I have spent a lot of time this year helping my students understand what it means to be a good digital citizen, what their digital footprint is and how to stay safe online. As we transitioned to the iPADs, we brushed up on all of these concepts. Because each iPAD is shared by 4 or 5 students, following good digital citizenship practices is crucial. Some of the apps we are using for science class require them to store their work on the iPAD. Other students who are assigned to the same iPAD have the ability to view, edit and delete this work. I have stressed over and over again the importance of following good digital citizenship practice. While we haven’t had any issues with students losing their work, there have been some issues with photos. Since they began using the iPADs, one of the high interest activities for the students has been to come in early to science class and take and manipulate pictures. Some kids get really into it and manage to take 50+ pictures in a span of about 3 minutes before class starts. I have other kids (assigned to the same iPAD as the student who is photo happy) who like to keep the camera roll clean and neat, so they delete photos that they think are repetitive, silly or unrelated to class. My response to the lost photos has been twofold. First, I continue to emphasize good digital citizenship - it is obviously not a good practice to delete someone else’s work (even if you think it is silly or repetitive). At the same time I have shown the kids how to upload those pictures that are “near and dear to their heart” to their Google Drive account so they have a copy in case anything happens to the photos on the camera roll. It seems like a trivial issue at first glance but I want the kids to learn how to use these tools as a device for lifelong learning. Part of that means using them as a tool to showcase their passions and interests. I want to give them the freedom to use the camera as a tool. The dilemma is finding a way to share the camera tool on an iPAD that, for right now at least, is only semi-personalized.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Camera Overload
I have spent a lot of time this year helping my students understand what it means to be a good digital citizen, what their digital footprint is and how to stay safe online. As we transitioned to the iPADs, we brushed up on all of these concepts. Because each iPAD is shared by 4 or 5 students, following good digital citizenship practices is crucial. Some of the apps we are using for science class require them to store their work on the iPAD. Other students who are assigned to the same iPAD have the ability to view, edit and delete this work. I have stressed over and over again the importance of following good digital citizenship practice. While we haven’t had any issues with students losing their work, there have been some issues with photos. Since they began using the iPADs, one of the high interest activities for the students has been to come in early to science class and take and manipulate pictures. Some kids get really into it and manage to take 50+ pictures in a span of about 3 minutes before class starts. I have other kids (assigned to the same iPAD as the student who is photo happy) who like to keep the camera roll clean and neat, so they delete photos that they think are repetitive, silly or unrelated to class. My response to the lost photos has been twofold. First, I continue to emphasize good digital citizenship - it is obviously not a good practice to delete someone else’s work (even if you think it is silly or repetitive). At the same time I have shown the kids how to upload those pictures that are “near and dear to their heart” to their Google Drive account so they have a copy in case anything happens to the photos on the camera roll. It seems like a trivial issue at first glance but I want the kids to learn how to use these tools as a device for lifelong learning. Part of that means using them as a tool to showcase their passions and interests. I want to give them the freedom to use the camera as a tool. The dilemma is finding a way to share the camera tool on an iPAD that, for right now at least, is only semi-personalized.
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