Cyber Safety Means Talking about Life Online

A Scary Reality

Take Action!

Do you care about something and think that there is a need for action on its behalf?
From http://www.causes.com/ to http://www.facebook.com/ groups, social media is changing the way people advocate for change and share their voice. Below is a campaign to support public schools that was started by grassroots efforts to organize people nationwide to take action on behalf of education. What is your cause? Social media has provided powerful tools to anyone with Internet access to start a conversation. So, what are you waiting for?


Save Our Schools National March and Call to Action: July 28 - 31, 2011
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Corrected-Newsletter-from-www-SaveOurSchoolsMarch-org.html?soid=1104247304263&aid=CAQLMrk4RXk

Photo Storytelling

"A picture is worth a thousand words" .... so, what about using a bunch of pictures to tell a story!  Special or ordinary events can be captured on film to create memories or to share the experience with others.  Taking photos has never been so easy either since most all of us have a camera on our cell phones.  So, give it a try and tell a story with pictures. 

To get you started; I have included a link below to an article to read and a video tutorial to watch. 

The Secrets of Storytelling Photography - http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/storytelling-photography/
Read this article to learn about how to take good pictures for telling a story that share similar techniques and structure to any good storyteller by including photographs that speak to our emotions.

Photo Storytelling Video Tutorial


Digital Media Students: Assignment 5pts - Your Story Topic
Digital Media students, please comment below and share your topic that you selected to tell a story about with your 20 pictures.  Make sure to include your first name only in your comment post so I can make sure to give you credit.  Next, take those photos that include an introduction, middle, and ending to your story.  Have fun with this and good luck.  We will share each of our stories with the class, including myself!

Technology Today - What Does it all Mean?

Watch the video below and then comment on what this all means to you as a student.  There is no right or wrong answer; just explain in detail what your reflections are after watching and processing this video.  Make sure to include how it relates to you as a student and your learning needs in school.

DJs and Web 2.0

Today in my web 2.0 class we explored a social media site for DJs and music mix affectionados - http://www.mixcrate.com/  Here, DJs and music fans can like, comment, share, download, and upload their favorite music mix playlists.  Just another example of a web 2.0 site created for a specific segment of society that allows them to interact around their shared interest; in this case, mixing music.

Student Reflection Assignment
Class, please comment below on how you think this site, mixcrate.com, could benefit DJs.  Also, do you think the site has potential to make money?  How so in addition to selling advertisements?  Last, for extra credit you can post the link here to your favorite mix you found today when browsing the site.
Just sign your comment with your first name. Mr. H

President Obamas's Speech on Libya

Today in web 2.0 class we discussed the use of social media and web 2.0 technologies by the White House and President Obama to get his message out to the people.  Students watched his speech about the military actions our nation has taken in Libya and listened to his explanation of why they were necessary and justified.  Students then watched other news video on the situation to see for themselves what is going on right now in this country and to try to understand firsthand how it relates to them back here at home.  They also listened to differing viewpoints on whether or not this was the right decision by the President to help them decide for themselves what they thought. 

After that, students blogged about their reflections below to my prompts and we discussed how to join in these conversations online in safe and responsible way.  This is an important issue with digital citizenship.

Watch the President's speech here:



Assignment for students
Now that you have watched the President's speech and researched the situation online on various news sources; please respond the following prompts.  Please sign in anonymously and just sign at the end of your post with your first name.  Mr. Halvorsen

1.  Do you think the President made the right decision? Why - explain.
2.  What do you think the United States and UN should do now in Libya?  How would your choice affect the future of this nation and the rest of the Middle East which is very unstable politically right now?

Creating an Online Private Identity - Avatars

Today in web 2.0 class my students and I discussed how to create an online identity, with personality, while still protecting our privacy.  To do this, I had them explore different web sites where they could create Avatars.  Avatars, as one student explained, our a "digital self".  Some sites even provide tools to help you animate them and add voice.  You can either record from your phone, computer mic, or type text and have the site generate a computerized voice saying what you typed.  Pretty cool ...... and the students had a blast creating their avatars in class as witnessed by all the giggling!

Check out my avatar I created for the Modern Educator using http://www.voki.com/


Some other good sites to explore are: http://www.buildyourwildself.com/ , http://www.manga.com/ ,  http://www.tektek.org/dream/ 

Reflective assignment for my students:
Now, write a blog posting about your avatar. Tell which site you used to create it, how you made it, and why you chose the options you did. When you tell which site you used, be sure to make the site name a hyperlink so that your visitors can easily click on it to visit the site. Whenever you refer to another website or page in an online posting, create a hyperlink to make life easy for your readers.