Digital Footprint from the Teen's Perspective

I had the honor of facilitating a panel discussion by a few of our high school students on digital citizenship this past spring. This session was at the Texas Social Media Conference held at our local education service center. 

This group of students appeared on my radar one evening when their group, Texas Teens Teach, started following me on Twitter. After scheduling a meeting with these students, we met and discussed digital footprints, online presence, and what they wanted to accomplish. The students "fine-tuned" Twitter handles, worked on their website, and had some great discussions about goals for the group. Soon after, an opportunity presented itself for the students to discuss digital citizenship and digital footprints through the eyes of teens at the Texas Social Media conference. We submitted a proposal and made plans to attend once it was accepted. 

Through a panel discussion, students shared their journey and the lessons learned a long the way. With comments such as "Our Twitter feed tells a story" and "Followers are the new recommendation letter" showed that these teens definitely understand the impact of social media and how it can have a positive effect when used purposefully. Several of the students discussed how digital citizenship should be taught by teens and should be discussed in friend groups. Time was provided at the end for questions from the attendees, who ranged from educators to social media representatives from various organizations. 

While at the conference, the teens (many who already have LinkedIn accounts) networked with the keynote speaker, Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran, who talked with them at length about future opportunities and how they can grow their organization. In addition, one school leader invited the students to present to the students on their campus. The students were also interviewed by Fort Worth Today, which allowed them to reach an even broader audience.

Something to note is that these teens had established an organization (Texas Teens Teach) and had a plan on what they wanted to accomplish. This all happened without adults assigning a project or assisting in the process. What they needed was a little guidance and an opportunity to share their story. This was an AUTHENTIC learning experience that was RELEVANT to these learners. This was learning that was PERSONAL to these students. 

For more information about the group, check out their information below. 

What? It is May (I mean JUNE!!) ?!?

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but it is MAY  JUNE!!! I saw this image on Facebook recently, and this is just how I feel right now! Or at least that was how I felt a few weeks ago when I started this blog! Sometimes blog posts take a little longer than expected. 

During the last few months, the focus has been on creating a personalized learning environment for ALL. This means we are looking at ways to personalize learning for our students, as well as for our adult learners! For our students, we are developing blended learning classes at one of our middle school campuses and at our high school. Blended learning is a learning environment where students learn with both face to face instruction and an online component. 

After touring a couple of districts during the fall, we have started our own journey into blended learning. Teachers and administrators first visited campuses in Lewisville ISD and saw how teachers created blended learning environments in a variety of content areas and at different levels. Sometimes, just seeing the physical space helps us to shift the way we see our learning spaces. On each of the campuses, there were many different types of collaborative spaces for the students to use while on campus. At the high school level, students could choose not to work on campus on their online days, but space was certainly available if the students were on campus.

We were able to see first hand the power of a blended learning environment. In a high school algebra class, students were receiving one on one help, even though it was not a face to face day. 

At the middle school level, students would check-in at various collaborative spaces using a device and a Google form and begin work.

Lewisville ISD was so gracious as to invite us to attend a blended learning training in the spring. We took eight teachers to the training, some who will be teaching a blended learning course in the fall, and some who are interested in learning more and offering a blended learning environment for their students.

We will be reading the book, Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools by Michael B. Horn & Heather Staker.

Our journey has just begun, but we are excited about the possiblities and how we can better meet the learning needs of our students!