Nebraska Newsletter
Spring - 2015
Hello Nebraska Common Sense Media Educators -
It's Spring!! Okay - almost. Depending on which groundhog day you follow, it's either here or we have 3-4 more weeks. Let's hope "Stormy Marmot," who didn't see his shadow in Colorado, is right and Spring is on it's way!
Current Digital Trends
These trends have been identified by Dr. Elizabeth Englander from MARC (Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center):
1. Social Platforms are moving from text-based to picture-based, and from identifiable users to anonymity.
2. Sexting is widespread and more common than we think. In fact, sexting is considered the new 1st Base and often is unprosecuted. Intervention is now needed prior to high school.
3. If a student has a problem online, odds are it is local(someone they know, a peer). Additionally, the odds that any problem students encounter doesn't involve digital interaction is extremely small.
Check out our edWeb webinar that Dr. Englander presented: https://vimeo.com/edweb/review/112866930/0b9c77688e.
Be sure to join our edWeb community to keep up-to-date on all our webinars, and share and learn with educators from around the world.
Are You Certified Yet?
Nebraska had the second most Certified Digital Citizenship Educators in the 2013–2014 school year: a total of 43! Only California had higher numbers. Don't forget it's an annual application, so you need to apply this school year. Only 22 educators have been certfied to date, although chances are many of you have delivered Common Sense Digital Citizenship lessons and meet the criteria for certification (teach five lessons or Digital Passport to a single class). It only takes 10–15 minutes to complete the application.
The Digital Citizenship Certification Program is a simple way to create lasting wins for yourself, your school, and your community. Becoming a Digital Citizenship Certified Educator or School lets you demonstrate leadership and show the proactive approach you or your school takes with digital-citizenship instruction.
Application for Digital Citizenship Certified Educator:
https://commonsensemedia.wufoo.com/forms/common-sense-digital-citizenship-cert-educator
Application for Digital Citizenship Certified School:
https://commonsensemedia.wufoo.com/forms/common-sense-digital-citizenship-certified-school
I can help you get the recognition you and your school deserve!
Email: jeremy.nielsen@ops.org
Website: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/certification
Twitter: @jnielsen
Nebraska Presentations & Workshops
We are looking forward to connecting with you at upcoming Spring conferences. See more details below!
Upcoming 2015 Presentations:
NETA 2015 - 2 Sessions
1. Digital Citizenship In the Classroom - Digital Citizenship Strand,
4/23/15, 3:30-4:15, Rm 211, CenturyLink Center
2. Evaluating Digital Tools - Poster/Playground Session
4/23/15, 1:30pm, Ballroom B, Century Link Center
Look for future sessions as Common Sense Education is submitting proposals to various summer ESU Tech Fairs.
Thanks to Our Partners for Hosting these 2015 Workshops!:
ESU 10 - January 13, 2015 - DigCit / Ed-Tech Workshop
ESU 6 - February 24, 2015 - DigCit / Ed-Tech Workshop
Schools, Districts, Administrators - Strategic Planning
Connect with me if your School, District, or ESU would like to explore professional development workshops. Let Common Sense Education help you with planning Digital Citizenship Implementation to ensure students can harness the power of technology while avoiding the perils.
Email: jeremy.nielsen@ops.org
Website: www.commonsensemedia.org
Twitter: @jnielsen
Graphite
Looking for great apps, websites, and digital games? Check out graphite, Common Sense Education's platform that makes it easy for educators to find the best apps, websites, and digital games for the classroom. Check out our new Graphite "EdTech Quick Take on Student-Response Tools" video - think formative assessments!
For more tools and Top Picks lists for elementary, middle school, and high school, visit www.graphite.org.