Before releasing its report on online conflict, MediaSmarts presented a much broader picture of young Canadians' experiences in social media: "Life Online." This is important context for any discussion about cyberbullying and other negative aspects of digitally informed life, whether we're setting policy at the household, school or national levels. "There are a lot of assumptions out there … [Read more...] about Social media reality check from Canadian youth: Key study
Major study of teen online conflict in Canada, insights for all of us
Though "cyberbullying" is in the title, the just-released study from Canada's premier digital and media literacy organization, MediaSmarts, is about far more than that. The study offers a wide range of insights from young people themselves on the full spectrum of negative behaviors that turn up in digital media, including meanness, gossip-spreading, acting out of anger, "drama," threats and what's … [Read more...] about Major study of teen online conflict in Canada, insights for all of us
A teacher on what teaching in Minecraft looks like
No need to leave connected learning to the imagination. Well, sort of – plenty is left to students' imaginations! Teacher Jacqui Murray in southern California spells out in a blog post exactly how she uses Minecraft for students to work on reading comprehension, writing and problem-solving. She agrees with New Jersey K-8 teacher Marianne Malmstrom on what makes Minecraft so great for learning: … [Read more...] about A teacher on what teaching in Minecraft looks like
‘The gold’ of connected learning, innovation worldwide: The learners
You know that maxim that "necessity is the mother invention" (it goes back at least to 16th-century England, according to Phrases.co.uk). Well, South African journalist Tony Shapshak recently showed in a TED Talk in Edinburgh how necessity is the mother of (tech) innovation, and that innovation is certainly not just happening in Silicon Valley, Bangalore, or the Zhongguancun part of Beijing, but … [Read more...] about ‘The gold’ of connected learning, innovation worldwide: The learners
Significant safety changes at Ask.fm
Though Americans represent the 2nd-biggest population on Latvia-based social media site Ask.fm, they also represent only 10% of the activity on the site. But all 105+ million users will benefit from new safety measures the service has put in place, one of them being a new Safety Center, which includes a page with a clear description of how the site works. Based on recommendations from a … [Read more...] about Significant safety changes at Ask.fm