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Fake news is not accidental reporting with a few mistakes, it is intentional and designed to look real. According to Dr. Lesley Farmer , of California State University at Long Beach,  the motivation behind creating fake news is often to profit, gain influence, assert power, and sometimes to entertain. As critical consumers and responsible contributors, we should be skilled in  discerning validity and disseminating reliable information. Images, like all text, communicates a message. Hence, we are to "read" the visual and glean meaning grounded in evidence.  However, we might not retain the objectivity to critically evaluate the message when strong emotions skew our perception. When a communication reinforces or challenges our core beliefs, it might blind us from objectively stepping back to ask questions such as, "What's the narrative? Who is communicating it, and why?" California's ELA/ELD Framework explicitly draws attention to the broader topi...

In order to prepare students to apply rigorous learning to new and real-world situations, educators must provide opportunities that foster critical and creative thinking, communication and collaboration. Importance of Global Collaborations Common Core State Standards demand students to collaborate with diverse partners , thereby expanding students' global awareness . Some of the benefits of collaboration might include: Developing interpersonal skills of working together as a team. Fostering critical thinking skills while working towards a collaborative goal. Increasing comprehension while partaking in conversations and exploring ideas from different perspectives. "Collaborative learning promotes communication among students; it is particularly beneficial for English Learners (ELs) because peer interaction contributes to the development of language," ( CA ELA ELD Framework, Chapter 2 ). New 2016 ISTE Standards for Students I recently attended th...

Mystery State Skype isn't a new idea, it's basically taking learning geography and placing it in a game format like Twenty Questions via Skype, by asking questions to guess the location of the other classroom. Not only does this connect students from across the country (or globe), but it also gives a context for students to apply geography with critical reasoning, collaboration, communication, digital citizenship, and information fluency -- 21st century skills . Skype in the classroom Learning standards What should your students research? I recommend looking at your standards to know what is expected of your students as a starting place. Geography standards --  History-Social Science Content Standards   Consider the research writing standards (see CCSS ELA Writing Standards #7 - 9 ) Converse and collaborate with diverse partners -- CCSS ELA Speaking and Listening #1 21st Century Skills -- ISTE Standards for Students Note that your students will read information...

What skills are most desired by employers? On most lists , communicate effectively is the number one desired skill. How do we communicate? We communicate face-to-face, in writing, through various technologies, and multimedia. What is does it mean to be literate? Being literate is being able to effectively communicate. Therefore, every classroom must teach digital literacy as part of literacy, and not something separate. Original image by Andrea Hernandez Why have technology-rich writing? Writing is a huge piece of literacy. Writing should occur across content and grade levels. Common Core writing requires students to create and publish writing online, and to interact and collaborate with others. Writing Anchor Standard #6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. We must design lessons that incorporates digital mediums for students to communicate and collaborate with others. "(St...

Silvia Tolisano (@langwitches) challenges us in a meme to audit blogs and comments to raise awareness of quality blogging. I'm honored that both Kathleen Morris and Sheri Edwards tagged me in this meme. Here is Silvia's meme challenge : Select a blog post or blog comment to audit (Professional or Student) Take a screenshot or copy and paste the post or comment into your blog post (be sensitive whether you want to reveal any names or references) Include or link to the rubric you use to assess the quality of post or comment Audit the post or comment by describing your train of thought regarding the level of quality you would assess your chosen post or comment Suggest how you would coach the author of audited post or comment to improve Tag (at least) three educators and challenge them to audit a post or comment Leave a comment with the link to your audit post on Langwitches Quality blog posts I created a few variations of checklists as guides for qu...

Blogging is a fabulous way to connect with an authentic audience. Like everything else, there is a transition process for learning how. Some rights reserved by T Hall Foundations for Blogging Houses need a sturdy foundation to remain standing. Likewise, blogging needs a sturdy foundation of digital citizenship and quality commenting . Digital Citizenship Introducing your class to digital citizenship is the first step. They will learn most of this in the context of blogging. However, setting guidelines is important for safety and netiquette expectations. Resources Sqworl Commenting When it comes to learning about quality commenting , I turn to Linda Yollis . She teaches us to break commenting into two parts: the content and the editing. Here is a summary of some of their tips : Start with a compliment. Add new information, especially facts. Connect with a personal story of how it's relevant to you. End with a question. Proofread. Comment Prompt St...

In what ways have "personal safety" and "citizenship" changed? How do we respond to those changes? Expectations of conduct When I was growing up, there were expectations my parents had of me for my personal safety and development: Ask permission before going somewhere. Don't talk to strangers. -- (With the exception of my parents/entrusted adult being aware of the conversation.) Ask for help when I need it. Be polite and use good manners. Help others when I can, and add to their lives. These are the same expectations I have of my own children for their interactions in our physical community and our digital communities. What resources are available to us?  Tap into resources to start the conversations and learning. Our district has curriculum from iSafe . Edublogs is an amazing resource for teachers. Not only will they educate us about Internet safety, but they also provide an authentic context for applying it in the real world. See their...

After reading Kathleen Morris' post about digital footprints and LinkedIN, I thought very carefully about the digital footprints of educators. Some rights reserved by anneh632 What are Digital Footprints? During my first year of marriage, my front yard was the Pacific Ocean. Everyday I took a walk along the beach and loved feeling the wet sand on my feet. Even though the footprints I left would wash away, I loved looking at the path and trail I left. Digital footprints are similar because they are the imprints made in the digital world. They are different because they are the permanent mark left in the digital world by individuals. Why do Digital Footprints matter? They are the permanent record of your online behaviors, which reflect your attitudes and beliefs. Once digital prints are made online, it's fossilized for the world to see. The world can pay attention now or later because your fossil does not erase -- even if you delete it. Where do we leave D...

Where are the lines and boundaries for copyright , Fair Use , and Creative Commons ? Copyrights extend to photos, music, art, ideas, etc. Fair Use can be difficult to understand, open to interpretation, and if I understand correctly, don't extend outside the United States. So, if I'm running under the assumption that it's okay to use the image if attributed correctly, then what if the image was from contributed from outside the U.S.?  Digital Citizenship I try to get teachers to think outside the four walls of the classroom, and how technology allows us to connect with others around the globe. The last thing I want to do is upset someone on the other side of the world because I used an image that was acceptable under Fair Use for Educators, but not acceptable on their part of the world. Now what? Create my Own I love creating my own. Hey, I minored in fine art in college, so it's natural for me. Do I have the time to create my own? Not always, and others can do...

Our second challenge in the Edublogs Student Challenge is about creating online identities and leaving quality comments on other blogs. Avatars and comments go together because when the avatar is uploaded to the user's name, it shows when the making comments. Activity 1: Create our Class Avatar Slideshow Part 1: Make an Avatar Each individual will create an avatar using the options I have listed below. Avatars are digital representations of yourself. Decide what you like the best, and what represents your personality or traits. Build Your Wild Self This site is from the New York Zoos and Aquarium, which allows you to become a person and animal hybrid. This is the "Wild Self" my 5 year old daughter created for me. She did not like the spider leg or scorpion option, but it was fun to try. You'll need to print screen to capture your picture for this site. Picasso Head This was a fun site to build a Picasso-like head. No sign up is need...

My experience of introducing one of our 4th grade classes to blogging, as part of the Edublogs Challenge , has offered new insight on starting a class blog for learning. Our focus today was introducing the concept of quality comments. How do you get Discussions Started on your Blog? A blog's success can be measured partially by the blog comments; therefore, it's important students, parents, teachers, and administrators, learn how to do this. I realized this is a lesson that must explicitly be taught in order to promote the type of blog discussions where readers respond to each other in continued conversations. We used Edublogs Teacher Challenge -- Student Blogging Activity 3 -- Teaching Quality Commenting to start our class discussion. Compare Websites to Blogs We needed to start by connecting their prior knowledge, which was websites. What's the same and what's different between the 4th Grade Science Website and a Blog ? Our learning point wa...