One of the problems that all of the productivity suites have is the level of complexity for the younger students. Many adult users do not come close to the full capacity of their productivity suite and students particularly in the younger years certainly wont.

So imagine my suprise when this morning Miguel Guhlin and Julie Lindsay both posted in there blogs about OOo4Kids – open Office for Kids.

This is great. Its still in Beta, but the screenshots look excellent and I have downloaded the Beta to trial.

The layout is simplified, the icons larger and clear and better suited for the younger learners. The removal of the majority of the buttons makes its more applicable (see below). I am looking forward to this coming out of Beta and into Gold.

So it suits younger users, is free, small download, is ethical (you are not pirating it). Excellent

http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Main_Page

Download – http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Download

Video demo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJkyPcP-TeU&feature=player_embedded

The Digital Citizen Acceptable use agreement details six facets of behaviour that a digital citizen should follow to be an appropriate and respectful digital citizen. The statements are kept deliberately broad and generalised and provide outlines for suitable behaviour.

As we are working to implement this, I have been asked to expand on the different aspects or facets and give the students some more concrete ideas about what they need to do to be respectful and protect themselves. So the list below represents some starting points for taking the Six facets of digital citizenship into the real world we operate in.

Respecting and Protecting yourself by:

1. looking after your hardware appropriately, carrying your laptop/mobile device in a bag, securing it in a safe place and keeping it charged

2. saving your work regularly

3. backing up important data regularly (recommended minimum is weekly)

4. scanning your computer for viruses regularly, update the virus definitions regularly.

5. applying patches and updates to your operating systems and software

6. selecting suitable online names, that you can use in professional communications

7. selecting strong passwords and changing these regularly. Recommendations are:

• 8 characters or more

• Number and letters

• Special characters

• Upper and lower case

8. protecting your passwords, don’t share these with anyone. Locking your computer.

9. managing your files

10. using descriptive file names

11. creating and organising into folders

12. considering what personal information is made public. This can be on your social networking site, when you sign up to services or register software.

13. only put required information in online profiles.

14. considering who you allow to be your friends online.

15. building positive relationships online, keeping these open and transparent. Being cautious in who we share information with and who we meet.

16. posting only material that portrays you in a positive light.

17. consider which images of yourself you publish

18. keep email addresses and personal details private

19. considering carefully when and where I use my credit card details etc

20. remembering anything you say online is public and usually permanent

21. reporting any attacks or inappropriate behaviour directed at you

22. acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting others by:

1. reporting abuse to appropriate authorities when I see it.

2. not flaming or abusing people

3. not forwarding junk mail, spam or inappropriate materials

4. not visiting sites that are degrading or inappropriate

5. not entering private spaces or change other people pages

6. informing people appropriately when they have left open their profile etc

7. not using anyone else accounts, log ons etc.

8. asking permission before I publish images ot content that may contain details about other people.

9. respecting other people’s rights to privacy and anonymity

10. respecting the trust others have in me by protecting other people email, IM and skype addresses and contact details.

11. protecting other on my network by having a protected, updated and antivirus checked computer.

12. always acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting Intellectual Property by:

1. having an understanding of the rules and laws applying to:

• copyright
• intellectual property
• Fair use
• creative commons

2. asking permission before I use materials and respect the owners decision regarding this material.

3. only using software and media that I have permission to use. This can be material made available under creative commons or the public domain, material I have purchased etc.

4. not sharing my media or software with others unless the license allows me to do this.

5. using free and open source alternative software and medias instead of pirating licensed or copy written ones.

6. registering my software and alway considering what information I need to provide the company. I will read the options and make sure that I understand that my information and details may be distributed and sold.

7. validating all information sources

8. citing my information sources using a suitable bibliography method.

9. giving credit to and acknowledge people and sources that have influenced my thinking or products.

10. Acting with integrity and respect

This is not meant to replace the six facets rather is an expansion and some detail on what each means. I would as always appreciate any feedback regarding this.

This material is available as a PDF or in an expanded form on the Edorigami wiki

]]> http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/29/digital-citizenship-aup-expanded/feed/ 3 http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/22/on-the-wire-12/ http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/22/on-the-wire-12/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:16:46 +0000 andrewch http://edorigami.edublogs.org/?p=1062 In this weeks catch from the net we have Mathematics and data sources, infographic maps, web 2.0 tools and more.

1. The Maths Apprentice - http://www.mathapprentice.com/Activity/explore.html – this is a fun primary and middle years site for mathematics. Directed at the younger audience. Worth considering using with an IWB.

2. Kids online – me and mymaths - http://www.kidsolr.com/math/math.html – again for the yiounger middle years audience, but a useful amth site with potential for IWB use too.

3. Dan’s Maths - http://www.dansmath.com/ – this sit is directed at the more senior school audience but is still applicable to midle school students

4. Maths helpAtube - http://www.mathatube.com/ – Video tutorialsa dn resources for mathematics – this is a great site well worth a forage. While not directly associated but worth investigating is teachertube – http://www.teachertube.com

5. US Government Data - http://www.data.gov/ this is a great source of accurate information and statistics. Applicable to mathematics, humanities and many other subject areas. This is a great resource.

6. Infographic Maps – http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/30-superb-examples-of-infographic-maps/ Web designer depot is a blog I subscribe to and it provide a wide range of interesting sites and resources. This one has some excellent examples of inforgraphics that are well worth looking at.

7. Ofcom report on Children and Media – http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/2009/10/more-children-have-broadband-in-the-bedroom/ OfCom is the Office of Communication in the UK. This offering is a report on Media and children. Here is one statistic worth considering “35 per cent of 12-15s and 16 per cent of 8-11s now have web access in their bedrooms“. Worth also visiting is the mashable post on net usage http://mashable.com/2009/10/14/net-usage-nielsen/

8. Online comic creation tool – Howtoons – http://www.howtoons.com/ – A nice online cartoon/comic tool which allows you to export as a PDF file. Free

9. How to give a lousy presentation – http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2009/sb20090825_379576.htm This is one of those time to refelct articles. As you read through this post do you cringle a little?

As always these sites are also posted on my Delicious account - http://del.icio.us/achurches

Accessing recreational sites during classes and while at work is an issue facing employers [3] and schools alike. The cost, in dollar terms, can be huge and in lost productivity, is significant. Various strategies are employed to manage this but these are often ineffective, draconian or dictatorial. How can we manage this issue better?

The digital world we live in provides us with ample opportunities to work any where and conversely play anywhere. We often see our students sitting in the corridors, on the edge of wireless connectivity, web surfing during their break times, lunch hours and before and after school. The ubiquitous connectivity that modern devices presents us means that essentially we are online anytime. This is both a blessing and a curse.

Recent articles in ITNEWS[2] and the New Zealand Herald [1] have highlighted the cost that universal connectivity can bring to industry. IT News reported that as much as 40% of the companies bandwidth is used for non business related web activity.[2] The New Zealand Herald reported that this level of activity cost the New Zealand economy 2.7 million dollars a day.[1] At work, unlike school such activities can have huge repercussions for the work including dismissal [4].

As teachers, we must prepare our students for the world they live in now, but also for the world beyond the walls and boundaries of our institutions. This includes when it is appropriate to surf and when it is not.

The Digital Citizen [5] has an understanding of when and where it is appropriate to use the internet and online resources for recreational purposes. They know what time it is!

As teachers and administrators, we can help to develop and scaffold the self management skills and attitudes of our digital citizens. These will stand them well in the wider world beyond our gates. We do this, not by having restrictions, rather by gradually removing them; by encouraging an ethical approach to the use of technologies rather than applying draconian measures.

So how can we educate our students? Is it appropriate to unleash unfettered internet access on Middle School students? The answer is no. Students, particularly those in the middle years live in the now. They are in a period of great change, growth and are often experimenting and pushing boundaries. Here we need to provide guidelines and restrictions as they are often morally and ethically immature.

But as the students enter into the Senior School, it is appropriate to shift the focus of control from the teachers to the students. This is not to say “its all open, of you go” rather it is appropriate to gradually release the controls and shift the onus of responsibility on to the students.

We need to have clearly established guidelines for what is and is not acceptable, and we also need to be able to justify why these are not acceptable. For some aspects this is easy. For example surfing pornography is unacceptable for a number of reasons ranging from the legal to the ethical and moral aspects of it being an industry founded on abuse, portraying an unrealistic and inappropriate view of relationships and sex.

But what about facebook, myspace and other social networking sites? These are not fundamentally unethical. Often schools will block these sites as they are potentially opportunities for cyberbullying. But this strategy will not stop them being used for this rather it drives the practice underground and after school.

A better and more constructive approach to social networking sites (and other recreational sites) is to set clear guidelines for their use and make them available. Informing the students that the use of computers in class is strictly for educational purposes and other activities are detracting from their learning, sets the foundations for this. Informing them, Senior Students, that they can in their own time (before and after school, interval and lunch) access social networking/recreational sites, as long as their behaviour is appropriate and acceptable, brings the use of these sites from the realm of proxy tunnels and hidden activity and into the open. Student surfing and accessing social networking sites during learning time are suitably dealt with, while appropriate use in their own time is rewarded by continued access.

This style of approach prepares students for a world where the consequences of inappropriate activity are far more severe and potentially far reaching. We, as educators facilitate appropriate behaviours and chastise those that fail to reach these. The students who use technologies that bypass our restrictions are obviously accessing sites that are deemed unacceptable and inappropriate, rather than just trying to access their social networks or email.

The traditional approach of blocking just drives the behaviours underground and away from school environments. These approaches, blocking and banning do reduce the incidents at school but are hardly a holistic approach. Where as a partnership, based on trust and understanding, supported by the six facets of digital citizenship [5] makes the use of these site open, manageable and transparent. Students develop the skills and attitudes that will stand them in good stead beyond our gates, in the world of employment and further education.

References:

1. Hart. Steve, Saturday Jul 19, 2008 Slackers hurting net result http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10522283
2. Williams Ian, Feb 11, 2009 IT Managers losing control of the network http://www.itnews.com.au/News/136844,it-managers-losing-control-of-the-network.aspx

3. staff writer 11 September 2007 facebooks costs businesses dear http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6989100.stm

4. staff writer Saturday, 25 April 2009 ‘Ill’ worker fired over Facebook http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8018329.stm

5. Churches, Andrew. The Digital Citizen. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/The+Digital+Citizen

They included in this:

• E-mail campaigns
• classified adverts
• display ads
• search marketing
• viral ad campaigns

The TV people are arguing that this is a poor comparision, but symantecs aside, this report is indicative of a major change in the world we live in. It comes as no surprise that people are increasingly turn to digital mediums for entertainment and accompanying this migration are the advertising companies. For them this is a do or die situation, they must adapt to the market or they will become perfectly adapted for a world that no longer exists.

And if you were to ask why are people migrating to the digital and changing their viewing habits, I would have to say it is flexibility and control, the ability to watch/view what you want, when you want and where you want to.

Once we can get past spam, I think advertising will really take off…

source; http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/3019592448/

Males or females? My first guess would have been a degree of equality, but it appears that as a male I am in the minority of social networks. (Source: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/who-rules-the-social-web/)

The clip shows the students engaged in various actvities using their OLPC’s as the report wanders around. Its great to see and it raises a number of questions/statements for me.

1. Why are we not seeing more of this? I would love to see more examples of OLPC’s being integrated into schools. The OLPC site has a link to countries with the programme embedded – its a google map. If you look at the list of countries utilising this its not that extensive. They include: Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, haiti Rwanda, Afganistan, Nepal & ethiopia and some others – there are (excluding the USA) 27 countries.
2. While many third world countries are unable to provide such facilities and rely on charity, why are we not seeing more 1st world nations embedding portable technology programs?
3. Some people are adopting these programs and on a wide scale – New South Wales announced its Netbook program.  200,000 units to every year 9 student in the state. WOW! This is a great start, but I started to read some of the fine print on this and I did have concerns with the hardware spec and the software pack. A Netbook with 1Gb Ram Running MS Office and The Adobe CS4 suite. These are serious software packages. This raises the questions for me about suitability. With my students I teach them to design products that are

• suitable for the audience
• suitable for the purpose

Is the hardware they have selected suitable for the software they have choosen? Don’t get me wrong on this. I am very pleased that NSW has taken this step!. Each product is a winner in its own right, but I wonder if its abit like giving the kids a single lane mountainbike track (a netbook) and providing them with a high performance road racing bike (The software). The two seem mismatched.

4. Another NSW Question.  What were the educational goals and objectives defined for this program and how did the Netbook  with this software load match these drivers? I would hate to see a paradigm breaking program like this damaged by technical barriers.

The two strands of this post are tied together really with this question of suitability for audience and purpose. In both the OLPC and NSW Netbooks there is a need that is being met or attempting to be met. Each component is in its own right educationally powerful, enabling, transformative and useful. But I do wonder about the selections being made. With the OLPC the software is selected and deployed with a focus on cost and functionality. With the NSW netbook, the software selected is not, I believe well matched to the hardware platform. I would hate to try Photoshoping an image on a netbook with only 1Gb of ram or working with multiple documents and embedded images and media. or…

“Using this software, students will be able to create videos, edit photos and make presentations for class assignments and projects,” Rees said. “Students and teachers will also be able to set up video conferencing and collaborate on assignments using the built in Web cameras and software within the department’s secure network.”  Source: http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/297696/nsw_education_drops_150m_267_000_school_notebooks

I have to say OLPC gets a tick the netbook with Office and CS4 gets a X. Each in their own right is good but together…well….

Facebook and other social networking sites are for many, many administrators a bone of contention. Many look at it with a degree of fear and trepidation because of “potential” for inappropriate activity. This can be cyberbullying, bad publicity or just good old fashion time and resource wasting.  There is a large element of lack of control too. So as a direct result Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and a host of other sites are banned/blocked etc.

This school, like many is actively encouraging the senior students to bring their own digital devices and connect them to the wireless network – a facility called Senior WiFi has been made available. But with this proliferation of machines comes concerns and the conversation turned to “Should we block facebook”.

The answer was a resounding no – they could block it and other sites through the proxy server – but why. Instead the approach taken was this:

• Your laptops are your own property, you can bring them to school for educational use. This is a privilege
• Your use of them in class is for education.
• If you use them for other purposes in class you may have the privilege revoked
• at lunch, breaks or before and after school you use social networking sites that is fine as long as your use is appropriate
• If your use of technology is inappropriate there will be consequences.

This as a solution has transparency. It solves not only the social networking issues but actually address a wider range of issues to. Surfing hate/sex/porn/racist etc sites is inappropriate… Cyberbullying/flaming/outing etc are inappropriate. Students have to take ownership for their actions.

This is an excellent outcome. The students are free to make informed choices and therefore accept consequences of their actions. It is preparing them for a world beyond the school gates, where such actions – use of facebook etc  – can have severe consequence. It brings out into the open student actions, rather than using proxy anonymising sites to connect, students can connect directly(and this can be traced). Student have to manage and take ownership for their internet usage, behaviours and quota.

All in all very positive.

While twitter is limited to 140 character per message this has not stopped people using this technology in creative ways. How about:

• The twitter opera – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8193917.stm
• Twitter & Iran – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099579.stm

A blog I have just come across – http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/ – specialises in visualising information and has condensed twitter in to the classic – “if ……. was hundred people” model. Where do you fit? Is twittter just a marketing tool for you or is it more?

Here is the visualisation.

Source: http://s3.amazonaws.com/infobeautiful/twitter2_550.gif

http://sysomos.com/insidetwitter

The background to the facebook post is a romantic liaison between two people. A matter that should be kept from the public domain. A matter only between the 2 people involved.

But a lack of fundamental understanding has led to this embarrassing point. Tracey has posted inadvertently her exploits to a wide and very public audience and concequently she is the subject of much humour and ridicule.

The privacy setting on facebook are weak at the best of times and even if she had set her Facebook as private, she would still have revealed far more than she intended to her circle of friends. Instead, with a click of a button she potentially shared this with everyone.

Some things are best said in person or using a media that is not easily recorded and replayed. This, I suspect, is one of them. As we have seen from email messages in a similar vein these two have an embarassing habit of becoming public discussion points.

The best point raised in this sorry incident is from here friend Donna “Seriously, did you think Facebook was private?“. If you consider anything you put in an email, webpage, tweet, post, comment or update to be in the public domain from the moment you send or post, you are probably correct.

Remember the adage – “Send in haste, repent at leisure“.

There is a thread rolling around that Tracey has been Hacked. Either way, whether this was accidental disclosure or deliberate act, there is a vital lesson to be learnt. A lesson that applies to each and everyone of us, digital natives, digital immigrants and digital emigrants too:

• Think before you post
• Does what I am saying have ramifications and repercussions
• Is it libellous, confidential, private or sensitive
• Who is my target audience? Who should see it and who could see it?
• What is the purpose of what I am sharing?
• Should I say it?
• Is this a considered & reasoned action or one in the heat of the moment?