 has seemed to take a step backwards. I either have to take the tablet off the dock and draw with it flat on the desk then put it back on the dock to project my changes or awkwardly draw on the screen while the tablet remains on the dock.  Neither option is preferred.

Possibly a full sized HDMI slot might allow me to connect the tablet directly to the digital projector.  Without using the dock, I could project my inking while the tablet is flat.  A better solution might be a wireless one: making a bluetooth/wifi connection to a separate AppleTV-like device that is plugged into the projector. Then I could project from anywhere. 

Slickness
I can see now why Apple boasts about their hardware-software niche.  You can tell the Latitude has a slight struggle with its presentation.  Many times I would be swipe, see nothing happen and question: "Is it me; am I doing something wrong; or is it the machine stalling?"  More than once I had to go back to the old ctr-alt-delete to get things started again.  And it's not easy to do that if the dock, with the keyboard and mouse, is back at school.

Several times the connection with my digital projector had disengaged from the tablet when the tablet returned from sleep. Pulling out the HDMI cord from the projector and putting it back in and/or removing the tablet from the base helped reconnect them.  A bug I would hope would be worked out.  

I also used the Latitude to work on Report Cards.  While editing a large file in Word (over 10 MB), I noticed a quarter second lag. It was close to bad enough that I wanted to power up my desktop and work on that instead.  I muddled through but I reflected that a bit more power would avoid this.

More on Apps

The Windows Store does have a lot of what one might need.  Evernote is there but it is not slick.  It seems that I can't swipe but only use the mouse.  With Evernote, it is a right-click to get to the menu, not a swipe from the right.  Apple users have an "intuition" (taught to them by Apple) about how they think things should work. Apps created for the Windows 8 won't necessarily operate the same.  Microsoft may not put as much emphasis into the creating uniformity as Apple does.

No socrative app, Twitter app works well, simple recording software available, games, the Store seems to be building it's repertoire.

The Metro screen is great.  Live-ish updates were made for People, Twitter, book reader, and mail (though I was only able to get the mail app working with Gmail, and not Outlook) apps. 

Windows 8, like the Latitude, is a hybrid operating system: offering the Metro screen and the desktop. Navigating the two can get a little confusing.  For one, switching back to the Metro screen from the desktop to open an app on the desktop seems clunky but it's the Metro screen where I end up pinning things. 

Hardware 

Speakers are good.  The casing has a comfortable feel to it.  Screen is bright. Very light and portable.

All in all we are looking at a good solution that takes advantage of cloud/server storage.  I couldn't help but want a bit more power but I can see how this might be a handy solution for the day to day of teaching.  The lag when dealing with the large report card files is a deal breaker for me, though.  And I don't see report cards going anywhere any time soon. 

The Unmaking of a Bully

My friend adopted internationally.  Hearing the process that led up to that first meeting is exhausting in and of itself.  The interviews, the waiting, the accumulation of documents and dough, the waiting, the disappointments, the waiting, and then finally the 20 hour flight to the very foreign country.  It's like climbing Mount Everest.  And in the same way, the highest of heights is receiving that little one, yet the steps following are just as arduous, requiring just as much care and attention. 

Attachment.

In international adoption, attachment is huge.  Years become literally devoted to creating secure attachment.  The family tries not to go anywhere or have any guests for months.  The child is worn, cobeded, rocked, held, sung to. Limits are put on who can visit, who can feed, who can hold.  The caregivers become physically and emotionally fastened to the child.  And the child learns that when she has a need, the parent will be there to fill it.  Healthy attachment allows the child to trust, to form healthy relationships, and leads to the capacity to care for others.  Without healthy attachment, normal social, emotional, and psychological development can be stunted.  This opens the door to attachment disorder having negative effects on mood, behaviour and relationships.

Gordon Neufeld: "What makes a bully"

Gordon Neufeld who sees the world through attachment eyes addresses bullying in like fashion.  In an hour long session (seen above) called "What Makes a Bully", Neufeld tries to make sense of the bully from the inside out.  He uses a model that explains bullying in regards to instinct and emotion--a model that covers bullying in the vast variety of arenas it can take place.  He first names four prevailing attempts to understand bullying:

4 Prevailing Explanations
- Power thesis - bullying is from an inherent drive for power
- Learned behaviour thesis - bullying is learned and can be unlearned
- Empathy failure thesis - bullies have not been taught to care
- Entitlement thesis - bullies are spoiled

Finding flaw in all these theories, Neufeld looks at bullying with a different lens, the lens of attachment.  His theory: bullying is Alpha instincts gone awry.  He calls it the "Alpha Askew Thesis".  Put very simply (you'll have to watch the video to get the full picture), inherent in humans is the drive to be cared for (dependence) and to care for others (dominance).  Our caring for others includes an alpha instinct (to take control) coupled with a caring instinct (use that control to care for another) .  Individuals can be wounded in a way that devoids the caring instinct from the alpha instinct leaving a deep seated instinct to dominate those seen as weak..

For Neufeld, it is instinctual.  It is deep.  And it stems from an aberration of a healthy attachment reflex where we should be caring for the weak, not exploiting them.  Building them up, not pushing them down.  Fulfilling needs, not creating them.

As a teacher, I am always looking for insight into this phenomenon, a phenomenon that doesn't make any sense to the core of my being.  Bullying.  It's like a different language.  Most of us have to jump outside ourselves to make any sense of it.  We've been teaching against it like crazy.  Not a kid in BC would be unable to tell you four types of bullying.  They love reciting them.  And even with all the "what would you do" scenarios, pink shirt days, and cyber etiquette lessons, it seems as if we haven't made much of a dent.

So if we, even if only for a moment, can agree with Neufeld's idea, what does that mean for teachers?  What would we need to do? What would we need to change?  According to this theory, how can we unmake the bully?  Here are thoughts in waging the war on two fronts:

Relationship work
Every year we "adopt" a new crowd into our care as teachers.  Could our choices in what we do be guided with the attachment choices of the international adoptor?  I am not recommending strapping on the Ergo Carrier and taking our students for a ride.  But should "attachment activities" be the main endeavour in the first weeks of school?  Could students spend focused time with one teacher?  Could activities of trust and reliance be the forefront?

Alpha Instinct work
Then throughout the year, the activities we choose could evoke a caring component that can couple with the alpha component.  Programs such as Roots of Empathy (bringing a baby into class) , buddy reading, singing at the seniors home, and pen (blog) pals could all be strategically carried out.  We could plan our projects with this in mind: never should there be dominance without helping others.  And we could hit this home over and over and over again.

As always, I'm just spit-balling.  But seeing a framework for understanding bullying that tries to explain it in such far reaching and all encompassing terms leads to self-reflection.  And with a phenomenon that is so pervasive and that impacts so many, thought leaders need to spend time working this out and calling for change.  Either way, the question becomes: does what I do make bullies or unmake them?

Stages of BYOT from a yellow belt

Recently in a BYOT Twitter chat aptly named #BYOTchat, participants were reflecting about their past BYOT year.  A lot of great highs and lows were shared, but as usual, the conversation got to Bring Your Own Technology basics--when and how do the devices get used in class.  In the midst of tweets about...

- giving students more control

- when to allow students to take devices out

- not forcing device use as its not needed for every lesson

...I realized that I have a certain level of comfortability now that I expect won't always be the same.  On a continuum of teacher versus student control, I make choices that tip the scale somewhat toward teacher control.



From May 16, 2013 BYOTchat

At this point, my students use their devices every LA lesson.  And the device is the forefront and focus of the period.  At the beginning of the class I give a mini-lesson that requires my students to use their device to accomplish a certain outcome. I feel I have to for several reasons:

1) we have an hour and twenty minutes together and I don't feel comfortable giving students that much unstructured time

2) I want to keep reminding my students about new ways of using the device

3) I want my students to make a habit of using their devices for educational purposes

Tim Clark (@BYOTNetwork), the facilitator of the BYOT chat, brought up the idea of stages.  I mentioned that I have often looked at the SAMR model of technology integration to remind me about including redefinition use in the classroom.  I brought this model up as a rookie (who hears of one model, and it becomes gospel), not as an expert who has carefully chosen from amongst many.

I have spent some time thinking about the BYOT journey.  In a previous post I talked about baby steps to BYOT. These are the steps that I took in order to get myself to do BYOT in my classroom.  There is a difference, however, between steps and stages.  Now if I was asked to outline BYOT stages from what I know now as a "yellow belt", here is a starter:

Pre-BYOT : "Put those away, we're learning now!"

Teachers are coming from different places.  Typically they have a lot of technology integrated in their program, but not necessarily classroom device use.  There can be a familiarity with ideas around "going to the lab" and using MS office, making presentations, using application software, going paperless.  Some might dabble in hand-in boxes, or even blogging.  This is a pre-BYOT stage.

The Transfer: "What am I going to do?"

I believe the first stage is the planning around BYOT.  It is the picking brains, reading blogs, joining chats stage. It is what I outlined in my baby steps to BYOT post.  I include this as a stage because I believe those in this stage are "one of us". They are grappling with the ideas, brainstorming solutions to challenges, doing all that the rest of us do but without devices in the students' hands. The Decision (D day) to allow devices in the classroom is done and the day when the devices become Vital Educational tools (VE day) is coming. 

The Handheld Honeymoon: "Guess what we get to do..."

This stage is marked by the fumbling and fascination.  The questions at this stage are: "does everyone have a device?"; "does everyone have internet access?"; "what apps and activities are we going to use?".  Students at this stage, though most know their device well, are trying to figure out what it has to do with education.  The stage is marked by complete teacher control.  Some teachers may slowly dip toes into the pool of device use; others may jump in whole hog.  But everyone is getting wet.

The Trust Tango: "Don't let me catch you playing Angry Birds!"

Here we see a gradual release of teacher control.  Everybody is relatively savvy with the device so the testing begins.  Students are checking out where the lines are.  Teachers are checking out where the lines are.  Here is where trust becomes the big issue.  Do the students trust that the teacher is going to provide activities that inspire and awe?  Or is the class in some kind of glorified lock-down filled with rules and "can't dos"?  Does the teacher trust that the students, on the most part :), will stay on task? 

My assumption about the "final" stage:

The Tool Tipping Point: "Here is the task; go figure out the tools!"

Freedom.  Synergy.  Discovery.  Excitement.  Not every day.  But a culture of it.  The device blends into the background.  It becomes a tool, not unlike the geometry set or the calculator or the pencil for that matter.  And mutual learning leads to even cooler activities.  The mind-blowing kind of stuff.

I am positive there are many other ways of looking at BYOT stages.  What have you found?  What am I missing?

Taking back the Streets: Creating Positive Online Communities

When I wrote in my last post that students "need to be taught how to take care of each other online just as they would be taught to make positive community decisions offline", I wrote it from my blogging armchair--lemon zinger tea in hand. The reality is: creating a positive community is not an easy thing anywhere.  But as teachers, if we are not creating positive community, we are not maximizing the learning potential in students. Safe interconnectedness leads to thriving.  Dan Siegel would describe it like this: "When children are interconnected, in tune with others, and have the capacity to be reflective, it increases empathy and understanding for the self and others."(from a post on his recent visit here by Pam Becker). Gordon Neufeld describes the opposite of safe interconnectedness, saying: "peer interaction is the primary source of wounding" (see his How to Keep Children Safe in a Wounding World description).   Now with the viral acceptance of social media and the blur of what's public and private, the ideas from these influential thinkers need to be applied to the online world.  Questions about positive online communities need to be asked.

Students are in constant community.  Simply ask a classroom of students who has a Facebook account and the hands start flying up.  Now ask the same class how positive their online interactions are and you will get an eye opener.  Sadly, the difference between the nature of the online interactions of adults versus students is akin to the difference between an AA group and Lord of the Flies.  In fact, the community vibe of the boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is just the thing that is happening out there in cyberspace--a self-governing disaster. 

As always, I am speaking in general terms.  Definitely, pockets of positive interaction develop.  From back patting communities of Tumblr and Instagram to the creative sharing on multi-player servers in Minecraft, the interaction is not all fluff or harm.  But I would question the depth and meaningfulness of even these connections.  Isn't it the adults in a child's world who draw him or her into depth?  Think of the people who poured into your life, making you who you are.  As I said in a previous post, students need to be poured into, not left to themselves in a community that has no investment in them.

What are the essentials to creating a positive online community?  If it takes a village to raise a child, the village is going to have to be involved online as well.  Here are some ideas about what that village could look like:

Parents

Do not be far removed from what your child does online?  If privacy is developmental (changing kids' diapers is not a private affair) and respect is earned (think about rules around family car use) then it should be no different online.  Some parents know their children's passwords.  Others follow and friend.  Some allow for privacy but have an open dialogue.  Involvement is the key.  But I suggest that simple involvement is the minimum.  Become part of your child's online world, sharing ideas and thoughts as you would around the dinner table or campfire. 

Connected Adults

Model positive online behaviour.  Make good choices about what to share, what to put out there.  Use your Personal Communication Network as a Personal Learning Network.  Use your online influence to make the world a better place, a more thoughtful place, a more creative place.  Take a true interest in others' ideas.  Forever keep in mind: the little ones are watching.  And when you give them a negative inch. . .they just might take it a negative mile.

Teachers

Offline involvement

Creating a positive online community requires people of maturity, empathy, thoughtfulness and discretion.  This kind of teaching is "better caught than taught".  I feel I imparted this best when I was taking students to the seniors home to sing, or to a nearby creek to pick up garbage, or when I took students to Mexico to work at a hospital.  Roots of Empathy, Random Acts of Kindness, managing the schools recycling--giving back or even just giving.  This, I believe, is where we start. . .far from a screen. 

Online involvement

Here is where I defer to those who have thought deeply about this.  David Truss supports teachers jumping right in.  He says in his post Facing Facebook, "When facing the issue of Facebook, our students are there, and we should be there too".  This is a must-read with many examples of successful online teacher intervention and suggestions for teacher involvement.  It really is a post against denying teachers the opportunity to play a role on Facebook but has wonderful thought out advice from a wealth of experience.  His follow up post Facebook Revisited goes into more detail about friending students.  These thoughts he wrote a year later still suggest that teachers intervene when something is not right.

Sarah Kessler in The Case for Social Media in Schools shares the benefits of using social media as a teaching tool.  To her, it's a tool students already know how to use and she shares six reasons why it should be used in school.  What a great way to lead in making online communities positive by making positive online communities.  She also talks about social media networks that allow teachers to control the environment including Edmodo and Edublogs.  (Two programs that in Canada, I believe parents would have to sign off on.)

Now on to the juggling act.  Of course, along with the ethical (I have to live with myself and if I didn't intervene I couldn't do that very well) responsibility comes the legal (oh great, my district has a policy that I have to follow too) or (what?  This great thing I want to do in my class goes against FIPPA) responsibility. A year ago, News1130 reported in this post that at that time BC as a whole didn't have a social media policy in place.  This is understandable.  I can just imagine how difficult it is for large entities to keep up with the rate of change in this world.  But this also screams that THE OPPORTUNITY IS STILL OURS.  Through our involvement (and even through our own blogging and tweeting) we can have an influence making sure that these policies are a product of thought and collaboration.

It takes a village.  I understand why the block parent thing fizzled in the '80's but I always liked the idea--people looking out for the kids in the community.  Although no one has a sign in their window these days, I think the idea of making the streets a secure place is a good and respectable thing.  There is something honourable, proper, and also risky about taking back the streets.  Fighting to clean things up.  And making it safe.  Wouldn't it be something if we could do this online?