Growing Up Online

“Growing Up Online” is a documentary that take a look at how technology is effecting students in their social life and at school. While viewing the documentary your meet students, teachers and parents and her their perspective about the internet and how they feel on certain positions. Parents speak about their concerns about fears with independent usage from their children. Teachers share their views about how technology helps and can be challenging in regards to plagiarism and using online tools like cliff notes. The students, you will hear them be honest and why they believe independent use of the internet is important to them.


 1. A survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that in 2004, 67 percent of parents said the Internet has been a good thing for their children. However, this number decreased to 59 percent in 2006. In 2012, 69% of parents of online teens said they were concerned about how their child’s online activity might affect their future academic or employment opportunities, with some 44% being “very” concerned. Cite some reasons why parental support for their children’s independent internet use is decreasing. Why do you think the number of parents who reported the Internet being a good thing for their children has decreased?

 Parental support of their children’s’ independent internet use is decreasing because of the inappropriate relationships they can developed with strangers. Their children have access to the world without limits. Their parents aren’t as tech savoy as their children so they it’s difficult to when parents aren’t aware or know are a searching and exploring the internet, parents don’t have control of what their children do online. The fear of not knowing who their children are talking too and what their children are searching has made parents weary of allowing them to use the internet without supervision because they can allow predators into their world and not know it.

 2. More teachers are using tools to try to detect cheating or deter students’ inclination to cheat. In the program, we see the use of plagiarism-detection tools like Turnitin.com and writing assignments completed during class time to make sure students do their own work and generate their own ideas. How can we as educators stop students from using material they found online as their own work? Should that be considered cheating, in your opinion?

 I believe it’s nearly impossible to stop students from using material they found online as their own work. What we can do is put parameters in place and explain plagiarism. After you explain what plagiarism is, explain the severity and the consequences that will follow if a student uses it. Using online tools like turnitin.com can help assist with detecting plagiarism in student’s work.


 3. One student claims he "never reads books" but relies on summaries and annotated notes he finds on Web sites. He confesses that he feels guilty about this, stating, "I feel like I kind of cheated it." In your opinion, should he feel guilty? Why or why not?


 I don’t believe he should feel guilty because of mediums, like tablets, phones, gaming systems that have the students mind constantly stimulated. How can we expect students to focus on a difficult text like Hamlet, that requires time and in depth excruciated lessons. Not to say students are capable, instead teachers should try to create more meaningful assignments that are linked to the reading. Make the course interactive so they will want to read the text. As educators we have to adapted to the changing ways of technology.

 4. Before the Internet, in order to be seen by the world, you had to be portrayed in some form of mass media, and you had to be famous in some respect -- in the news, in politics or as a celebrity. Now anyone can be seen online by anyone else in the world. Some people have become famous for videos or photos they’ve posted (such as Autumn Edows).

 In your opinion, should people like Edows, or others who become “ famous” through their online presence, be considered “celebrities?” Has the ability to create an online persona, and receive worldwide attention for it, affected our cultural values? In my opinion, it doesn’t affect me that people become famous from their online presences. In most instances, their fame only last for a short time frame and then someone replaces them in the “spot light”. I do believe that it has affected our cultural values. We praise people for they physical attributes and care less about their personality or talents. I believe we miss out on meeting awesome people by being sallow and not taking the time out to get know someone.

 5. Shows like "To Catch a Predator" on Dateline NBC (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10912603/ns/dateline_nbc-to_catch_a_predator/) contribute to parental anxiety about online media. It is obvious that certain elements of programs like “To Catch a Predator,” and even this documentary, will likely increase parents’ fears. Cite one current event from the past year where a young person has been affected (positively or negatively) by being active online. (find a link to a news story, describe it in your answer to this question, and provide the link as well). Click here to see an example of what I’m looking for: http://www.startribune.com/nation/254228371.html (Please do some research on your own and find a story other than Rebecca Sedwick's...her story is probably the most famous cyberbullying case to date.)

 Lizzie Velasqueez story could’ve easily been a tragic story but it turned out to have a very pleasant ending. She saw a YouTube video showcasing herself as the ugliest person in the world. She did something very courageous, she started her own YouTube channel to fight against cyberbullying. From seeing herself in that video, it empowered her to take action and be an advocate. Millions rallied behind to show their support in her movement. By Velasqueez remaining positive her reaction in return helped others to remain self-confident no matter what someone says about them. 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cyberbullying-turned-worlds-ugliest-woman-lizzie-velasquez-into-antibullying-hero-1491929

 6. Teasing, lying, gossiping, threatening, spreading rumors or harassing online (and offline)can severely affect people’s self-concept and self-esteem and have an impact on their emotional state. In the program, we see one girl who describes flirting with boys and then revealing she was just kidding. She explains: "You wouldn’t do that to someone’s face, but online is completely different. ... No one can do anything. You’re at your house, they’re e at their house." In her quote, this teen is describing Suler’s disinhibition effects. Which one do you think it is, and why?

 In my opinion, her quote best relates to You Don't Know Me (dissociative anonymity) of Suler’s disinhibition effects. Her actions don’t affect anyone and if it does them isn’t any consequences to her actions. Being anonymous and the person on the other side of the screen doesn’t know your true identity and are dis-attached these actions from their “real” lives. Her online persona allows her to behavior in ways that she normally wouldn’t if it was a face-face interaction.

 7. At the end of the program, Greg decides it’s time for him to "disconnect" by going to the Coast Guard Academy, where he will spend seven weeks without cell phones or the Internet. Have you ever thought about "disconnecting" from it all? Do you think it would be easy or difficult for you personally? What would you enjoy or dislike about disconnecting?

 No, I have never felt the need to “disconnect” from it all. Personally, I find it easy to get space and ground myself, when needed. My busy life-style prohibits me from viewing and being on social media often. When I need a “break”, I simply won’t log-on into social sites. I believe it’s helpful because its allow you to focus on life and have social interactions with your peers, face-face. I believe it’s needed to maintain healthy relationships and to stay in touch with reality.

Tech Tool Review

Pinterest in the Classroom

What I learned from this Pinterest activity is that there are a lot of resources for teachers to access. You just have to be willing and open to seek it! If you are struggling within your classroom, it’s a great place to grasp ideas and concepts and try to implement them within you own environment. I would encourage teachers to use Pinterest to help spark ideas and interest that their students my grasp too. Pinterest is a wealth of information which is a positive, but it can be difficult when trying filter your search for a particular topic or subject. The amount of information that populates you have to search through to see if it has validity or not. I love Pinterest and encourage all educators to browse through the topics.

Khan/Koller Review

When I first visited the Khan Academy website I couldn’t directly see myself using the tool but I would definitely have encouraged student who are having a difficult time or those who want to go ahead. It’s an awesome tool to get a clarity and practice. Working through the videos and website, I would say they were user friendly. If you didn’t understand how you to answer a question or why you may have gotten it wrong, it provided you with hints and explanation. I thought that was very helpful. I agree and disagree with Khan on the topic of “credentialing”. I agree with him because students are moving towards online course and they don’t have the access or financial   means to gain that from an institution like Yale, Harvard or Stanford. They are able to gain the same knowledge and, possibly, experience as someone who went to those institutions to fulfill the job requirement. I disagree with him because many people have attachments and still value the “credential”, (school the degree was earned), more important than the information that was obtained. So before this change can happen, as a culture we have to re-program the way we think.

 Teaching character and creative positive classrooms and children acquiring literacy naturally are two courses that I would be interested in taking. It is unclear it Columbus States accepts Coursera as transfer credits. You would have to submit a transcript   to your academic advisor to see if the courses are compatible to the ones offer at CSCC. It appears the course I was interested in were more interesting and that could be because of the instructors. These instructors have opened successful schools, wrote novels and essays on education. Who wouldn’t want to get a firsthand experience to help build your teacher pedagogy!  I think MOOC’s can be the “wave of the future”. More and more people are turning to free resources to gain more knowledge. Coursera can be completed no matter where in the world you reside. As long as you have access to a computer and the internet you can access the information you desire! I believe this will change the way that we receive our education by experiencing theses MOOC, simultaneously, taking classes in a traditional setting. This will help eliminate debt, while learning from some of the top educators in the world.