"Grown Up Digital" by Don Tapscott’s

I have been reading this book over break. I am not done yet. It is a very interesting view of the world. Tapscott looks at how the "Net Generation", those that grew up with the Internet, are impacting and changing the world. He identifies characteristics of netgens. His view gives some insight into not only the future but our own generation and others around us, such as the new president.

Netgens have a need for speed, transparency, resources at their fingertips. Baby boomers, myself included, are deeper thinkers and need quiet to focus. I found it VERY enlightening to think through the concept that baby boomers are receivers of information because they grew up with the television. Netgens want to manipulate and personalize everything. I found myself aguing with the author about some of his perceptions of netgens because the majority of my students are not as focused on technology as the author perceives, however, they are very much immersed in it. I have many dancers, skateboarders, soccer, baseball, football players, cheerleaders, etc. Those experiences are the focus of their lives and so they don't develop the same thinking that those who spend hours and hours online do.

So, the real question is how to teach them and what to teach them. They don't need the factual internal database we have. They will be able to look up the capitals of the states, etc, online anytime they need the info. We need to teach them thinking skills but honestly, in at least one of the areas of thinking that they will need, they have more skills than their teachers do.

Okay, let me give you one fun link, Backyard Paradise, before I go. It is a Pbs.org site and was one of Time.com (Time Magazine)This one would be great for younger kids but I was simply impressed with how it all works. It really speaks to the interactivity of the internet.

More later.

Images and editing images online.

There is nothing a kid likes any better than messing with photos. Since the days when that meant drawing a mustache on an image, it has intrigued and engaged kids. First, you need an image. There are a lot out there but Flickr is the quintessential image sharing site. We need to be careful to warn kids that even if they find it online, it does not make it fair game for their use. They can use it for school but they need to cite their source. Someone worked hard to make the image and we need to give them credit.
· Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)
· Mediamazine Flickr Tutorials

Once they (or you) have an image you can edit it with Fotoflexer, Picnik, or one of many others. Mytheme.com creates animations. That is fun, too.

I am playing with sites that let you make yourself into a cartoon but I am not happy with the results yet. Photo Illustration Maker is pretty limiting and Cartoon Me is similar. I think I expected it would take a photo and make it into a line drawing like on Photoshop and fill in colors but that isn’t how it works.

Next week is vaca and I will not be writing. I hope you have a joyful and restful break.

Cybertrail

I was reading an article from popsci.com about an experiment trying to be anonymous for a week. It was pretty interesting. I am old enough to have read Orwell’s 1984 when it was still well in the future. I remember thinking how impossible and terrifying it was that there would be a time when your every move would be traceable. Today is that day. At work, every keystroke is tracked and can be brought back up. On line, every websearch, every site you visit and everything you do at that site is residing on a server somewhere. You are photographed by surveillance many if not most places you go. When surveillance cameras don’t get you picture, some interested bystander with a cell phone is snapping a record.

Early in my experience working with computers I discovered that there is a LOT of info online about me and most other people. Not all of it is accurate and certainly, not all is up to date. So I researched how to get rid of the old records and found out that I could spend some time contacting the servers that host that information. The problem is, they got it somewhere, public town records, public hospital records, public employment records, etc, and if I ask them they will take it out of their database but it will bounce back the next time they search for information. I would need to find out where they got their information and request anonymity and that might not be possible if they are public documents. If the info is inaccurate I would need to prove it, etc., etc.

So, what do we do? Not much. It is a trade off but privacy is slipping away from us at a rapid rate. If we choose to live in our society we trade privacy. This is a concept that has little meaning for children born in the digital age. I discuss it with them regularly but they see no need for concern. It makes me question where we are going? Will all be transparent? Is that okay? What do you think?