This An Irish man found himself in court after he posted a defamatory status update on his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook account.
Source: news.vice.com
The term "fraping" is probably a term we will come to hear a lot in the future. I wonder if this case sets a precedent or if it will be an outlier where we never hear of something like it again?
Lately, I have been working with elementary students through our Digital Citizenship curriculum. Of course, part of this curriculum is about online safety, bullying, and other worries through social media. In continuing my research around COPPA and CIPA laws I have started to wonder about the 13 year old age limit that has been determined to be the cut off for those who are and are not able to use social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and the like. For example, Facebook states that no user may have an account or have an account made for them by an adult if they are under 13 years of age, as shown here.
Instagram also clearly states in their first term that users must be 13 years of age.
But there is no graduation to this level. There is no scaffolding or built-in support and I wonder why. For example, in Canada and other countries there is graduated licensing to drive a car. This means that a user, or the driver in this case, needs to learn along an experienced user who will guide them through the pitfalls of their learning journey.
I would argue that learning on social networks also needs this hand-holding. But I would also argue that starting to teach a child at the age of 13 is too late AND that having a child care for their account would necessitate ownership by the child of the account.
Therefore, I propose that a system needs to be built, with COPPA and CIPA adjusting their regulations in such a way that kids can sign up with a parent or guardian, that the adults receive updates about account activity, and that this feature eventually fades out over time. Possibly at the beginning of account activation there has to be a two-party login, where both parent and child have their own password. It sounds complicated, and probably is, but it seems short-sighted that the age 13 is a magic, non-arbitrary number that ensures that a child is safe and has healthy online habits that are ready for social situations.
What are your thoughts?
This post is about the idea that we have definitely moved into a connected society. You cannot argue with statistics like these:
We had 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011.
Approximately 80% of our monthly active users are outside the U.S. and Canada.
We had 483 million daily active users on average in December 2011.
We had more than 425 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products in December 2011.
Facebook is available in more than 70 languages. (Facebook, 2012)
What does this mean for learners, or better yet for facilitators and parents of those learners?
I see two things that people need to focus on learning now that we are so connected. The first is organization and discerning between good and bad sources. The second is working towards systematic and non-systematic disconnection.
With the first idea that we need to work towards organization of all of the information that is bombarding us, there are a few ideas that I can think of. The first is using consolidating sites like iGoogle.com or preferably Netvibes.com. I recommend Netvibes because it allows you to see all of your emails, your website.
You can direct the content to this feed so that you don’t miss what any of your favorite website are talking about. I cannot speak about whether iGoogle has this feature, but this in itself is one reason that I would recommend the competition. Both of the platforms are completely customizable and are simple to use with a drag and drop user interface.es, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, plus it allows you to have notes and to-do lists for yourself. This is the same as iGoogle, but it also allow for you to have your RSS feeds, and view them as email, so you know which ones you have read and which ones you haven’t. In case you don’t know what an RSS feed is, it can be a blog or website that updates.
The second idea is about moving away from connectedness to a disconnected time period. As Mark Prensky (2001) coined it, students today are digital natives, which means they have always had computers and the ability to access the internet for every answer, query, or need for connection with ‘friends’. The problem is that of ‘offline-edness’. Mobile technology and the Edge has moved those with this technology to constant connection all the time. Push notifications wake us up at night. Smart phones, tablets, and laptops all receive and send a signal just about anywhere we are these days. So how do we fight it? And why?
First why?
Children need to be in nature. They need to interact with one another in collaborative ways without using a computer. They need to not be distracted by the tweet or email that was just sent through. They need to sit down for dinner and have a conversation without a screen in front of them. So do adult!
And how do we fight constant connectedness?
Parents need to limit the amount of time a child has on their device. In doing so, they need to model this with their own limitation of the devices. If they are at the dinner table, a rule needs to be that devices AND push notifications are turned off. On vacations, there should be days where technology is left behind, or at least turned to airplane mode. Parents should also put charging stations for devices in a central location, like the kitchen. This may not be possible with many which charge but are also used to amplify the device with speakers or some other connection, but it is worth a consideration.
Schools need to have screen-free days or weeks. This is the idea that EVERYONE in the school goes a day or week without using a computer or mobile device. Everything is turned off and left at home or in lockers. If people need to send an email, they do what people did in the old days, they send their messenger, I mean walk down the hall and talk with that person face-to-face. It’s not a novel idea. I heard about it years ago from Jeff Utecht, a technology integration specialist of all people, who was promoting the non-use of technology.
This is something we need to concern ourselves with. We need to get back to the roots, and I don’t just mean them figuratively. I mean we need to get back out into nature and climb a tree…or at least lay under one and watch the clouds.
References
Facebook. (2012). NewRoom. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from Facebook: http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22
Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives Digital Immigrants. Retrieved October 23, 2011, from MarkPrensky.com: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
As a technology integration specialist (TIS) my job description is all over the place. I was in a meeting today where the principal of the school, who has been doing interviews with teachers to find their needs, has come to the conclusion that teachers have very specific needs, and so do their classes. I agree and am glad he gathered this evidence to support what I was thinking.
What does this mean then for a TIS?
The first thing that it seems to mean is communication is needed on the part of the TIS. As a TIS, we need to explain: What is it that we are doing? Where are we? How can we be contacted or booked? What types of things can we bring to the class? What types of systems are we putting in to place? and the list goes on…
What kinds of strategies can we put into place?
But is this enough?
As a TIS, this probably means that many hats are to be worn. For example, TISers might be on committees about websites, or technology in general. They might be trying to do overarching projects, like developing larger PD or workshops, or building community relations with other schools and their tech and media departments. They might be inundated with emails every day, but it is their job to set an example, to reply to each and every question, query, statement, request, reply, and quandary.
They should realize they are lucky. This is because they have the opportunity to continually better themselves while they are helping others. In walking into every classroom, they get to see what other teachers and classes are doing and glean or appropriate (read: steal) ideas from their coworkers and friends. Because of this, they are continually learning and growing and able to offer more to their fellow workers and student body.
As a TIS, its great to be loved and needed. It is just too bad there aren’t more ways we can split our time or add more hours to the day. I am sure as an educator or a human I am not the only one who feels this, but it would be great. Maybe this is one more system we need to design. 🙂
Mr. Jayzeer
education | technology | design 