Just what do children want to know about the internet?
A good way to discover their understandings is to have them write down:
To get them thinking or to perhaps answer some of their questions here is a great discussion starter video from Netsafe.
Click on the graphic below to take you directly to this source:
Ever wondered how to explain what the internet is to young children?
Here is a site that helps put that explanation simply enough for kids to comprehend.
Having an understanding of the internet is the first step to teaching research skills:
Click on the picture below to follow this useful link:
By Trevor Mackenzie
I have enjoyed reading this book immensely. It really empowers us as teachers to transform our classroom into an Inquiry Based Learning environment.
I particularly liked Trevor’s methodology into how you can start the process of Inquiry learning in your classroom. ‘Relationships first’. To do this he offers three goals to attain to transform students from passive learners to active learners.
Trevor embarks on his journey with ‘co – design learning’, teacher and students together. This gives the students an opportunity of being part of what is taught in the curriculum. The students buy in and are fully engaged in collaborative lessons. This “trust and empowerment strengthens inquiry and builds community.”
Each year Trevor takes his students on an Inquiry Journey. He begins with a Structured Inquiry model, transitions to a Controlled Inquiry, moves into a Guided Inquiry and if it goes well concludes with a Free Inquiry model. I find this type of a journey invaluable especially if it’s the first time students are doing any type of inquiry learning. It would work extremely well for student differentiation. Over a number of years and experience it may be possible to use the four student inquiry models across different year levels. Trevor explains that the ‘must know’ information that is in the curriculum is woven in as the year progresses and must be taught in advance to free Inquiry.
Trevor explains the purpose of taking the students on this Inquiry journey is to give them the learning experience so by the time they do “Free Inquiry they have been reflecting on essential questions, learning evidence, conducting research and understanding by design so they will be prepared for the challenge of free inquiry.”
These are the types of Student Inquiry.
Structured Inquiry – Students follow the lead of the teacher as the entire class engages in one inquiry together.
Controlled Inquiry – Teacher chooses topics and identifies the resources students will use to answer questions.
Guided Inquiry – Teacher chooses topics / questions and students design a product or solution ( addit – any project)
Free Inquiry – Students choose their topics without reference to any prescribed outcome.
Trevor gives some examples of lessons where each of the above are used. He structures his lessons with four main headings. I really like this simple uncomplicated lesson structure for the students and if it was used across all year levels the students would easily recognise it, understand and move quickly into their tasks.
The headings are:
Essential Questions
Resources
Learning Evidence
Performance Task
Free Inquiry
Trevor gives 4 pieces of advice when planning an Inquiry Unit of your own.
Trevor offers Four Pillars of Inquiry for students to use in the Inquiry process. He believes that by “empowering students in the direction of their education, we are nurturing an intrinsic motivation with awesome benefits.” I totally agree with this concept and can see the following pillars really engaging students in their learning.
Here are his four pillars of Inquiry.
Explore a Passion
Aim for a Goal
Delve into your Curiosities
Take on a New Challenge
The book goes into each of these pillars in more depth with examples, prompts, questions and ideas for teaching. What is particularly inspiring are the QR codes found throughout the book which take you to various examples of student work. Just a wonderful way to bring to life some of Trevor’s pillars of Inquiry. After students have worked out which pillar they will be focusing on Trevor introduces the Essential Question.
The Essential Questions
By this stage, students have an inquiry topic they would like to spend time researching and will then need to change the inquiry into essential questions.
To help students formulate the essential questions Trevor offers these steps:
Trevor goes into detail discussing what the characteristics of a good essential question are. His big main three characteristics are:
Once the students have their essential questions Trevor offers 6 parts to planning the Inquiry Proposal.
These are:
What an exciting Inquiry journey to take your students on.
Thank you, Trevor for your passion for teaching, kindness to share your experience and willingness to mentor other teachers so see our students succeed in life. I fully recommend this book to read. Gather the details, grab the excitement and begin the journey of Inquiry with your students.
Judy Clark
Primary IT Coordinator / Design Technology Teacher
King’s Christian College, Gold Coast Australia
Had to share this book…
Susan Greenfield CBE is a Senior research Fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford University with various roles as scientist, writer, broadcaster and cross bench member of the House of Lords. In 2009 she engaged in a debate in the House of Lords on the regulation of websites , ‘particularly in regard to children’s well being and safety’ (Greenfield, S. (2014). Mind Change. London: Penguin Random House, preface xi.). She warns of:
What about the use of technology in the classroom???
“So the greatest promise of digital devices lies not so much in the software and screen delivery themselves, but in there use in close connection with teachers‘ efforts” (Greenfield, p239). We are the catalysts that will ensure the responsible integration of ICT into the next generation – a big responsibility….
Robert Marzano suggests using these 8 Strategies when teaching a new concept. We have used these strategies to demonstrate how to teach the meaning of a word commonly used in early research projects: compare.
1 A Clear Lesson Focus
State what you want the children to learn. Share the learning intention by writing it on the board. For example: “We are learning the meaning of the word compare“
2 Overt Instruction
Specifically teach what a word means by giving examples and non-examples. For example: Look at two pictures – a penguin and a seagull. Discuss what is the same and different about these two animals. List the features under the headings ‘Same/Different’. Explain that when we look at what is the same or different about two items we are comparing.
3 Engage Students with the Content
Link current learning to prior knowledge. Recall what they have learned , have them write down their learnings and provide graphic organisers to reinforce their learning and recall. For example: I am comparing …. and …., What I know about penguins…. What I know about seagulls….
4 Feedback to Students
Give immediate feedback about what is right and wrong and why. As the students become involved in the the discussion use the words, “Yes good work Jasmine, you have told us how the penguin is the same as the seagull because they both have two feet. You are comparing.”
5 Provide Multiple Exposures
Use John Hattie’s idea of ‘rehearsal and review’ – go over the terms until remembered and regularly recall learnings. Continue to use the term ‘compare‘ throughout the coming weeks, rehearse it’s definition and ask for examples.
6 Apply Knowledge
Set research questions for the class using the terms they have learned. For example: Compare these pictures (provide a picture of a baby and a small child). Provide a table to record the findings with ‘Same’ and ‘Different’ headings.
7 Cooperative Learning
Prepare carefully structured activities for small mixed ability groups. Make the group’s success dependent on every student contributing to the activity. Provide discussion prompts and questions to encourage conversations. For example: What is the difference between …. and …. ? Compare. Teach skills such as turn taking, valuing all contributions, recording and presenting findings.
8 Build Self Efficacy in your Students
Give genuine praise for achievements by referring to the students accomplishments; this builds self belief in or his/her ability to complete a task. Give genuine praise for accomplishments, for example: “From what you have told me I can see that you really understand how to compare two things, well done”. A child’s belief in their own ability can also be enhanced by encouraging them to share what they have learnt, for example:” Jasmine I heard you explaining to Peter what compare meant. What did you say to him, can you tell us please? This also allows the other children to listen to the explanation in ‘child speak’.
For more information on these strategies please see the link below
Research Terminology
It is our responsibility, as teachers, to ensure that research questions are presented in a format that is easily understood by children. Students in the early years of school are usually confident in their own abilities, or may be too timid to admit when they cannot understand what a question is asking. Because of this, they may waste valuable research time pursuing the wrong information. To avoid this happening a concerted effort should be made to progressively introduce research vocabulary in the primary school years.
With this in mind we have created a series of posters, with age appropriate terminology, to assist teachers in delivering content and act as an anchor chart to be displayed in the classroom. The words displayed on the posters have been taken directly from each Year Level in the Australian Curriculum.
Year 2
Year 2 Research Terminology Poster B – aligned to Australian National Curriculum
Click on the link above to download the free PDF of the poster.
Year 2 Research Terminology Poster A – aligned to Australian National Curriculum
Click on the link above to download the free PDF of the poster.
Year 1
Year 1 Research Terminology Poster – aligned to Australian National Curriculum
Click on the link above to download the free PDF of the poster.
Foundation/ Kindergarten
Foundation Research Terminology Poster – – aligned to Australian National Curriculum
Click on the link above to download the free PDF of the poster
An anchor chart to remind your students how keep safe while using technology.
Click on the link above to download the free PDF of the poster.
More ideas for ‘Safe Searching’ discussions
The Symantec Connect Website offers 10 Safe Surfing Tips.
Exciting though all this may be….before launching into their first search on the internet, it is a good idea to ensure that children understand the risks associated with technology. ‘Think u Know‘ has made available a home contract to encourage discussion and the formation of family values, both necessary for safe surfing. Find the free download on their site. Love this!
Some safe browsers for use in the classroom:
Zoodles is a great browser for children. A place were children learn and play in a safe playground browser environment. There is a premium version of the application ($7.95 per month or $59.95 per year) that offers parents access to special features, including the ability to monitor kids’ activities, block ads, and customize content. Parents can try out the premium version free for 14 days. ( Commonsense Media)
Kido’z is a kid friendly browser that gives children a safe environment to learn , explore, create and communicate.
Safe Browser for Education with Parental Controls and Porn Blocking.
This app is ranked as the number 1 for safe browsing on iPads. It has a cost of $4.99US. It is recommended for home and school use.
By MetaCert
‘KidRex is a kid safe search engine powered by Google Safe Search and Google Custom Search. This is a great tool to implement in the classroom, especially for research type assignments’. Images appear with the search results making this user friendly for less able readers, English as a second language or students in the lower grades.
Really impressed with the 2016 update of Kid’s Search. It is crisp, clean and the visual icons for References, Education, Recreation, Tools, Web, Pictures, Videos, Games and More make searching a breeze. The games section of the site, however, still appears to be under construction. Scroll down the page to view the Web Safety tips – another great feature!
Kiddle has an appealing layout for younger children and is easy to use. Once again the search results contain pictures which assists those less able to locate information quickly.
This 20 yr old website, Childnet, offers a wealth of knowledge that has been divided into the following categories: Young people, Teachers and Professionals and Parents and Care Givers. I particularly like the list of conversation starters they have along with print out family agreement contracts to be found under the Parents tab.
Edutopia is a website where you can search Core Strategies and Popular Topics, some of which are Digital Citizenship, Internet Safety, Cyberbullying and Digital Responsibility.
Common Sense Media is one our favourite websites as it rates and educates, apps, websites, TV shows, videos and more for kids, families, and schools. It offers programs, lessons, videos, PDF’s, webinars posters and lots more. A brilliant resource website.
iKeepsake, is a website supported by GOOGLE that has good resources. We like their take on Digital Citizenship. The3 C’s :- Appropriate Contact, Appropriate Content and Appropriate Conduct. The website has a good guide to Facebook for parents.
Cyberwise Website gives online safety education for both parents and teachers. We love their opening video talking to parents about the change in current technology. They give three straight forward tips to parents – 1. Talk to your kids. 2. Be a good role model and 3. Make sure kids are learning Digital Citizenship. Cyber Civics emphasises “critical thinking, ethical discussion and decision making about digital media issues… all through role-play, hands-on projects, and problem solving tasks.” They also offer paid courses for adults and paid Cyber civic courses for education.
South West Grid for Learning Digital Literacy is a UK based education site that has produced schemes of learning for all primary year groups. We can’t speak highly enough of this find! Here is a summary taken from the site to provide you with an idea of the wealth of resources found there.
‘These schemes of learning:
The swgfl provides free downloadable PDFs of lesson plans, and curriculum overviews, for each year level with well thought out ideas and interesting content. Check it out, it’s worth a look!
KidSmart has a number of resources for teachers, the best being two downloadable story books that are appropriate for use with younger children. These books are accompanied by lesson plans and chat questions. They also have a tips page for parents with ideas to support safe responsible use of phones and internet enabled devices, and suggestions for setting up parental controls on gaming devices. How often do you hear a parent say at an interview, “I just can’t get him/her off the computer, help!!” Now when this happens, you know where to refer these parents … 🙂
Looking for multimedia resources to enhance your cyber safety lessons? UK Safer Internet Centre has a number of videos at your disposal!
This site provides all the information you will need to qualify as an eSmart school. The site defines eSmart as ‘a school where the smart, safe and responsible use of information and communications technology is a cultural norm’.
Cybersmart is an Australian Government initiative from the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner. This Government site assists both teachers and parents in educating responsible digital citizens. It has a number of lesson plans, games, achievement certificates and quizzes along with advice for parents.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship is the responsible and appropriate use of technology. It is a topic which is widely discussed in schools from Prep through to Year 12. Our children are growing up in a digital world and need to learn how to make the correct choices about their contribution to online content. They are given devices that give them online access at a very early age. Education is crucial.
Digital Integrity
Digital Integrity is one area that requires focused, teaching. Our definition of Digital Integrity, is always doing the right thing all the time online, even though no one is watching you. It brings to mind morals and character as well as good citizenship. Integrity requires strength of character but can also be taught through encouragement and reward by supportive parents.
Digital Identity
From a young age it is important to teach children about their digital footprint and the importance of maintaining a positive Digital Identity at all times. Schools are joining up and becoming eSmart schools. They are intentionally building a community that teaches students to have a positive digital footprint, or identity, that supports their future job applications and interviews. It is important to teach responsible online behavior early so it becomes part of normal behavior.
Family Involvement
Partnership between school and home need to be very close. It is the overall responsibility of a parent to maintain a close involvement in their child’s digital world. Although children learn, and use technology at school, and in most cases are given devices by schools, it remains to be said that it is still the parent’s responsibility to oversee the use of that device. Parents often blame schools for the over use and incorrect use of technology, when it is their responsibility to police the device and exercise parenting skills in the home environment. Parents need to have family discussions around the boundaries and use of their child’s technology, as they would a new bike or skateboard on a busy road.
Some questions may be:
Global Community
Education is no longer confined to the classroom. The internet and social media has brought the world closer with exciting educational experiences and immediate interactions with others, be they be in the next state or on the other side of the globe.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is where someone uses the internet to bully someone. It may be in the form of text or images and often on social media or via email. The person bullying often posts anonymously and are mostly cowards. Sadly the victim may not be aware that they are being talked about on social media which may be seen or read globally. Commonsense Website have a great “Nearpod” Curriculum which is target to year 5 students upwards.
Copyright
“A simple definition of copyright is that it is a bunch of rights in certain creative works such as text, artistic works, music, computer programs, sound recordings and films. The rights are granted exclusively to the copyright owner to reproduce the material, and for some material, the right to perform or show the work to the public. Copyright owners can prevent others from reproducing or communicating their work without their permission or may sell these rights to someone else. ” (Smartcopying website) The Smartcopying website has numerous PDF downloads and clear concise information for schools regarding copyright.
It’s 2014 and two teachers are desperately trying to integrate ICT into the Science curriculum. This is when the realisation began to hit that there was no easy way for teachers to structure the safe usage of ICT in research. Thus began our Learning Safari.
To help you avoid the same frustration we experienced we’ve decided to share this journey. Please feel free to add your experiences via the comments.
Julie n Judy
