Category: Trending technology

Posted in Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, Netiquette, Trending technology

Screenagers

Posted on May 19, 2024May 31, 2024 by lisafairbanksrossi

I am so pleased that the Mead School District is offering “Parenting in the Digital Age” to our community this week. Educators and teachers need to understand the impacts of screen dependency (this is a lighter word than addiction) and the huge potential and risks of social media on this generation of K-12 students. I know teachers can be considered part of the problem because of our own dependence on screens to deliver exciting and engaging content.

“But you need me to help teach the CORRECT way to interact with technology, I’m teaching you digital citizenship….” I justify.

We used Chromebooks and Zoom as an academic and pseudo-social lifeline during the first chapter of Covid 19 Pandemic virtual school. Even the families most leery of computer-based learning were forced at that time to adapt to the foreign new landscape of digital communication. In any case, there is an urgency for both parents and educators to understand screen dependency and partner with our students to appropriately and thoughtfully navigate our digital world.

Please work to attend the very important event centered around the documentary, “Screenagers” at Mead High School on May 21, 2024.

Click here to watch the trailer for SCREENAGERS .

Posted in Award Winning Books, Covid 19 Teach-from-home!, perserverance, traditional topics, non-traditional teaching, Trending technology, writing

“Isolated and together,” Preventive closures, day 1

Posted on March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 by lisafairbanksrossi

“Let’s find a way to be isolated, and together at the same time,” says Mo Willems, who is the number one author for grades pre-school-2. Mostly because of his Elephant and Piggie, and Pigeon franchise. Screen Shot 2020-03-17 at 11.17.24 AM

Out of new, strange necessity, Mr. Willems decided to create a new live program: “Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems” to keep kids creative and engaged (with

Graphic from Mo Willems Lunchtime Doodles — Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems

something other than Netflix, Disney+ and video games). He teaches how to doodle and he is a silly man (who is just so likable!!) and like many authors and people whose job it is to be public figures, not able to be in the public right now, so….enjoy him and enjoy whatever time you can get your kids to spend with him, and YOU.

Speaking of GETTING kids to SPEND time, I have to say I was both inspired by a colleague’s schedule she created for her kids (It’s AMAZING!) 90240069_10219158019873950_531948265298460672_n (1)

and shamed by the fact that I not only A. Failed to create such a schedule, and B. know that if I proposed such a schedule my own teenagers would laugh in my face and not be interested in hearing me read aloud, even! But I DO DIFFERENT VOICES, I’d plead again. “Yes, mom, we know. It’s awkward.”

“Well, my students love it!” I mean, most of them, I think.

Anyway, please be easy on yourselves if you have no such rigorous plan. Do what you can, and please check on Google Classroom. I’ll be posting an instructional video to do so, as well as other lessons and reading ideas. Here’s our district-wide set of suggestions for tech, reading and STEM activities for now.

Posted in Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, Netiquette, Technology Expectations, Trending technology

Media Literacy

Posted on October 18, 2019 by lisafairbanksrossi

Media Literacy is a 21st-century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” ~ Center for Media Literacy

This video below (starring Joey Papa, who I didn’t previously know, but now respect) is short, compelling and starts the conversation I’m having this week (and, really, I touch on the topic weekly, be it with discussions of literature, digital citizenship, or online safety.

What IS Media Literacy?

“Media literacy is the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.” ~ NAMLE (National Association for Media Literacy Education)

Here are a few slides from the Media Literacy lesson I’m presenting with the 4th and 5th graders.

Screen Shot 2019-10-18 at 10.36.14 AM — Slide from class presentation

Screen Shot 2019-10-18 at 10.37.04 AM — Another slide from class presentation

“Media Literacy describes the act of being capable of handling different forms of media and being competent, critical and literate.” ~ Urban Dictionary (Defined with no swears! That’s pretty rare, actually!)

If you want to go deeper into the myriad elements of “media literacy” here is the CML’s “glossary.”

#MediaLitWk

Posted in graphic design, Makerspace, STEM, Trending technology

I Can’t WAIT for you to CHECK OUT…

Posted on August 4, 2018August 7, 2018 by lisafairbanksrossi

…the new library media center at Midway. It will be, as I believe all school libraries should be, at the CENTER of the new beautiful school. And it will also be a center for creativity and discovery.

In addition to having a FULL library collection, we will have brand new maker space tools, technology, access to apps and NEW CHROMEBOOKS. Great things come to those who wait, and we have been!

Here are photos of Mr. Westermann’s most recent foray inside the construction zone in mid July ’18. Although things look unfinished, they are making great progress everyday and have promised I can get inside by August 24. I will spend many, many hours making it perfect for all of you! Never have I been this excited to start school. I’m including when I was a student!!! Also new this year, hour-long library slots for 3rd-6th graders.

YES! A bonified picture window and VIEW

Some sort of wall 🙂

and some more views of things and stuff.

Who is good at analyzing blue prints? This is the new design

Big changes and big adventures for us in 2018-2019, Sharks!

Posted in Coding, Trending technology

Robot Coding

Posted on February 20, 2016December 21, 2016 by lisafairbanksrossi

A tech expert/future trend guy was being interviewed (on CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria, to be exact) and said that 65% of jobs that children will have in the future DON’T EXIST YET and that learning how to do computer coding will qualify them for these jobs. It stuck with me. It is with this context in mind that the students at both Colbert and Midway embarked on learning how to create command patterns for the adorable non-gender, non-species specific FINCH ROBOTS. They worked in teams “professionally taking turns” with different challenges; like programming the finch to turn in different directions, turn different colors, etc. Next level will be commanding it to talk.

For the full skinny on the Finch, which was developed by Computer Science (CREATE program) students at Carnegie Mellon University, see their website:

http://www.finchrobot.com/

The kids are loving it..and learning NOT to drag or pull on the $100 devices we are BORROWING. If your kids love it, let the district know! We are piloting the program here.

Next, ozobots!!

#coding, #robotics

Posted in Coding, programming, Trending technology

No, we’re not PLAYING Minecraft, we’re PROGRAMMING it!

Posted on December 9, 2015July 21, 2016 by lisafairbanksrossi

“Coding describes a wide range of behaviors in which we solve a problem by writing procedural steps for a person, computer, or machine to follow.”

~ Chad Sansing

Sansing’s quote is from an article of the urgency of teaching what is commonly being referred to as the “language oft he future” For people who have any job in technology, this has been a language for a very long time.

But for Mead elementary students (all the LITS are offering “Hour of Code” programming this week –in honor and participation of International–Computer Science Week) it’s a time to program a game they love to play: Minecraft.

Hour of Code promotional video

My friend Joy made this pictogram: I like it. Whenever I made a pictochart/pictogram it looks like my crowded scrapbook pages (when I had time to scrapbook) Anyway, the kids love it, and nearly everyone experienced success and engagement and none of this means I prefer coding to READING, you dig? There’s a place for everything in the library, though!