The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

Have you ever seen a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus?  Go ahead, click the link.  They are very rare but if you look in just the right place you can find fascinating research about them.

Retrieved from: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Simply because it is on the internet does not make it real, but many of our students have a difficult time understanding that someone would intentionally post "bogus" information.

When teaching research skills, we must model best practice.  This includes citing our source when we use a picture in a media presentation.  Just last week I was in a class when the teacher said, "just grab a picture from Google."

 Wait....what?

Are we opening Google images up for our younger students to stumble upon inappropriate material? We have a great filtering system but it is difficult to completely filter Google images.  Did you know that? Here in lies the problem, you don't know what you don't know.

So many of you are doing your best differentiating lessons, grading papers, analyzing data, building relationships with parents and students, and then your own personal growth, family, and relationships that we miss the little things.

We have been quoting the ISTE standards in our professional learning opportunities and in this blog, but have you had time to check them out?  Did you know they even existed? I didn't until I began this edtech journey.  Now, more than ever, we have to be prepared for our students.  The state has recognized the need to produce responsible digital citizens. In order to help with this shift to a blended learning environment,  IDOE has created new Computer Science standards that your students will be responsible for learning.

In working with many teachers, the one thing that I've learned is if we show you the how and why to use a strategy or tool, you will implement it into your daily schedule, if there is value.  We wanted to show you the value in a few resources that will help guide your students in their research.

Kiddle.co , Kidrex.org, and Kidzsearch.com are a few kid friendly search engines that use Google's safe search filtering.  Teaching students to begin with these search engines, finding facts across multiple sites, and putting research in the students' own words is a great foundation.  Once your students enter intermediate grades, they will begin to create media presentations that will include pictures.  Photosforclass.com is a website that will not only find Creative Common licensed pictures but will also include the source within the upload.  This is another great resource to introduce your students to when teaching digital citizenship.

We cannot protect our students from everything, but we can prepare them as responsible digital citizens.  It is a shift in our thinking and one we must give priority because technology integration is becoming more prevalent in our students' daily lives.  No matter what route you take in protecting and teaching your students responsible researching, it is important to have a plan in place when using technology in your classroom.

 Continue to grow, learn, and reflect on this #edtech journey!  Your students need you! As always, if you would like assistance using any of these tools, please contact our Office of eLearning.

Kirsten Phillips
Twitter: @kear734

Kevin Schamel
Twitter: @schamelearning

#RCSeLearn

www.werrichmond.com/elearning