I would like to welcome back our OJCS students and families. To find out more about the library, visit the Back to School Night Videos page on my blog.
What if instead of coming to the OJCS, your parents had sent you to Pirate School? In this story, we are going to find out what that would be like.
It is public speaking time at the OJCS, which means most grades are engaged in doing research for their speeches. The following is a lesson for our grade 7s and 8s (although it can be used across most grades) that explains how we determine if the sources we want to use for our research are credible. Going through numerous examples will help us understand who is publishing what kinds of content online and why.
Let’s imagine that I am doing my project on the benefits of social media on mental health. Which type of experts would be the most knowledgeable on this topic? For each student that will depend on what your topic is. In my case, it would definitely be psychologists, social workers, and social scientists.
Let’s explore how I would go about determining the credibility of the following sources;
The first Google Link that comes up in my search is an article titled 13 Positive Effects of Social Media. What do we notice right away about this site and the author of this article? Are they psychology experts? What is the purpose of this site?
This is the second article that comes up. It is called 7 Positive Effects of Social Media. What can we learn about this site and this author?
Here is the third article listed Social Media Use Can Be Positive For Mental Health and Well-Being. Who published this? Is the author an expert?
Next one: Pros and Cons of Social Media.
And finally, this one is a .org, which means it is a non-profit organization. Does that mean it is always the best choice? Let’s find out a bit more about this by looking at the author of 5 Reasons You Don’t Need to Worry About Kids And Social Media. Now for public speaking purposes, maybe the opinion of a parent is perfectly fine. But were you doing this project for a social science research project, this author wouldn’t cut it.
Now let’s compare a few YouTube Links!
Positive Benefits of Social Media
NOTE: it was REALLY challenging to find expert content on YouTube! I had to filter through many many videos.
You are going to spend the rest of the period finding three credible and reliable sources that you can use for your public speaking project. Make sure you copy and paste the links so you don’t lose them!
With TikTok becoming the social media platform of choice for so many students, it is important that they learn to recognize the misinformation, hate, and propaganda on the platform. It is also critical that they become aware of some of the TikTok controversies, like the privacy issues with the platform, as well as some of their unethical censorship rules. This lesson is availabe as both a slides and Nearpod lesson.
This workshop has been offered to teachers both as a Nearpod lesson and in the following video format.
This workshop focuses on ways to keep our online friendships healthy and happy. It also focuses on ways to deal with negative emotions that may come up, like jealousy.
I wanted to take a moment to highlight an incredible program for our students that is available online. I have been both impressed and amazed by the work that The News Literacy Project is doing to help build critical thinking skills in students. The News Literacy Project is a non-profit and nonpartisan organization that is working to educate the public about how to separate fact from fiction in the news and how to assess news credibility. They have developed an incredibly comprehensive online program called Checkology for middle school and high school aged students that can be tailored for each classroom.
Checkology consists of about a half a dozen units per grade that cover the essentials of news and media literacy. These units are often presented by actual news anchors and heads of news or media organizations. Each unit includes lots of activities for students to test their newfound knowledge through the sorting of video, media, and other content into appropriate categories of information. It also helps them to understand what makes some content credible and other content not. And they do all of this while being simultaneously entertaining and engaging! The clips that they use as examples are timely and relevant and students will feel right at home with the content.
Checkology will become an integral piece of my library programming here at the OJCS. Media literacy is a key foundation of digital citizenship, and this incredible program can help our students get there.
Here is a workshop that can be used from grade 1 to grade 4. We will talk about some of the most important ways we can stay safe and kind online while gaming.
If you are the parent of an elementary aged student there is a pretty good chance your kids are on Roblox. Roblox is an online game or app in which players from around the world converge in different games that are created by its own users or professional game development groups. Some games, such as Adopt Me! get a lot more play than others. On October 10, 2020, Adopt Me! reached 1,786,076 concurrent players (data from the Roblox Wikia) and these popular games require multiple servers to accommodate the amount of players on the game. Players gain Robux game currency by overcoming challenges or accomplishing tasks and this money allows them to buy new clothes and faces for their avatars, new houses, new vehicles, new pets, etc… Parents can also connect a credit card to the players account so that kids can buy Robux. Kids quickly get hooked on these games and on making purchases.
So let’s talk about some of the pros and cons of the Roblox revolution.
Each parent will have different opinions as to why or why they do not allow their kids to play Roblox. I allow my 9-year old daughter to play because it is a great way for her to connect with friends during lockdowns and Robux are a great incentive for her to do her chores every day without being asked. But it is highly addictive and has caused its fair share of arguments about screen time. So I have personally experienced many of these pros and cons!
If your kids are playing Roblox regularly I would encourage you to stay in the loop. Find out what games they are playing on Roblox, who they chat with regularly, and make sure that you need to approve any and all in-app purchases so they can’t be automatically charging your credit card. Sit with them and watch them play for a while. Most kids will love to share about these games with you. Open communication with your kids about their online lives is the best way to keep your kids safe online.
To find out more about the parental control settings visit: https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000375686-Account-Restrictions
I have created a new Nearpod lesson that can be used anywhere from grade 4 to grade 8 in which we will learn about Digital Footprints. Digital Footprints are the tracks you leave all over the internet every time you go online. Any time you visit a website, leave a comment, post a picture, create a post on social media, post a video on youtube, participate in online chats, etc… you are leaving behind a digital footprint. It is extremely important to be aware of this because these footprints are permanent and searchable. In this Nearpod lesson you will participate in polls, quizzes, and a game of ‘Time to Climb’ to learn about this topic.
Let’s watch this little video about Digital Footprints created by Common Sense Education.
It may seem impossible to believe but 15 years from now a future employer may be Googling your name and finding the mean comments you left all over YouTube, or the crazy photos you posted on social media, and thinking you may not be the best person to hire for a job! More importantly for today though, the things you are posting now will find their way back to parents and teachers. Here are some tips from safesitter.org to making sure that the tracks we leave online are the good kind!
