Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Ghost Apps

This is a re-post of the "Tech" It Out email I sent on December 2, 2015 about ghost apps. This is a great example of why it is so important for parents and teachers to stay current on the technology our children and students use. If we don't stay current, we put kids at risk because we don;t know what the trends or popular apps are.

I did a blurb on photo vault apps for a Thursday note earlier this year, but I thought I'd share the information with you, too, especially when there are times where kids can be observed using their phones (sometimes in a class, after a practice, at a school sporting or social event, etc).

Photo vault apps (sometimes called ghost apps) have the appearance of being a "nice" app, very often it can look like a calculator app. When you tap on the app to open it, it looks like what it is supposed to be, but when a series of numbers is entered (AKA password), it reveals itself as a place to store photos. And the photos there are ones that kids usually don't want anyone (like mom or dad or school personnel) to see. Photo vault apps have made sexting much easier, sadly. If you remember the sexting scandal at a Colorado high school not long ago, a ghost app was at the center of that controversy.

Please continue to be as up-to-date as possible with the technology our students are using so we can watch for potential red flags. Please also know that the technology safety topic of sexting is addressed in CSD 17 in 6th and 8th grade (lessons on dangers of sexting are co-taught by Officer Lazzari from the Channahon Police department and me).

If you want to learn more about the sexting scandal in Colorado and the role that photo vault apps play in that unsafe behavior, check out this article:

SAMR -- What Does THAT Mean?

This is taken from the email I sent on December 16, 2015. It provides a nice overview of what SAMR is in a short video as well as give you some guiding questions to see where you are in the SAMR process. The great thing is that it doesn't matter where you are as long as you keep trying new things and move from the S to the A to the M to the R as time goes on!

http://moviecreedlive.com/entertainment/2667785-new-trailer-for-finding-dory-revealed-just-keep-on-swimming/

As we continue to move forward using technology in CSD 17, it's good to stop and check yourself -- where are you when it comes to using technology in your classroom? One way to think about this is by using the SAMR model. SAMR stands for

Substitution
Augmentation
Modification
Revision

Here is a link to an overview of SAMR as well as a really excellent 120 second video explaining SAMR with examples:

Here are some questions to guide you through your own self-evaluation:
  • Where am I?
  • Where do I want to end up?
  • What do I already know?
  • What do I still need to learn?
  • What resources do I already have?
  • What resources do I need?
  • What roadblocks are in my way?
  • What can I figure out on my own?
  • What can I ask for help with from my colleagues?
  • What can I learn from the students in my classroom?
It is natural to go through a progression of stages when it comes to using technology in your classroom. Take advantage of every resource you can find and just take the plunge! Risk can be scary, but there is great reward in risk, too!

The SAMR model can help you feel comfortable taking risks to transform the way you teach and how your kids learn :-)

Welcome to "Tech" It Out!

For the past three years in my role as Instructional Technology Resource Teacher, I have sent out a Wednesday email titled "Tech" It Out with helpful tips, interesting news, or useful tools -- at least I hope some of the things I've shared has been helpful, interesting, or useful :-) I have changed the format, though, and instead of an email every week titled "Tech" It Out, I thought I'd share a blog post every week.

Evert Wednesday, I'll post something new here. I will share the same kinds of things that you have seen in my past emails. I encourage you to add your email address to the box on the right -- by doing that, whenever I post something new, you'll get an email notifying you I made a new blog post. I will also share my post each week via Twitter, so you can find it there, too. Additionally, you might find these items cross posted to my Google Classroom.

I have also saved many of the previous emails I've sent out previously, so I will peruse those and re-post any of the ones I think are particularly useful right here on the blog.

I hope you will add your email address to follow my blog, and I REALLY hope you'll share your comments!