10. • Instead of trying to mass-
produce children who are
good at taking tests and
memorizing things, schools
should emphasize
personal
development, Robinson
said. Not all kids are good
at the same things, and
the education system
shouldn't pretend they Why teaching is 'not like making
motorcars’, by John D.
should all turn out the Sutter, CNN, March 17, 2010 7:00 a.m.
same, he said. Ken Robinson
Sir EDT
http://bit.ly/9NoI1Z
11. • ‘Moral judgements’
on parenting in an
individual society.
• What about the
collective duty?
6-8%
16. • Digital media
• Taking away abilities to do things they
could do before, or do things they
shouldn’t do
• Ruining people’s ability to make meaning
precisely/accurately with language
• Social relationships – becoming isolated or
meeting up with ‘the wrong kind of
people’
• Changing the way that people think –
easily distracted – unable to
construct/follow complex arguments.
• Social identities - are these ‘genuine’, Jones &
and how much do you have control over? Hafner
Understand
ing Digital
Technological Dystopianism? Literacies
2012, p11
18. • Over the year, many of the young people I worked
with wanted to talk about the events of last summer
[Riots]. Would they be tempted to respond to a
message such as: "It's all kicking off at PC World –
where r u?" I asked them. "It depends on who sent
it," was the reply. But who would they turn to for
advice if things started going wrong: teachers?
Parents? Police? ChildLine? To which the almost
unanimous response was: "No way, we'd only be
able to talk to our mates, they're the only ones who
would understand."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/au
g/07/young-people-guidance-threats-social-
media
22. Jake‟s Story…
• “Jake told the executive that he
never goes directly to a brand
like this man‟s newspaper or even
to blogs he likes. ... he reads a lot
of news – far more than I did at his
age. But he goes to that news only
via the links from Digg, friends‟
blogs, and Twitter. He travels all
around the internet that is edited
by his peers because he trusts
them and knows they share his
interests. The web of trust is built
at eye-level, peer-to-peer.”
(Jarvis, p.86, my emphasis)
23. DISCUSS
• All technologies offer
AFFORDANCES, CONSTRAINTS and
change SOCIAL PRACTICES
• What has been made possible with the
introduction of mobile phones?
• How have mobile phones limited our activities?
• How have our social practices/habits, etc. changed
since mobile phones?
24. Student Expectations?
• Global (Used creating their own YouTube
videos, and expecting a quick response – from
anywhere in the world!)
• Responsive (Used to rapid response/feedback,
3 week guarantee “too long”)
• Flexible (Used to having more than one starting
point)
• Interactive (Looking for a relationship of trust,
staff/student partnership: The teacher has a role
of leader, but needs „distributed leadership‟)
• Often facile or trivial
26. “Based on their studies of practice-based
communities, Lave and Wenger (1991) observed how
novices in the community may start at the periphery of a
community, by watching and observing others, a process
they term „legitimate peripheral participation‟. Over
time, they learn and develop expertise and become more
central to the community and its activities. For Wenger
(1998) being a member of a community of practice not
only develops a participant’s expertise in the practice
on which the community is focused; learners’
identities are also shaped by their engagement and
relationship with the community.”
http://oro.open.ac.uk/341
00/2/4B5D6CE3.pdf
30. • God
• Your Mum
• ‘The kids’
• The newspaper
• Your worst energy
Who might read it?
31. • The Methodist Church social media policy:
• Be credible. Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.
• Be consistent. Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation.
• Be cordial, honest and professional at all times. Be responsive.
When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.
• Be integrated. Wherever possible, align online participation with
other communications.
• Be a good representative of the Methodist Church. Remember
that you are an ambassador for Christ, the Church and your part
of it. Disclose your position as a member or officer of the
Church, making it clear when speaking personally.
Let Galatians 5:22–26 guide your behaviour (fruits of the
spirit).
• Be respectful: respect confidentiality. Respect the views of
others even where you disagree.
http://www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-
office-holders/technology-and-
church/social-media-guidelines
35. “Schools can run ongoing education
programmes to make children aware of
the issues, how to respond and report
bullying and how to be good digital
citizens; by being accountable for their
own actions, respecting and being aware
of the feelings of others.”
http://network.youthworkonline.org.uk/profil
es/blogs/how-to-help-children-who-are-
being-cyberbullied
51. • Whether as a Christian or a digital explorer, you‟re a newbie or
an old hat, a rookie or a bishop (and in the digital sphere, there
will be some who fit in all categories), we all have something to
contribute to the digital space. The concept of the digital as
„space‟ or a „culture‟ is important as we come from a
perspective in which:
• As Christians we live 24/7 for God, in whatever spaces we live
in or engage with (see LICC for more on this).
• There is no such thing as „virtual‟ and „real‟ worlds: only online
and offline space/cultures – the connection between the two is
different for each individual.
• We need to take seriously our Christian presence both online
and offline. Are we the same person, living by the same
values in both „spaces‟?
http://bigbible.org.uk/dig
idisciple/
Challenges and understanding. Including safeguarding, identity, publishers, literacy, Christian sites and discipleship.45 mins – after an intro to social media…
Ready for a range of information…
So today we’re going to look at a few issues, but concentrating particularly upon questions of online ID, SG, DL & discipleship…
Can find all this online…
Activity: Find someone you don’t know & in 30 seconds each way, exchange as much as possible about interests – see if you can find any in common… This is what much of SOCIAL media is about –about finding something in common… using that as a starting point to build relationships… why you’ll hear me and many others tend to emphasise QUALITY of relationships rather than QUANTITY.
Online/offline = REAL – not the same, but real! In the same way as you may emphasize different parts of your personality with different people – with your parents, your friends, your kids… online you may emphasise different aspects of your personality in different spaces… but at the centre of it all you are YOU!
Ever seen this? Quite old now (last year!), but quite helpful in demonstrating the purpose of different spaces online and which aspects you may emphasise.. E.g. on Twitter looking to build relationships around common interests, whereas Facebook to develop those you already have – will change the kind of things that you can say…
For me… a lot of my identity is on Twitter… but I DO choose to take time away from it …
Within the church we need to think about how we engage more - this is the model many churches have now… (as a educational developer, I note that many teachers do this too….)
Within education we talk a lot about personal learning, and opportunities to work WITH the positive & unique characteristics of kids… technology can allow us to allow more space to express ourselves… so long as we don’t block that kind of opportunity…
We instruct parents also… We make ‘moral judgements’ on parents … we’re a culture that emphasises individual responsibility – I am known to do so too… certainly think parents have to take some responsibility, but what can we, as a society do to help… Those of us who work online tend to emphasise collaboration and collective working – though certain individuals are still deified…
Can we move towards something more like this – what does this mean for church leaders, especially you as youth leaders…?
With that in mind – again want you to take a couple of minutes to think about what YOU are aiming to do as a youth leader… and start to think about what this looks like in the digital space… Lead by example – all new technology provides constraints/affordances…
Note that all this material is raised in the context of discussion as to the possibilities, there’s no legal guidance offered or implied.
Digital literacy is NOT about trying to do everything digitally … but INCLUDESlearning how to live with(in) the digital age.
These are the kind of arguments that are typically raised AGAINST use of digital technology…
Typical example includes e.g. the function of e.g. Blackberry Messenger in the London Riots…
Again, that theme of working with their friends …
I tend to refer to ‘human nature amplified’ … so this section from a book just released ‘The Parent App’ is interesting … as one might expect - bad things happen online because they can happen anywhere (the technology is incidental)… but also many of the kind of stats that are highlighted demonstrate that society is safer for children than it ever has been… She notes that technology may have introduced new risks – but also new ways of negating those risks… e.g. educate children to check in with parents on mobiles, etc. if they are worried about someone, etc…
Good example of that is that social media was used far more for the big clean up…
Think about how the nature of the web has changed over the few years its been online:Web 1.0 was passiveWeb 2.0 is more activeWeb 3.0 is immersive
See Jake, used to sharing through peer-to-peer networks
No fixed answers = to think about! Just 2 mins to discuss, then feed in briefly! Just taking mobile phones as an example… could also discuss the introduction of paper – can be seen as ‘disruptive’ … people can doodle & not pay attention when you’re talking… E.g. thinking we make more flexible plans, cancel more … what happens when your battery runs out? Do you feel lost/relieved, etc.?
In 2009, at a JISC event – these traits for upcoming students (aka 18 yr olds) were anticipated… previously “youngsters” would have been introduced to a widening world by adults slowly, but these days they are interacting globally with little guidance… now the whole world is at their fingertips & can’t necessarily just say “you can’t have”… they will just access in someone else’s house! Can we encourage them to understand how to use it well [parents need this too – hence book writing!]
The expectations of the younger generation may be different (although much also the same – forget ‘digital natives’) – but the nature of the technology has also changed, and the better we understand that – the more we are capable of using it well – and encouraging all of our community to use it well: 1) Material is persistent by default – difficult to remove2) Material is easy to change, replicate & share – making it difficult to distinguish between originals/replicas3) An isolated prank can go viral … may not be what the original person chose – but what the community chooses to amplify4) Anyone can be found/identifiedCan we think of activities that will encourage children to think about this…
The best way to understand a community is to engage with it … with social media, it’s OK to ‘lurk’, watch and understand …
Basic essentials – don’t give away too much info, trust too many downloads/other people who they say they are, keep parents in the loop…
Look for SIMPLE changes that you can make – e.g. the suggestion from research amongst the Youth & Children’s team at the Methodist Church is that you don’t friend any of your youth group (and I never friended students) .. Others would argue that it’s more transparent & traceable/permanent than e.g. a phone call and that you can be a strong role model in that space…Learn the privacy settings… what are YOU comfortable with? Thoughts?
Remember that anything that you write online – even in private messages, etc. are easy to copy & paste – and out of your control onve you write them down… quite a good benchmark is thinking of these people who might read it … it may place limitations on what you write – being open and authentic does not mean shove it all out without filters!!
If you’re going to have a policy, have something like this – v. simple. Example with Damaris…
Think about what is possible with this – one of the benefits of not seeing someone’s face is can be easier to speak out against some more difficult things… ask more difficult questions, etc.. If can encourage people to encourage each other, check in, note that they’re praying for each other, etc. (normalising their faith also..)
We do need to think about how we’re going to deal with particular cases of cyber-bullying, and “cries for help” – have to be taken seriously but can’t put the responsibility all on one person... Again, this is a developing area, but I would look for churches to think about what they would do in such situations, and have specific people to contact (should be part of their overall policy, but social media maybe makes it easier for people to engage in these activities).
Cyber-bullying is one of the things that raises most fears … again, need to talk to kids about what constitutes bullying, etc. Raise awareness, give space to speak out – being aware that this can spread much faster, and invade the home in ways that previously bullying couldn’t….
Schools can do this, but what could youth clubs do with this – raise opportunities for discussions with parents and the kids… understand what it looks like, and what possibilities there are for e.g. blocking spiteful Skype messages, etc. and the importance of not giving away passwords, etc…
Listen to them – debunk digital native idea – may not know, know how to use well, or want to … But listen out for problems… etc.
1 minute… what about YouthWork sessions encouraging them to share experiences and learn from each other… you can learn too!
Work WITH the tech, rather than against it… don’t’ see it as something separate but work it into what you are already doing…
Encourage healthy activities – take them out exploring the area.. Encourage them to think can they e.g. use this for some sort of getting people to think?
Produce something that people would like to engage with – my students did something like this – and spotted at #CNMAC12 last weekend – simple idea – be photographed like this – put it on your Facebook page & be tagged!
Get them to follow, talk about, people that inspire them…?
Help them uncover who they are … without giving away TOO much information –e .g. about their geographical information…
As you’ll see from that link, there’s a decent amount of information online already – please don’t spend hours reinventing the wheel –make use of the information online – not just about this kind of stuff (safeguarding) – but sharing activities that we can do – we all want to move kids journies forward – if we use other’s materials we can think how to apply more personally…
What does it mean to be a disciple in the digital age – e.g. the frape example… good exercise to get kids to come up with 10 commandments of social media – they take ownership & can sign up to it… we hope that good models will influence others…
This is something that I work with… explain…
What’s the digital equivalent? If time discuss = no particular answers – just want you to think …
This was kinda summed up at a recent conference…
This is something we’ve done a couple of times with Big Bible – love to see more – great way to get people to engage with the Bible – think about how to “change” the words to apply in the digital age…
Throughout all this – remember that people are interested in stories … people respond to stories. Demonstrate good practice in your own engagement online, open up conversations with young people, give them advice on how to use the material safely…
Final word – remember – there is always a human being at the other end of the keyboard… think before you type…Questions?