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Sep
16
Digital technology- nightmare in room 224
Filed Under Behaviour Management, Blogging in and out of the Classroom, Computers In The Classroom, Engaging Assignments and Activities for Students, Web 2.0 tools and technologies, underachieving students
OK, so maybe I needed to be reminded that my Web 2.0 classroom may not always be the answer I thought it might be, but did the lesson have to be so harsh?
What am I talking about? If you’ve been following my blog you know how I love using the new digital technology in my classroom because it engages even my most reluctant students. Slideshare, Voice Thread, Wordle, Toondoo, class blog etc. – bring them on. I love them all.
I’ve been telling everyone how using digital technology in the classroom has helped with classroom management because the kids really like using it and stay on task and out of trouble. Maybe I was getting a little too smug. If I was, I certainly didn’t realize it. I know ignorance is no excuse, but still….
The lesson came out of the blue. It was the third day of the new semester. My grade nine Learning Strategies Class is an especially wild lively class. Most of the students are known to the office- if you get my drift. But, I wasn’t too concerned because I had computers in that classroom and that would solve any behaviour problems. Or, so I thought.
Never underestimate the power of 14 year old kids to humble a teacher, a teacher with 25+ years of experience. If there was a rubric for humbling a teacher, these kids would have score right at the top that day.
I won’t go into all the gory details . I’ve moved on, as they say. But let me just tell you a bit about what happened. After I introduced Voice Thread (one of my favourites) to the students, and asked them to explore the site they freaked out because they found a picture of a nude man (statue of David) and told me that the site wasn’t appropriate for students. I quickly, very quickly, agreed and told them to log off and that I had used Voice Thread for four semesters and never had a problem before. What else could I say? I couldn’t use Voice Thread after that discovery, but I hated to do that because my previous students loved Voice Thread and had created wonderful projects using it . Now, I couldn’t use it. All I could think of was the phone calls I might get from parents.
Instead of settling my students, using Voice Thread energized them to the nth degree. One of the student, bless her, had found what she had considered an inappropriate picture- a picture of the statue of David. She and the other students wen wild pointing at the picture of the statue and telling me in no uncertain terms that this was a site they should not be on. I guess I’d forgotten that 14 year old kids who seemed so street smart were still really only 14 year old kids and couldn’t handle a nude statue even if it was one of the most famous statues ever. When do art teachers introduce the statue of David?
I guess I should have checked Voice Thread for objectionable content, Isn’t hind sight wonderful. But, I just assumed Voice Thread was appropriate now because it had been in the past. I know. I know. I know what happens when you assume things. I wonder if there is a safe version of Voice Thread? Gotta check that out. I love Voice Thread and would hate not being able to use it in my class. Come to think of it, I’ve really got to recheck all the stuff I’ve been using so successfully in class just in case there’s some inappropriate content of some sort on the sites now. Just because there wasn’t before doesn’t mean there isn’t now.
Let me tell you, I was glad when the bell rang to signal the end of that class and even more delighted when no one mentioned the picture of the statue the next day. I think maybe sometime being paranoid might be helpful. itn does, howeveer, take the fun out of things.
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- Not all students like using the digital technology. Now What?
- I’ve learned it’s OK for teachers and students to learn to use the new digital technology together
- My students are digital natives no wonder they love the class blog
- The 5 W’s and the 1 H of a Classroom Blog.
- School starts next week so it’s time to dust off my Web 2.0 tool kit.
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You live and you learn, I guess. And I hope there won’t be any fallout for you from it (it was art, after all).
I know Voicethread has an educator version (costs some money) that prob is filtered and allows more control. Just a thought.
Kevin
Kevin Hodgson´s last blog ..Moms and the Desks
Hi Elona,
Sorry about that, VoiceThread is being used in kindergarten and Medical School so clearly what’s appropriate in one may not be appropriate in another. But we’ve thought about this particular problem and developed a solution that allows you to control what your students are able to browse, at least on ed.voicethread. Here’s the details that you can send on to your school’s network admin, http://ed.voicethread.com/help/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=31 just scroll down to the section, ‘Blocking urls to control what content the students can browse’
Aren’t middle school children wonderful
The wonderful thing about them is that they have very short memories!
I was drawn to your blog by the title, I teach at an alternative high school for ‘at risk’ kids. I am new to using Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom and am looking for inspiration. How have you used Voice Thread and other programs in your classroom. To be honest I will have to look up Wordle and Toondoo, haven’t heard of them till now. Really enjoyed your blog and look forward to more posts!
Kevin,
Thanks for your concern. I just remembered that you helped me learn to use Voice Thread way back when. Do you remember that? You asked for feedback on your blog about something you wrote using Voice Thread, and I was having difficulty leaving a comment and you helped me overcome it. You took the time to show me the ropes or should I say the threads.
There wasn’t any further fall out.
Steve,
Thank you for taking the time personally to tell me that I can filter content to keep it appropriate for my students. I really like Voice Thread and so did my previous students. I’m delighted that there is a way I can continue to use it. Thanks so much.
The cost of $60 a year or $10 a month is well worth it. My previous students who were considered academically at-risk were really engaged by Voice Thread and actually looked forward to coming to class and loved creating their own audio visual presentations.
Voice Thread is an easy tool to use. It wasn’t hard to learn to use. Actually, Kevin helped me out. He used Voice thread in his blog and asked for feed back using Voice Thread. I didn’t quite get it and Kevin so kindly showed me that it wasn’t difficult to use at all. Kevin’s always ready to help.
Beth,
Yes middle school kids do have a short memory, and thankfully so do I.
Amy Jean,
I had my students use Voice Thread to do their research projects. The presentations were wonderful and the kids had fun doing them. These were at-risk kids who hated traditional paper and pen tasks but loved voice Thread and the other Web 2.0 applicvations that I use in class. There are lots of good ideas out there. Check Kevin’s blog. He’s done very creative things in the classroom that have inspired me. Have fun! Learn how to use the software along with your students. I do. Good luck.
You recently wrote on my blog that it is a good thing we have short memories…
I teach art amongst other subjects. My kids sound like a similar bunch as yours, though a bit older (15 and up) and we do see art that depicts the human body, like the David. The first few times there is definitely some giggling but we get used to it. I can’t screen every web site about Renaissance art, for example, for images of the David!
To be honest, Elona, I was a bit shocked by your reaction. If it had been explicit pornography I’d understand shutting down the computers and switching gears but it seems to me that you fed into their ‘wild’ness when you shut everything down because of the David.
Think about it, one of the most beautiful statues ever made – both because of the story behind it’s creation as well as its balanced design – has now been confirmed as inappropriate and taboo for your students based on your reaction. What if you had looked at the statue with them and talked about it as a work of art? That may have diffused the situation rather than escalating it.
My students are in the process of using Voice Thread to present their findings as they interview family members and locate historical documents to track the evolution of population trends in and around Chateauguay and Kahnawake.
Tracy Rosen´s last blog ..Interdependence
Tracy,
I was looking at the whole situation that day through my teacher at risk survivor-in-the- classroom lens, not an art teacher lens. LOL.
Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Well, I was stuck at the bottom that day. Don’t be shocked. I’m not perfect.
Tracy,
I meant to say that your Voice Thread assignment sounds really cool. I hope we get to see it.
The Adobe Foundation and The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation recently unveiled a new public service announcement called “Plant Inspiration.” Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ9WFXs34T8 : The PSA promotes the launch of Adobe Youth Voices, a non-profit that stresses the power of technology to engage middle- and high school–age youth.