This week felt like two weeks fit into one. Maybe it was due to the erratic weather and the surprise shutdown of buses but I was TIRED. I didn’t even make it to my Ed Tech class on Friday, only virtually. I’m grateful for the technology we have and how it can help connect and communicate with others but there’s so much I still don’t know about it, even if I feel pretty confident figuring it out and privacy is probably something I don’t look into enough when it comes to the internet and social media, let alone when it comes to education and teaching. But I’m glad we had a conversation with Ken about privacy in schools, I still feel skeptical though…
Why? I’m not entirely sure, maybe because I feel like the Internet tries to trick me or maybe I’m always skeptical of someone trying to trick me now, it’s sad but that’s what our society has made me feel lately. I feel like when teachers use technology, parents are almost looking for a way to see us trip up or falter; Especially the parents who are already so opposed to any kind of change at all.
I remember subbing for the kindergarten class back home, in Montreal. I subbed for 6 months as someone whose only experience with kids was either teaching them how to swim or coaching them on a water polo team; so it’s safe to say, I was anxious about teaching for 6 months. I had ZERO idea what I was doing, thankfully, I got a lot of support from other teachers at the school. I remembered you mentioned Seesaw during our first class and I was glad I knew something about Ed Tech before diving into it.
I don’t think I used Seesaw to its full potential so I’m excited I can ask you about its features and functions with a little more insight. I used it mostly to communicate with parents and sometimes assign lessons to children who were either sick or suspended from class (I’ve had kids bite me, throw things at me, and swear at me…. yes, they were all 5-6 year-olds and I still LOVE them), I liked being able to message back and forth with parents, especially when they weren’t picking up their phones and their child wasn’t feeling well. I also remember using it to help students with their counting, alphabet, and other helpful units (bugs, seasons, animals, etc.)
I loved the talk we received from Ken, I’m glad teachers have a resource to look into or a tech expert to ask questions to. I also liked learning more about FIPPA: Stand for Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. I learned from Ken that it allows public access to government-held records and regulates the handling of personal information by public.
I think Ed. Tech is so necessary for our fast-changing world, that it would be naïve to think that having access to a vast amount of information isn’t necessary for students’ learning. I remember when I was subbing, the integration aid gave me a sheet of students’ names and which ones were NOT allowed to be documented in any way online. I think we only had two students but I feel like a lot of parents have been putting their children online, without their children’s consent or even realizing their child can’t properly consent to the images or videos of themselves online. It makes me a little nervous, especially due to the accessibility to online content, this video opened my eyes to the content parents post about their children and how unsafe it can be for their children, who cannot properly consent to it. I liked this infographic I found about teaching young kids about consent. I think it’s important to teach privacy AND consent with children when we start to introduce educational technologies to the classroom. I will include the URL if you would like to use it for yourself: https://defendinnocence.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TYF_2020_Understanding_Consent-v01-01.jpg
