Happy Easter, friends!
I considered taking today off from writing a post; however, an issue concerning digital literacy occurred in my classroom this week that needed to be addressed. There are two ways that I process things, by talking and by writing. In fact, today on the Two Writing Teachers call for Slices, there is this quote, “Writing floats on a sea of talk.” Britton. This weekend my sea of talk was with my father and with my Voxer writing group. Both helped me think in a deeper and more logical way about what happened.
My students use Kidblogs daily. They have since the first day of school. As a teacher of multi-grade gifted students, blogging is the way I encourage individuality and independence. One of the many advantages is that students can continue to work on their writing projects outside of class and when I am not at school. Last week I had an inservice, so I wasn’t at school. When I checked the blogs, I discovered that one student had “hacked” another student’s blog and wrote a post about it. I know she was just being playful, but I took it seriously. I commented to this student personally and removed the post. I also had a conversation with the whole class about trust.
When we read posts, we assume that the person who owns the blog wrote the post. I explained that I get an email whenever there is any activity on our Kidblog. I am watching, but more importantly, hacking is wrong. It breaks our trust and messes with the community we have built.
Another more serious incident occurred. As I have mentioned, I teach different grade levels, so my students have social lives with their grade level peers that our class is not a part of. There is safety in our community to talk about and write about things outside of our class. One student wrote a post about a conflict she was having with friends. Fairly typical sixth grade social issue; however, a 5th grader decided to take the matter into her own hands. She printed the post and gave it to one of the sixth grade girls. This post made the rounds all the way to the assistant principal. Not the intended audience of the original post.
When we write on a blog, the world can take our work and use it for any purpose, whether or not it is our intent. This is the reality of digital writing. This reality hit home this week. No real harm was done, but trust was compromised. Our classroom community was broken.
My father (wise as he is) pointed out that my students were able to fail in the safety of my care. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Breaking trust is part of life. We will all do it at some point. What better way for my students to learn the dangers of digital writing than in the safe environment of school and class blogging?
I could make new rules: no hacking, no printing, but rules will not keep kids form being kids. My friend Julianne talked about the reins of control, how we let them go and then tighten them up. Push and pull. This digital world is amazing and wild and wonderful. We need to be able to fail and pick up the pieces, move on, and be wiser.
Trust is a powerful word. Trust is fragile. Trust is difficult to build and easy to shatter. Luckily, my students were not harmed by their breaches of trust, and they learned an important lesson. These are not the kinds of lessons teachers can design or plan on. My first reaction was disappointment. How could they do this? In reflection and conversation, I realize that all will be well as my little ones maneuver their way through this digital world.
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I’m so glad you shared that story, Margaret. I think it’s interesting that my first reaction was to create rules too- but I think the conversation is more valuable and students understanding the whys and hows of creating trust in a digital and face to face community. At Kristin Ziemke’s workshop the other day, she spoke about the lessons she didn’t know she’d have to teach and I think technology often presents those lessons we couldn’t have planned for. It sounds like you did a fantastic job and everyone learned a lesson.
Margaret, interesting that you had an issue with hacking when I seemed to have been plagued by that again. I was alerted by a friend so I quickly took action. New passwords were created and then a chain of actions happened that had me spending time with Apple techs again. The world is a place of trust and distrust so careful watch is needed. In your wisdom, you sought guidance for the issue with your students. I am sure that this incidence troubled you but in the end, a lesson was learned and once again the digital world is opened. May the light of Easter shine upon you today.
Your classroom is a wonderful place to make mistakes because you will teach them about the responsibilities that come with the privileges they have. You do such a beautiful job of teaching, reflecting, sharing, and honoring students, Margaret.
The concepts of public and private are blurring. The things we expose to more than one person aren’t secrets anymore, and that’s a lesson we all have to learn. On the other hand, maybe we are creating a more deep understanding of each other than would ever have been possible before this making public of private thoughts. It’s hard to know what the world will make of our on-line journalling years in the future.
This is a beautiful post, inspired by real moments. Digital literacy brings familiar challenges in new packages. Digital tools amplify our voice so I suppose they also amplify the challenge of remedying these issues. Your father is a wise man. Children are going to make mistakes. How fortunate they are to be wrapped in your care when they misstep. I like to think that because we are having these conversations with children when they are young, we are shaping better digital citizens for tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing your story,
Cathy
Powerful story! Students are going to make mistakes. I love how your father talked about your classroom being a safe place to fail. The conversations about the mistakes, the processing, the wondering what could have been done differently, I hope those words stay with my students. It’s a scary world in the digital realm. You are giving them real life experiences and navigating them through those successes and failures. Great topic and great post!
A beautiful post. Difficult lessons, but so wonderful they could learn them with you, in an environment where they feel loved, and are afforded the ability to process it. As the stakes for breaches of trust grow ever larger, they will have this understanding as a foundation to guide them.
[…] Trust is fragile. Those are Margaret’s words for this week’s DigiLit Sunday. […]
It’s so important for us to help kids understand how different their words are in their heads, on paper, vs on the internet. So glad you shared this post.
I love this topic and your processing of it “real time.” Trust is so valuable. We have to work on it. It doesn’t just happen. Your kiddos are so lucky to have you there to help them through this messy stuff.
These are tricky times as we navigate new territory with our kiddos. And, these are important lessons that we can help our kids learn. Thank you for sharing your story. Your students are lucky to have you in their corner. 🙂
Wow! Tough and tricky situation. Your dad is so wise. It is important for kids to make mistakes in order to learn how trust is such an important factor. I can see that you are a very caring educator and will guide your students carefully so that they see the ramifications of their actions.
[…] you to Margaret Simon for suggesting the theme for today’s blog post. See more digilit Sunday posts here. […]