Marian Rengel, Outreach Coordinator for the Minnesota Digital Library will facilitate a free webinar on Wednesday, November 13th from 3-4:00 PM (Central Time). She will discusses the contents of Minnesota Reflections as it relates to History Day research and identify potential resources for programming.
Click here to register for this Minitext event or to learn more about the webinar.
Common Sense Media released an interesting information graphic of students’ opinions about their digital lives. Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives is based on a survey of a little more than 1,000 U.S. students between the ages of 13 and 17. The survey addresses the following questions;
Although the sample size is somewhat small, it suggests that there is a love, hate relationship building between “digital natives” and social media. Indicating that increased face time with devices does not necessarily equate to enjoyment or better relationships. Click here to download the full report.
Note: Teachers look for ways to engage students using social media in an effort to meet students where they are at, when they are there. However, this report emphasizes the importance of also maintaining face-to-face interactions. At a time when some students are on digital overload, educators can induce reflective time, “unplugged” into a student’s day; being mindful of how and when to incorporate social media in programming and/or curriculum development.
Recently on the ISTE Connects Blog, Nicole Krueger wrote a great piece titled, Who’s Responsible for Teaching Kids Not to Be Cyberbullies? This type of bullying has gotten a fair amount of play in the media recently, often leading to tragic endings. In first person, Nicole describes what it is like in the life of a bullied middle schooler before social media, and after. Her post made me realize how much additional stress is placed on kids who are bullied today, and it is time to figure out who should address this topic. Sometimes, parents think schools should handle it, while school administrators say they cannot ensure what students do outside of the school day. An interesting conundrum, but worth addressing.
Krueger goes on to write….“In a typical classroom of 30 middle or high school students, 21 students will have experienced some form of cyberbullying, according to the Annual Cyberbullying Survey 2013, which included responses from more than 10,000 teens worldwide. Of those 21 students, more than 10 are daily victims. The top venue for bullying: Facebook, which is used by 75 percent of respondents — more than half of whom have been bullied there.” And now that Facebook has loosened its privacy rules for teens, allowing minors to post publicly instead of just to their friends, the door to bullying has gotten a little wider for everyone from “mean girls” to sextortionists.
Does cyberbullying happen in your school? Who is responsible for teaching this important content, and does your school develop its own curriculum on this subject?
Information in this post was submitted and written by Kristen Mastel, MLA President received 10/31/13.
The Minnesota Library Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 MLA Annual Awards:
Once again, congratulations to this year’s award recipients! If you would like to learn more about award category mentioned above, feel free to visit MLA’s Awards page, online.
Kristen Mastel, MLA President
Over five years ago, the seven regional Minnesota multitype library systems brought you 23 Things on a Stick, a self-paced learning program about Web 2.0 tools. Over 300 people in our Central Minnesota region engaged in the self-paced online learning fun, and we had a large group of people who finished the program too!
When it comes to technology, five years is a long time and there have been a lot of changes. A big change is the shift to mobile devices. We know that PCs are on the decline and mobile devices are skyrocketing. Therefore, we think it only makes sense to continue the learning with a focus on “mobile.” This version of the program will also be a self-paced learning program that will identify 23 types of apps for you to explore or take to a whole new level. As we did in the original program, we will be asking participants to blog about their progress through the program. As noted by a participant from the past program, “the blog posts are where the real sharing happens. By reading the blogs of others in the program, I can easily see how others in the field are using the tools in their work setting, and sometimes in their personal lives too. This application piece is what creates the ‘stickiness’ I need to retain new information”
The program will be open to all staff in any Minnesota library – public, academic, school, or special – as well as members of their Governing Boards, their Friends groups, or Advisory Groups. Experienced users as well as novices and everyone in between are invited to join. Although this is a self-paced and self-directed program, CMLE staffers and additional coaches will be monitoring, coaching, and encouraging bloggers from Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota.
CMLE may offer some workshops to support this program, but not for every Thing. This is a self-paced program, and participants are encouraged to work together in their libraries or region and share their discoveries and techniques. Sharing can happen in person or through participant blogs. Registration happens as part of Thing 1 (projected for January), so be thinking about which mobile device you might use, and stay tuned for future updates!