Serving youth and teens in a digital worldLIS 768

April 2010BORN DIGITAL

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So easy a 2-year old can do it! This video shows a young girl using an iPad http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT4EbM7dCMs

It seems like kids today are practically born knowing how to use the computer.

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Digital Natives

People born after 1980 are known as “Digital Natives”

They only know a world that is digital

First generation to live cradle to grave in the digital era

They spend a large amount of time using digital technologyThey are multitaskersThey don’t distinguish between their online and offline identities.

Digital Natives feel as comfortable in online spaces as they do in offline spaces

They use social networking

Digital Natives use digital technologies to express themselves and relate to others by using sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.

They use technology to express themselves creatively

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They use information as something to be downloaded and changed to fit their needs

Information can be changed

Education is key

More than ever, children need guidance and education from adults regarding how to function in this digital environment.

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How do we help them protect their digital identities and privacy?

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How do we keep them safe from cyberbullying and violence?

How do we keep them safe from cyberbullying and violence?

How do we help them learn about copyright and piracy?

How do we keep them from getting overwhelmed by too much information?

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How do we help young people navigate this digital world without getting lost in it?

What is a Digital Dossier?

Do your students

have one?

Your digital dossier is anything in a digital format regarding "you" -

a compilation of your digital tracks.

And YES, Your Students Have One!!

From the time a child of today is in their mother's womb their dossier has begun to form.

Not only has it formed, but they have no control over it. 

"Individuals are losing control of this information because the data-

collection practices of corporations, among others, are changing at a rate that is faster than the rate of change

for society's methods of protecting the data." (Palfrey & Gasser)

Digital dossiers contain not

only information

you  yourself have shared,

but information

others create about you as

well.

So what happens when our teens loose control of their dossiers? What happens to their identity? Can they damage their public persona for prospective colleges and

employers?

"Most young people are extremely likely to leave something behind in cyberspace that will become a lot like a tattoo - something connected to them

that they cannot get rid of later in life, even if they want to, without a great deal of difficulty."

(Palfrey & Gasser)

We must teach our teens the concept of this "digital tattoo.” That what you put online can be permanent and damaging.

It is our job, as educators and parents to teach our students about their dossier and protect them from the negative effects it can have on their identities.

We need to show them how to protect

themselves by protecting their

Due to the digital age, privacy may never be the same again

• No single solution to protect privacy

• Involves the efforts ofo Digital Nativeo Parents & Teacherso Companieso State & Government

agencies

Digital Natives must get smart about controlling what they can about themselves online.

In this period of transformation, parents and teachers need to

take on greater responsibility for helping Digital Natives make the right choices about their

privacy.

Today’s youth must also protect themselves from each other. Bullying has always been a issue faced by children and today’s online environment makes it even easier. And now kids must also face being

bullied anonymously.

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Cyberbullying has become a big issue for digital natives in recent years.

Cyberbullies use email, IM, texting, social networking sites and even online gaming to harass their victims.

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What is Cyberbullying?

Flaming

Harassment

Denigration

Impersonation

Outing & Trickery

Exclusion/ Ostracism

Cyberstalking

http://www.ua.edu/features/abcsofeducation/cyberbullying.html

Just one incident can have a lasting impact as the text or images get passed around over and over.

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Who is a Cyberbully?

4 types according to Parry Aftab:1. The Vengeful Angel2. The Power Hungry Bully3. Mean Girls (or Boys)4. The Inadvertent Cyberbully

Older girls are more likely to be cyberbullies and victims.

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Phoebe Prince

• Freshman at South Hadley High School in MA

• Moved to USA from Ireland summer/fall 2009

• Bullied at school and via texting and social networking sites after dating a popular boy

• Committed suicide January 14, 2010 (15 years old)

What Can Parents Do?

1Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Survey, 2006: http://fightcrime.org/state/2006/reports/cyberbullying-teen

Only 35% of teens told parents about cyberbullying1

51% of preteens told Look for victim warning signs:

Upset after being online or viewing a text message

Withdraws from social interaction with peers

Possible drop in academic performance Visibly upset/withdrawn after using the

computer

What Can Parents Do?

Kids worry they will be punished for being bullied

DON’T take away or restrict Internet privileges Next time something happens, you

probably won’t hear about it Be proactive! Educate!

What Can Parents Do?

Save the evidence: print or save IMs or websites

“Warn” or block bullies on IM software Report harassment to site creators

May violate TOS on MySpace, Facebook, etc.

Create guidelines for responsible use View your child’s profile occasionally

AOL Instant Messenger offers numerous privacy settings to help prevent unwanted contact.

Facebook’s Help Center helps users stay in control of privacy settings.

The Safety Center provides tips for parents, teens, educators, and even law enforcement. It also offers a

way to report abuse.

What About Schools?

Create awareness about cyberbullying Incorporate cyberbullying into school

policies Include protocols for reporting it Come up with a definition Talk about it in the classroom!

Conduct a needs assessment What’s happening with your students?

What About Schools?

What are the school’s legal obligations? Did the incident cause/threaten to cause

disruption at school? Did some bullying (traditional or not) take

place on school grounds? School counseling services are always

available

We may not be able to put a complete stop to bullying, but we can still teach them ways to cope

and how to control the situation

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Information Overload

In 2008, U.S. households consumed approximately 3.6 zettabytes of information.

Every year, the amount of digital information grows more rapidly than the year before.

How much information is too much?

Information overload occurs when the amount of information available exceeds a person’s ability to process it.

Digital Natives experience information overload.

They also contribute to it by the amount of information they produce.

A survey of elementary school students showed that at least 80 percent of fourth-grade and eighth-grade

students have experienced information overload.

Negative effects of information overload:

o Confusiono Frustrationo Angero Stresso Anxietyo Depressiono Low motivationo Panic

Digital communications and multitasking are convenient, but can strain family relationships if they undercut family time.

Kids learn better when they pay full attention to things they want to remember.

Too much information can make itdifficult for anyoneto make good decisions.

Digital Natives need to learn skills and gain tools that will help them cope with information overload.

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Search Engines Allow users to locate content based on self-

defined search terms Help determine relevance of information

without reading the whole page

RSS Feeds

Users subscribe to news, blogs, or social networking sites for updates all on one page

Eliminates need to continually check favorite sites for new information and updates

Recommendation Systems

Use collaborative filtering to recommend information based on previous selections

Save time because users don’t have to look through millions of options to find what they like

Filtering Spam filters in email,

within search engines, and within RSS readers help eliminate irrelevant or unwanted information

Saves user the time they’d have to spend going through things they don’t want or need to see

Tagging

Lets users put customized virtual labels on sites

Helps manage information and prevent overload by keeping information organized

Education is key in helping Digital Natives cope with information overload.

What can parents do to help?

Raise kids’ awareness of information overload so they can learn tools and strategies to avoid it

Help kids’ distinguish when multitasking might be harmful to learning

Pay attention to kids’ online behavior – talk to them about where they go and what they’re looking for

Lead by example: show how kids how you deal with information overload

What can educators do?

Raise awareness about overload among children and their parents

Teach tools and techniques to prevent overload as part of their classroom lessons

Teach students how to skim information and prioritize

Information overload is not the biggest problem Digital Natives will face, but it will be a persistent challenge throughout their lives.

The Internet can be a scary place but there are a lot of positive learning opportunities and chances to

connect in new ways.http://animoto.com/play/GZcVM79hhNYEjkVKDirGtw#

References “2 Students Reportedly Expelled From Mass. High School After Cyber Bullying Sucide.”

FOXNews.com 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. Bazelton, Emily. “Could Anyone Have Saved Phoebe Prince?” Slate. 8 Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Feb.

2010. Feinberg, Ted and Nicole Robey. “Cyberbullying.” Principal Leadership. 9.1 (2008): 10-14. “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds” by the Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2010.

www.kff.org/entmedia/8010.cfm

Ito, Mizuko. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2010.

Kowalski, Robin M., Susan P. Limber, and Patricia W. Agatston. Cyber Bullying. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2008.

Lynch, Donal. “Bullied to death.” Independent.ie 14 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. Palfrey, John and Urs Gasser. Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital

Natives. New York: Basic Books, 2008. “Social Media and Young Adults” by Amanda Lenhart, Kristen Purcell, Aaron Smith and Kathryn Zickuhr.

Pew Internet & American Life Project, 3 Feb. 2010. http://pewinternet.org/reports/2010/social-media-and-young-adults.aspx

Sutton, Susan. “School Solutions for Cyberbullying.” Principal Leadership. 9.6 (2009): 39-42. Tapscott, Don. Grown Up Digital. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Willard, Nancy. “Cyberbullying: Q&A with Nancy Willard.” The Prevention Researcher. 14,

supplement (2007): 13-15.