Globaloria Blog

Time Marches On...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Allder) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Reposted from my Globaloria Blog:

This fall, actually going back to this past summer, I have found myself to be more busy with less down time than almost anytime I can remember. I have allowed myself to have multiple layers of responsibility including my primary job as Director of Instrumental Music at GEHS(Marching Band instruction, design, implementation), responsibilities with Globaloria (Mentor, Lead Educator), responsibilities with my personal marching band show design company (Lead Designer), and of course responsibilities with my home and family.
Due to these many overlapping responsibilities, I often find myself at a deficit when it comes to time to complete everything - thus my relatively vacant blog as of recent. However, I am reminded that no matter what, no matter how much any one of us has going on, time marches on.

Time does not care how busy we are. Time ruthlessly moves forward with or without us.

It is up to us as individuals to make the choices of what is most important. What will be our priority as we swim through the ever flowing river that is time. Again, time does not care what we choose to make important to us. But those around us do. Those who are most affected by the choices we make will remember the impact we had as time forgets.

Ultimately, what we leave behind is that impact, that inspiration on those around us. No matter what responsibility(ies) I may be concerned with at a certain time, I will try to do my best to make a positive impact on my students, my friends, and most importantly my family. I will not fight time for the right to make that impact. I will let it flow (because it is going to anyway), and I will do what I can in the time available to achieve my goals and outcomes.

How does time impact your decisions? How do you prioritize your responsibilities? Comment and let me know!

How is blogging important?

noreply@blogger.com (Denise Stalnaker) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Blogging allows students to not only express their thoughts, but also to organize them. It gives students an authentic audience who can respond (and my be critical). The process lets them enter to social network as a technical communicator.

blogg use

noreply@blogger.com (Denise Stalnaker) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Blogging is an important tool for classrooms. It enables research, a sharing of ideas, and a means to "connect" with various audiences.

The Globaloria Community - What is your role?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Allder) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:02:00 +0000

In any community, each citizen has some sort of role, and hopefully some sense of responsibility. This is in fact one of the basic ideas behind the focus on Civics as pertains to Globaloria. As our classes and our students work to create civics based games, we have the larger goal that they (as well as the end users of the games) will learn to think about their role in the community, the state, the country, and the world.

However, we can also scale back and consider the Globaloria community a place where roles are important. We are all working independently in our individual schools and teams trying to create our games. In some cases, we are even in competition with one another as we enter the contests for Civics and STEM games. But when it comes down to it, the community as a whole only truly thrives when we (Students, Teachers, Mentors, Interns, World Wide Workshop Staff, Administrators, Researchers, etc.) step into our role and not only do our best to complete our piece of the pie, but also share our successes with those who can benefit from them.

Students - Have you found a skill that you are comfortable with (i.e. Art or Coding in Flash)? If so, how are you using that skill to help those in your Globaloria Community?

Teachers - What are we doing to not only help our students, but to make sure that as we gain knowledge, it is shared with those around us?

The tools for these interactions are readily available to us with our blogs and the wikis.

In order for our community as a whole to grow and move to "the next level", we must be willing to learn from each other and stand on the shoulders of the giants who have had success in various areas. Borrow good code, and try to understand it. Then share it with others. Ask for help in areas where you need it, then don't be shy about sharing your strengths with those who may benefit from your assistance.

It is our civic responsibility to the Globaloria community to find our roles and maximize our strengths within those roles. What can you do to achieve this?

Within the next week, try to reflect on your role and examples of sharing strengths in the community. Write a blog post of your own in which you discuss your reflections.

Till next time.....

Science Projects and Globaloria Games: Solving Problems

noreply@blogger.com (laura m.) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Last October, President Obama held a science fair in the oval office, to recognize the importance of thinking about solutions.

The president said:

"If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too."

We are looking forward to seeing achievements that come from Globaloria students in West Virginia, Austin and Brooklyn.

Learning step by step

noreply@blogger.com (laura m.) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:46:00 +0000

Globaloria is a social media based platform where kids learn about social issues. Sixth grade students in East Austin are making games. Here is what one student expressed:

In Globaloria Im proud of being able to make a game.im also proud of I have learned about how you need a code for any action you want in the game you are making.

Globaloria has tools that help kids learn to create games in Flash.

In addition, students are thinking about issues in their community that they want to address. Here is one student's step-by-step learning process:

A social issue that i would like to explore in my game is bulling

3 questions people generally have about this topic:

* Question 1:why do people do that to people?
* Question 2:Is people try to stop it?
* Question 3: does it make the bully-er feel better when they bully people?

The support for learning about social issues AND building a game exploring solutions to those problems AND being able to share ideas- this all comes together in Globaloria.

Being Thankful After Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:16:00 +0000

Over the Thanksgiving Day holiday, we all give thanks for the good things in our lives. As the holidays rush by, the semester draws to a close, and things seem to get hectic, I offer the following suggestions for what we as Globaloria educators can be thankful for as well.

BE THANKFUL FOR...
the hard work performed by our motivated and exceptional students.

the hard won victories of our less than motivated students.

the added opportunities to learn new skills and techniques in Flash.

the occasional frustrations and pains that signal true growth.

the opportunity to be a part of data-driven research.

the reports; reminding us how it feels to be a learner and contributor.

the new friends made around the state, country, and world.

the constructive support we offer each other.

all the good we see in our results.

all we learn from the setbacks and stumbles we experience

Thanks for the opportunity to share my voice.

Until next time the soapbox is yours,
Bill

A Dip Into Serendipity

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:10:00 +0000

According to wikipedia, serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.
Sometimes we ask students to do one thing and they end up stumbling on something new all on their own.

I had this happen last week when I asked my students to update their blogs, learning logs, and versions of their most recent project. My student, Sierra, not only uploaded her most recent progress and blogged about it, she figured out how to insert a link directly to the file from her blog. She was so proud of herself and so was I. She had taken what direction was given to her and added a whole new dimension to it.

Encourage your students to take a little dip in serendipity as often as they can.

Until next time the soap box is yours.

Globaloria Educators Are Superheros

noreply@blogger.com (laura m.) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:39:00 +0000

We all knew that they had superpowers - no reference to a documentary film about charter schools intended. But on Halloween they decided to dress as their super-alter egos all day.

Introducing: the Galactic Tech Crusader

and the Wiki Witch of the Web

Both are able to open minds of previously bored students in a single bound. Note that the Wiki Witch also goes by WWW for short. Thanks to East Austin College Prep Academy administrator Marisol Rocha for the photo of GTC.

A MILLION STARS ARE BORN

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:36:00 +0000

Often, in our commercial society, we applaud all the antics of our favorite stars. The biggest problem I have with this is that WE should be our favorite stars. Too often in the past year as a mentor, I would see students' wikis that showcased images of their favorite actors and musicians more than anything else. There is nothing wrong with having imagery that depicts our likes and dislikes. I just think we should blow our own horns a bit more.

So, in this post, I thought I would highlight some students who have really put themselves onto their wiki user page. First, at South Charleston Middle school, Kaitlin shows her love of softball. Nicole at George Washington High School shared a great picture of her beautiful daughter.

Like the sun, the star you see the most of often seems to shine the brightest. But, in a nebula, millions of stars are born and shine just as bright. Our students should see their own light as brightly as that of their idols.

Until next time, the soapbox is yours.

Connections

noreply@blogger.com (laura m.) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:54:00 +0000

Globaloria game design leads students to interact with big ideas. Here's an example from the blog of a 7th grader in East Austin:

If we stop caring and start damaging these coral reefs would just be a huge open space of land. The people in this movie think that these coral reefs could be endangered because of overfishing. Which means that if we could fish less we could stop damaging these coral reefs. I'm not saying that we should stop fishing but just fish less because that's how we are losing our fish living in the coral reefs. And not only are coral reefs beneficial to the fish and plants, but they are also beneficial to us. They are a lot like the rainforest this is also where we can also get our medicines from the coral reefs. So if these coral reefs are beneficial to us why shouldn't we care for it? Another way we can stop harming it is by not dumping stuff in the water anymore. Toxic waste kills the animals and kils the plants and it kills the whole coral reef. And as I say if we have no more coral reefs it will not be good for anybody. It kills the plants and kills all the other organisms and could also harm us.

Juan is thinking of a problem in the world, and begin to connect to possible solutions. He thinks about another ecosystem in trouble, the rainforest, and makes connections. The students in East Austin are just beginning to design games using these big ideas, and I will share more about the games here.

Creativity in the Globaloria Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (laura m.) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Recently in a sixth grade Globaloria class at East Austin College Prep Academy, I heard one student muse aloud ‘but how is that like a game?’ The students were doing some research about social issues, which are central to the Globaloria game concept process. He was reading about ocean pollution. It was interesting to him but it struck him that it was NOT fun in the way you might expect a game to be. That day, the student answered his own question with an idea, which quickly drew a comment from another student, who was a sudden collaborator. A spark caught and quickly led to the bright light of their discussion.

This excitement and spontaneous creativity is happening before with kids even begin to make their game. Students know there is a big difference in this class. I think most kids haven’t given the difference a name yet. To be sure, they know there is much more to come.

What sparks have you noticed in Globaloria classrooms?

Laura Minnigerode is research manager for Globaloria in Austin, Texas.

Eastern Greenbrier Middle School Students Recognized

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ann Beane, NBCT) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Two Eastern Greenbrier Middle School students were recognized for their Globaloria games they created in Mrs. Melanie Sheppard's class during the 2009-10 school year. Malachi received a laptop and Adobe Flash software for his grand prize game. His classmate, Ryan earned a digital video camera for his game.

Ryan (left) and Malachi(right) spoke to the audience in a crowded (standing room only) board room. They complemented their educator, Melanie Sheppard, for "making them work hard" and spoke quite eloquently about their Globaloria experience. Both students are in Jennifer Hayes' Globaloria class this year at EGMS.

So, the final awards have been presented...and the new school year is off to a fantastic start. I am looking forward to the new competitions added to the realm this year. Good luck to all Globaloria students (and their educators) in creating games this year.

Yours in Education,

Monica Beane

Sandy River Middle School Students Awarded Laptops

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ann Beane, NBCT) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Sandy River MS students, Kaitlyn and Billy, are all smiles with their laptops in hand at the McDowell County BOE meeting..also pictured are Ingrida Barker (Globaloria educator), McDowell County BOE members, and Superintendent Jim Brown.

Tuesday, I traveled to Welch, WV to present laptop computers to Sandy River Middle School students Kaitlyn and Billy. Their game entitled, "The Race to Justice" was selected as the winner of the first Civics Games Competition.

In front of a packed board room, Kaitlyn and Billy, members of the team "The Fox Racers," demonstrated their game and responded to questions from Superintendent Jim Brown and McDowell County Board of Education members.

I was very impressed with Kaitlyn and Billy's communication and presentation skills in such a crowded room full of high school students and adults. About 20 members of the Mt. View High School HISTA organization were in attendance as well. The look on their faces when Kaitlyn and Billy received their very own personal laptops was "PRICELESS"...and when I asked how many were interested in Globaloria, hands raised across the room.

The final presentation of laptops will take place next Tuesday in Greenbrier County...more blogging to come...

Monica Ann Beane, NBCT
WVDE

Raleigh County Students Awarded Laptops

noreply@blogger.com (Monica Ann Beane, NBCT) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Wow! It was very exciting to be part of a historic event for Globaloria in WV. Last night, David Lowenstein and I were privileged to present laptops to the winners of the first Globaloria STEM Games Competition. Madison Meadows and Celia Laverty, students in Mrs. Tracy Halsey's game design course, were presented personal laptops as their reward for designing the winning game in the competition that was chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller.

Being honored in front of the Raleigh County Board of Education allowed these students the opportunity to tell about their experiences with Globaloria as well as demonstrate their winning game to members of the board and others in attendance.

I look forward to co-presenting Malachi McCutcheon, a student in Greenbrier County with his laptop on September 14. Malachi's game "Math Runner" tied with Madison and Celia's game "WV Animal Rescue Squad" in this inagural competition.

2010-11 is going to be a great Globaloria year!

Yours in Education,

Monica Beane, NBCT

Sandy River Middle School Team on iCivics.org

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:51:00 +0000

"The Race to Justice", the winning game in the 1st Annual Globaloria Civics Games Competition is now featured on former Supreme Cour Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's iCivics.org. Click here to play.

Designed by Sandy River Middle School Team, The Fox Racers, this game teaches you about civic law in a fun game-play setting, where you have to race to the courthouse to argue your case.

The front page of the iCivics website reads,

Civics and the World Wide Workshop Foundation are proud to present The Race to Justice, a student-designed game about civil law. The Race to Justice is the Grand prize winner from the 1st Annual Globaloria Civics Games Competition. Game designers Kaitlyn and Billy are incoming 8th grade students from the Sandy River Middle School in Avondale, West Virginia. They came out on top in a field of 25 teams from middle and high schools across West Virginia who researched, designed and programmed their own original civics games, using the Globaloria platform and curriculum.

Congrats to our winners, and to all the competitors in a truly excellent field!

We second that congratulations! The bar is set mighty high for next years' Civics Games contestants. We can't wait to play them!

Starting the new school year off "the Globaloria Way"

noreply@blogger.com (David Lowenstein) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:33:00 +0000

As the 2010-2011 school year begins this month, 50 Globaloria educators throughout the state of West Virginia are delivering their content standards and objectives in highly innovative and engaging ways that students across the nation have been waiting for.

Globaloria educators and their classrooms are equipped with flip cams, laptops, web voice and video conferencing capabilities, and skills that were sharpened at Globaloria’s July and August Summer Academies at the West Virginia Center for Professional Development. The trainings at WVCPD, which were lead by World Wide Workshop staff and Globaloria mentor educators, provided both beginner and returning Globaloria educators with on-going teacher professional development to engage students in harnessing Web 2.0 tools to research, report out on, and produce digital artifacts that demonstrate subject mastery.

More than twelve hundred students in 41 West Virginia schools will participate in Globaloria this year. They will be taught by 50 education leaders who teach a plethora of different subjects in a variety of different settings. The diverse Globaloria-WV educator community consists of professors who teach game design courses at community colleges, educators who lead classrooms at alternative education centers, and teachers in WV public middle schools and high schools who lead classes ranging from Math, Drafting, Language Arts, and Digital Imaging, to Social Studies, Music, Biology, Chemistry, and Earth Science.

These diverse classrooms have a common--but significant-- link. They are all made up of West Virginia students who will be creating blogs on the subjects they are learning about, conducting on-line research, making multi-media presentations on their findings, producing educational video games, and creating wikis to collaborate, share code and work in teams with other Globaloria students from around the state, just as their educators did this summer. They will do things "the Globaloria Way."

By David Lowenstein, State Director, Globaloria-WV

Ripples and Stones

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:38:00 +0000

Throw a stone in a lake and watch the ripples as they spread out and eventually fade.

Take a moment this year to really look at what you have accomplished. When you look at your students' games in the Game Gallery, don't think about if they got as far as you wanted them to or how you are going to retool your approach for greater success. Think instead of the students' struggles at the beginning of the class. Don't look at the grade they received, see the creativity of their work and great effect you have had on every single student in your class.

Toss a stone in a lake and eventually the ripples will go away but the lake is forever changed by the presence of the stone. So no matter how great or little the change you saw in your student's work, your stone has caused a change that they will carry for the rest of their education.

Until next time, the soap box is yours.
-Bill

Introducing: Alessandro Le Porta, New Foundation Team Member

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:10:00 +0000

Greetings Globaloria Educators! I'm very excited to introduce Alessandro, the newest addition to our team here at the World Wide Workshop Foundation.

As has become a tradition, find below Alessandro's entrance interview:

Rachel: When did you join the World Wide Workshop?

Alessandro: I joined on March 1st, 2010.

R: What is your role here?

A: I am an Assistant Programs Coordinator, currently responsible for helping to update the Globaloria curriculum.

R: What are you most looking forward to in working with the Foundation and the Globaloria community?

A: Honestly, the project is so awesome and rewarding (and I myself don't have any one specific skill I tie myself to), so I love working on whatever needs to be done. If I have to choose, though, working on the way in which students will learn the material we present is really interesting to me, because it requires me to put myself in their shoes and analyze how people think. Thinking about the process of thought is something I have always enjoyed, and it's no different here.

R: That's a very "Globaloria" attitude! You're going to fit in here great! Where are you from?

A: Thanks! I already feel at home here.

R: Where are you from originally?

A: I am from the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, about five hours by car away from New York City.

R: What are your hobbies?

A: Listening to music of most types, playing video games, cooperative storytelling of all forms (story circles, tabletop RPGs, live-action roleplay, improv acting), martial arts (swordfighting, shotokan karate), dance (ballroom mostly).

R: A man of many talents! RPG games are definitely great examples of social gaming. What would you say is your favorite game?

A: Final Fantasy VI. It has a wonderful storyline full of excellent characters, is fun to play, and covered many adult and interesting topics long before video games were thought of as a medium where you could do that sort of thing. What is the most interesting thing about you?

R: What would you say is the most interesting thing about you?

A: I think in references. Whenever I learn a new thing or have a new experience, my mind joins nodes of thoughts together, building tons of connections in a graph that stretches out to all the concepts I've ever encountered. Because of this, I find little happy moments in all sorts of thoughts, simply because they connect me back to something I enjoy, even though perhaps the content of the two thoughts is completely different. It makes life incredibly interesting and full of wonder.

R: What message do you have for the Globaloria community?

A: I know it's crunch-time in your Globaloria classrooms, but from what I've seen, you guys are doing amazing work! Keep looking up! Globaloria--like life--is full of wonder and happy experiences, and if you keep yourself positive and keep an open mind, you'll do just fine. :-)

Adding Navigation in Flash

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:51:00 +0000

As you know, one of the most important elements of creating a functioning game is learning how to add navigation in Flash. To help you master this key skill, Meredith has made some great demo videos. You can find them listed in the Resource Bank on the Educator's Wiki and embedded here below:

Demo 1: Buttons and Button States (3:20)
Assignment: Create a button with three states: up, down, and over.

Demo 2: Create a Game Demo Skeleton with Three Scenes (5:22)
Assignment: Create a game skeleton with three scenes each on a different layer. Create a layer for labels, and put labels on the first frame of each scene. Create a layer for ActionScript and put stop();s on the last frame of each scene.

Demo 3: Add Buttons to the Game Skeleton (5:55)
Assignment: Add a play and an about button to the intro scene. Add "back to intro" buttons to the play scene and the about scene.

Thanks Meredith!

Looking Towards the Goal, Not the End

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Its official, we have hit the home-stretch towards summer. Sports are picking back up for some students, the weather is prompting outdoor thoughts, and everyone is starting to plan for vacation.

Teachers are no different.

As I have pointed out before, it's important to focus the process and not just the end result. We can't count our chickens before the hatch and we can't count our semester over until our students present. Check out the Globaloria format for evaluating presentations and this excellent example.

I like to think of this as a well written essay. You have to plan for your topic, decide what you are going to present to the audience, present that information, and then remind the audience what has been presented. Now is the time to prepare them for the "closing paragraph" of this great and wonderful essay we have been part of this year.

What are your goals for the students to close the year? What should be the focus of their presentations? How will your “essay” end?

The soapbox is yours,
Bill

What Adults can Learn from Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:13:00 +0000

Listen to this remarkable speech from 13-year-old writer and child prodigy, Adora Svitak.
She claims:

It shouldn't just be a teacher at the head of the classroom telling students do this, do that. The students Students should teach their teachers. Learning between grownups and kids should be reciprocal.

We couldn't agree more!

Out with the Old...

noreply@blogger.com (David Lowenstein) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:56:00 +0000

A recent study unveiled at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) annual conference in Washington, D.C. last month reveals what U.S. students like and want most when it comes to technology.

Julie Evans, CEO of the nonprofit group Project Tomorro w, discussed the latest findings from her organization’s annual Speak Up survey of students, parents, teachers, and school administrators.

The newest findings from the student data with most relevance to Globaloria is that students are extremely interested in replacing their traditional textbooks with what Evans defines as “a truly interactive learning experience.” According to the research, U.S. middle school and high school students want an online environment that includes educational games and simulations, as well as links to outside experts and web sites. Sound familiar? Can you say Globaloria?!

Project Tomorrow’s study reinforces the need for a program like Globaloria that transforms the static and stagnant classrooms that are failing to engage students in to the highly interactive and collaborative learning environments that students so deeply desire.

By David Lowenstein, State Director, Globaloria-WV

Goals for Q4

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:39:00 +0000

It's been incredible to see all the drive, enthusiasm and chutzpah the Globaloria Educator's community has been generating as we charge into our fourth (and final) quarter in year 3 of the Globaloria-WV pilot! Many of you have been posting your goals on your blogs, which is a great way to share ideas with your students and fellow educators.

I've pulled out some highlights, but I encourage you to explore all the educator's blogs to read about their ideas and share your own in their comment threads.

Jim Allder from GEHS writes,

Fact: We have had an incredible amount of snow.

Fact: The loss of literally weeks of school has given us a legitimate reason for being behind in our goals.

Fact: In the end, you can either have reasons or results.....Reasons don't count.

So, whenever we are in the classroom, or when we have the opportunities online, we must make the most of it.

Denise Stalnaker at RTC has set 3 goals for herself:

1. Improve my students' civic blog posts. I have been having my students do the post but not encouraging real thought into the process.

2. Help manage time. I would like to be able to work with my students to manage their time and production to get a good game sample completed.

3. Work on my own game. I started a game and I would like to get more of that game finished because as I work on it my Flash skills improve. This enables me to better help my students.

Kevin Warfield at GEHS has three goals of his own:

1) Blog more and try to promote more blogging outside of the classroom. At this stage of the class, I would like the students to blog about problems they are having or topics they would like to cover in class. This would allow me to have problem specific classes. 2) To guide my students to get their wikis in order and 3) to help my students gather there presentation materials and practice presenting in front of people.

Liz Daigle at GEHS reminds us,

In life, Timing is everything. Working to reach deadlines in the real world is hard and complicated and sometimes things happen (20 snowdays) that interfere with us accomplishing what we want. It can truly feel discouraging. But do we stop and give up because we have not made the progress we expected of ourselves? NO, NO, NO! It's time to rally the forces. Time to reassess the situation, adjust expectations, and maybe work overtime to reach our goal.

And Tracy Halsey from Liberty High School is raring to go!

Our class has been very busy trying to finish the team development topics by March 26, 2010. This date was selected as the deadline to ensure that we will have a full month to get our games assembled and in working condition by May 4th (our targeted date for presentations).

The closer to the deadline we get, the more excited I become! I am confident that one of our teams will win the STEM Competition! They have been working so hard and everything is really coming together.

Thanks to all of you for your dedication and enthusiasm! With this attitude, Q4 is going to be a crowing achievement.

Blogging to Combat a Callous World

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Dorsey) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Most of us have seen the news covering the beating a middle school girl received over a text message. If you haven't heard about this yet, see this article in The Miami Herald.

I was stunned that such a profound act of violence could be sparked by technology as impersonal as text messaging. Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti was quoted as saying, "It seems we have a culture of callousness with our kids." And I can understand why he would see it that way.

While technology certainly can be distancing, I see the formation of community through blogging as part of the solution. How can we in Globaloria use blogging as an interactive counter to the apparent social disconnect and anonymity afforded by text threats, cyberbullying, and the escalation that can follow? Let's help our students understand how to build virtual communities by teaching them skills as both bloggers and commenters. In Globaloria we have the chance to help students master and productively utilize the social tools they need to foster meaningful connections in their future.

What are your thoughts and ideas?

Now its your turn on the soapbox.

-Bill

Texting photo courtesy of Alton, Wikimedia