Charlie Brown on Digital Citizenship

Poor Charlie Brown doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Generations have coined him as just a blockhead, but to me, he has always been so much more than just the underdog. Charlie Brown is my hero.

I would pick Charlie Brown as my 12th player a million times over any MVP.  He is the student I’d want in my classroom and the friend I’d want by my side every day of the week. Why? He is kind all the time, he’s principled and doesn’t just follow the crowd, he’s a problem solver and regardless of how many times he might come up short, he never, ever gives up.

Which begs the question: How would Charlie Brown be in the 21st century? What would happen if Charlie Brown had a device and was on social media? Charlie Brown would be exactly the same online as he is offline.

Charlie Brown is the model digital citizen.

Here’s the ultimate Charlie Brown lessons on digital citizenship:

Choose kind, every time. Regardless if Charlie Brown is on the baseball field, at school or directing a play, he is kind to everyone he meets. If Charlie Brown was online he would be part of the solution and not part of the problem. If he saw something mean or humiliating, he would not retweet or repost it. Just like Charlie Brown fills other people’s buckets with kindness, he’d fill their cyber buckets too.

Focus on your character. What you do when you think others are watching you is all about your reputation. What you do when you think nobody’s watching you is all about your character. Just like Charlie Brown, don’t just follow the crowd. Focus on your character. Don’t just do something because everyone is doing it. Instead, be more like Charlie Brown. Be loyal and consistent and regardless if you are on an anonymous site or you think your SnapChat will disappear, be socially responsible all the time.  

Solve problems, create solutions. In 2016, Charlie Brown would be a MakerEd maker, a TEDxYouth speaker, and a Genius Hour genius. He’d make guest appearances on a KidPresident video because just like solving problems offline, he’d be busy connecting and collaborating with a global network to make the world better.

Committed to changing his own community for the better, Charlie Brown not only reminds us all the about the true meaning of Christmas, he reminds us all what it means to be part of the human race.

Charlie Brown with digital access would change global communities using a variety of social media tools and if I were Charlie Brown’s teacher, I’d use #BeMoreLikeCharlieBrown as our class hashtag (or maybe I’d shorten it to #BMLCB).

Never, ever give up. This is Charlie Brown’s mantra. Although Lucy always moves the football the second he is about to kick it, Charlie Brown never gives up hope that he’ll get to kick the football. Every single time, he backs up and charges the football with such focus and clarity. Every time he approaches that football he believes that this is the time he’ll kick it.

Charlie Brown would most definitely apply this approach to being online and he would work on that blog post or that coding assignment until he had it just right. Just like students who understand the power of social media, Charlie Brown would constantly work on his online identity. He’d build up his digital portfolio and would stand out from his peers because he understands the importance of transparency and the need to humanize the person next to you, as well as across the screen.

So, the next time someone says, “Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest,” know that you just received the highest digital citizenship stamp of approval you could ever possibly receive.

Now go out there and be more like Charlie Brown.

In Gratitude

I have always been a team player.  I have zero athletic ability, but I was born to be on a team.

When it came to kids picking teams, I was always the last kid picked.  I know I was the last pick when it came to my coaches too.  But, that didn’t stop me.  What I lacked in athletic ability, I made up for in spirit and attitude.  I knew at an early age what a privilege it was to be part of a team.

I loved going to practice, wearing the team uniform, working hard and giving it everything I had.  I loved the camaraderie, the laughs and inside jokes between teammates.  As a substitute player, I saw very little playing time, but that didn’t matter because my role on the team was on the sidelines.  In fact, that’s where I developed my leadership skills and I thank every coach I’ve ever had for bringing out the very best in me.

On the sidelines, I learned that every member of the team is invaluable from the MVP to the 12th player.  I also learned to recognize, appreciate and acknowledge the gifts and talents of each individual player.

This past weekend, my son’s hockey team placed 2nd out of 66 teams in the state.  In the stands, I had time to reflect on the importance of being part of a team.  Not only am I grateful as a player, I am grateful as a parent.  Coaches volunteer their time, talent and passion in order to build confidence and leadership skills for life.  What you learn from a coach defines you for life —  your work ethic, attitude, sacrifice, dedication, commitment, and perseverance.

In gratitude, I want to thank coaches everywhere — especially my soccer coach, Mr. Mac, for inspiring me my entire life.  What I learned on your field, I have brought into my classroom and my profession.

For my son’s hockey coaches, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege to be a parent in the stands all season.  I loved watching you build a foundation for life for each of your players  — it is a testimony to your character and has not gone unnoticed.

As I said before every practice and game, “I’ll give you everything I have, coach.”  What a gift to have learned this lesson early in life and to have the opportunity to watch my son learn the same lessons.

 

 

A letter to my son on Father’s Day

This post was published in 2011, but when I went to look for it today — it was gone. How did I accidentally delete it? Thanks to some really incredible tech support, I was able to salvage it by copying and pasting the original.

So, although it is not Father’s Day, it is the perfect time to be reflective and to give thanks.

The Original Letter
One day you will be a Dad.  This letter is meant to be read when you are celebrating your first Father’s Day.  You’ll have a life full of wonderful opportunities to learn firsthand from your own Dad what it means to be a committed husband, father and family man and for this I’m so very grateful.

But today, I’m going to take a moment to share some lessons from your Granddad, my father that you never met and only know through pictures and stories. Your Granddad’s life was all about teaching love in subtle ways, in bold ways. Nothing was an inconvenience. In fact, he would always say, “If there’s love, there’s no burden. If there’s a burden, it’s loved.” Granddad loved with all of his being. Nothing was more important than family to Granddad. Nothing.

There is nothing quite like a father/daughter relationship and my hope is that you will experience it one day. One day, I hope you get to hold your daughter in your arms and know exactly why I’m sharing my hope and wishes with you today.

My hopes for you…

• You get to say prayers by your daughter’s bedside (even when she’s in her late 20′s).
• Your daughter wears your shoes around the house when she’s little and waits for you at the front door until you come home. And later in her life, she wears your top coat when she’s in college.
• You dance with your daughter all the time and she looks forward to more dances.
• You make up lyrics to songs and sing all the time and make sure you sing Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra when she’s a baby; it will always be her favorite lullaby (I sang it to you).
• You learn the craft of storytelling and weave the very best stories EVER. She’ll remember every good night story and wish she could hear the story of the Little Match Girl one more time.
• Bring her to Fenway Park often and she’ll know all about tradition, loyalty and magic her entire life.
• Recognize abilities not disabilities within people. Play Santa for children with severe special needs and bring her with you because she’ll witness respect and empathy firsthand.
• Drive her and her friends any and everywhere and wait patiently when she is the last one to leave the school dance and never complain.
• Write her handwritten notes and letters everyday because she’ll save them all 
• Intimidate boys when they start calling and coming over to your house. Grill them, judge their handshakes and ask them what DNA stands for while you walk them to the car. As they drive away, write down the license plate and point to your watch as a reminder of her curfew. She’ll appear embarrassed, but deep down she’ll love it and be so proud that you are her Dad!
• Drive in snowstorms and blizzards – do whatever it takes to follow through on your word. If you say you’re going to be there, be there. She’ll remember that you never missed anything important in her life and that you were always there.
• Model what it means to love her mother because years later she’ll realize how much that meant when she becomes a mother.
• Character is what you do when no one is looking. Reputation is what you do when people are watching. Focus on your character.
• Live your life with respect and integrity because your daughter will notice.
• And most importantly, love with all of your being.

My wish-list for you could go on and on. Just remember to see the best in people, take in stray animals, make time for those you love, always be a good listener, have an infectious laugh, be loyal and true and always help those in need because she will notice and cherish every moment with you. I learned so much from my Dad and miss him every single day, but he lives on through me and now through you.  Passing on his love and legacy to you is one of the best gifts I could give you.

 

How did you celebrate #DigCitWeek?

How did you celebrate #DigCitWeek? In many ways, it was just like every other week for me since I am committed to embedding digital citizenship into everything I do and teach.

Some of my highlights included collaborating with my dear friend and colleague, Justin McGlamery on an activity that required no devices. Focusing on real face time (not virtual FaceTime), our two classes posted their status updates on sticky notes and placed them on their own personal “wall” — partners read the status out loud and responded with a different colored sticky note.  The students rotated and mingled with each other as the lesson highlighted, “If you can’t say it to my face — don’t say it on my wall.”  Powerful lesson that has had me thinking all week about how we need to help our students learn how to humanize the person next to them, as well as across the screen.

I had the privilege to guest moderate #pisdedchat this week. Best part? Talking digital citizenship with some really passionate educators! The hour flew by and my wheels are still spinning with ideas for future collaborative #digcit projects! If you missed the chat, here’s the archive.

I also hosted a webinar through ISTE — Student Voice in Digital Citizenship: A Project Based Learning Approach. I shared the collaborative project, iCitizen Project that really launched me into ensuring that student voice is leading the way when it comes to digital citizenship. I also shared high school senior, Timmy Sullivan’s presentation from the 1st National Digital Citizenship Summit and was ecstatic to hear how many ISTE members want to bring the Summit to their state and communities! (We are busy working on our 2016 location for our 2nd Annual National Digital Citizenship Summit now and hope to make an official announcement in a few weeks).

Another highlight was when my #FYS15 students met our middle school mentees from Grace Academy in Hartford. Both classes read Wonder by R.J. Palacio and will be creating Public Service Announcements on empathy and kindness this semester.

I can only hope that #DigCitWeek has inspired others to keep the momentum going. Our students need us to create space for them to explore citizenship in a digital age.

—-

*Loved following Lady Gaga and#EmotionRevolution today and I want to continue exploring #KinderBraverSchools #YouAreFlawless in my #FYS15 course next week!

 

Students are the Solution at #DigCitSummit

 

#digcitsummit student speaker Timmy Sullivan

As I reflect on the 1st Digital Citizenship Summit this past weekend, my heart is full.

My favorite part of the Summit was the presence and voice of students. The only permanent solution to changing school climate, addressing bullying/cyberbullying and learning how to humanize the person next to you, as well as across the screen is more student voice.

We need more students like Timmy Sullivan, our invited high school speaker from Burlington High School in Massachusetts. His session was packed as he shared the need for more student voice in personalizing learning. His impressive online presence is a reflection of both his choices and character which further exemplifies what it means to be the same person both on and offline.

How do we get more student voice in our classrooms?

1. We start early and often. We embed digital citizenship into everything we do both online and offline.
2. We model and teach empathy in everything we do, in every classroom, both in and out of the classroom.
3. We encourage our students to do digital citizenship – not just read or write about it.

Our students are the solution. Engage them in this critical conversation.

My son sharing closing remarks #digcitsummit

How will we get more students like Timmy Sullivan in our classrooms and in our communities? More student voice. We need to begin this conversation before devices are in the hands of our toddlers. We need to have our elementary aged students, like my son who joined me on stage for the closing remarks do digital citizenship and experience what empathy kindness and global collaboration looks like through projects like blogging, Global Read Aloud, Mystery Skype, etc.

If we start with our youngest learners, we will model best practices and will make digital citizenship a verb. As a result, we will help produce socially responsible, ethical and savvy students who think and act at a local, global and digital level simultaneously – like Timmy Sullivan and my son and all students – everywhere.

*A HUGE thank you to my current and former students who helped plan, volunteer and present at the Summit! You are why I do what I do! #FYS15 #ed536 #ed570

*Some of my other favorite examples of students “doing” digital citizenship: iCitizen Project and the iConstitution, for students by students.

Periscope + EdcampCT = Great Discussion on Social Media in Education with Special Guests Elephant and Piggie

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This week at EdcampCT, I had an opportunity to model the app Periscope with my colleague Judy Arzt. Periscope helps you explore the world through someone else’s eyes (and device). Judy and I decided to model the app during our session on social media in education. We had our live audience in Connecticut, as well as a global audience via Periscope.

When planning our Periscope, I decided to bring some of my Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems. I thought it was the perfect analogy for social media in our schools today. We all know the Piggie in our school. Piggie is the educator who is already on board and excited. Piggie in the educational world is definitely a connected educator (and an Edcamp groupie, for sure). Unfortunately, we all know Gerald the Elephant in our schools too. Gerald is fearful, full of gloom and doom and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Gerald is afraid of social media and is the educator who is not on board and is perhaps rolling their eyes as Piggie shares her excitement over all the awesome things she learned at EdcampCT. The good news is that Piggie, by the end of the story is always able to win Gerald over. It is my hope, that as we start this new school year, we are just like Piggie and win over all the Geralds in our schools and communities.

Since our session at Edcamp, I’ve been thinking a lot about Elephant and Piggie. For fun, I decided to write my own adaptation of Elephant and Piggie. My version is titled, We are Going 1:1! Social Media in Schools. The image is an original, so I would be following proper copyright (and modeling good digital citizenship too!)

Piggie: [Excitement in voice] We are going 1:1!
Elephant: [Panic in voice] WE ARE GOING 1:1?!?
Piggie: Yes Gerald, we are going 1:1! We are bringing social media into every classroom!
Elephant: [Confusion in voice] Piggie, what is 1:1?
Piggie: [Excitement in voice] 1:1 means that everyone has access! Everyone will be able to connect and collaborate with the world.
Elephant: [Panic in voice] The world?!? How will we keep all of our students safe if we don’t have blocks and bans in place?
Piggie: We’ll embed digital citizenship into the curriculum!
Elephant: [Confusion in voice] What’s digital citizenship?
Piggie: Digital citizenship helps students be safe, aware, global and socially responsible both on and offline.

Piggie shows Gerald her device.

Elephant: [Concern in voice] Piggie, won’t the students be distracted with all these devices? How will they pay attention in school?  I don’t think the teachers will like this at all.
Piggie: Gerald, social media is just another tool. It will help the teachers break down classroom walls and bring the world inside the classroom.
Elephant: [Panic in voice] They are going to break down the school walls? That is vandalism. This is not a good idea – not a good idea at all Piggie.
Piggie: Gerald, the school walls will not literally be knocked down.
Elephant: They won’t?
Piggie: No, they won’t. The devices like this one here [motions to the device in her hand] will help the teachers and students connect and collaborate with other classrooms around the world.
Elephant: [Confusion in voice] What will this look like?
Piggie: [Excitement in voice] Teachers and students will be able to use social media tools like Periscope, Google, Skype, Blab, Twitter and lots of other apps to learn together.
Elephant: How will these social media tools help them learn together?
Piggie: [Excitement in voice] The sky is the limit, Gerald. They can blog and get comments from other students and classrooms around the world, participate in Genius Hour, learn through Makerspaces and 3-D printers, participate in global projects like Mystery Skype, Global Read Aloud, Connected Educator Month, Dot Day, Hour of Code, and so much more.
Elephant: [Excitement in voice] Piggie, this is incredible! All these social media tools will provide ample opportunities for all students!
Elephant & Piggie: Yay! We are going 1:1! We are bringing social media into every classroom!

The next day.

Elephant: Piggie, I was wondering, how schools will provide specific professional development on digital citizenship?
Piggie: Administrators, teachers, school counselors, library media specialists, students and parents will buy blocks of tickets to attend the Digital Citizenship Summit on October 3rd in Connecticut!
Elephant: What will they learn at the all day Digital Citizenship Summit?
Piggie: A lot, Gerald! The #digcitsummit is not to be missed! The all day event has national experts speaking about how to embed empathy and kindness early and often, digital etiquette, cyber ethics and law, issues surrounding privacy, how to parent in the digital age, digital literacy, copyright issues, resources to combat cyberbullying and promote a positive school climate, social media optimization for students, empowering educators by creating 1:1 learning environments, technology addiction and so much more.
Elephant: Where can I find more information and buy tickets?
Piggie: Just go to http://digcitsummit.com/ and follow the blog for updates and you can buy your tickets here: http://digcitsummit.com/registration/ or call the ticket office at 860.231.5555. Gerald, also follow @Digcit1 on Twitter for updates too.
Elephant: I can’t wait to go to the Digital Citizenship Summit to learn all about digital citizenship!

Hope to see you on 10/3 for another great day of learning at the #digcitsummit!

*For more information on our #EdcampCT session on Periscope, check out this post by Judy Arzt: School Media in Schools, Why Not?

*Watch our Periscope session, Role of Social Media in Schools on Katch.

The Need for Empathy: My Reflection on the Semicolon EDU Project #semicolonEDU

I can’t say that I understand the many layers of depression or what it even means to suffer from depression. But, I do understand how labels can haunt you. In elementary school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and this label has tried to define me my entire educational career. When I first started to blog in February 2011, I had my “coming out party” as the Dyslexic Professor.  For years, I had been in the closet, ashamed that I learn differently and convinced no one would ever want to hire a dyslexic teacher. I might not know about depression specifcally, but I do know all about anxiety when it comes to the teacher asking you to read out loud in class or transcribing letters and numbers without even realizing it. Let me just say, I’ll never forget the time I was asked to read out loud in science class and mispronounced “organism” at least a dozen times. For me, I hid behind the class clown persona, so my peers would never know. It has been a heavy burden to carry around and to this day, I avoid reading a script. For those who know me, I have perfected the art of storytelling and rely on my memory and pied-piper personality.

This post is my attempt to talk about the need for more empathy in our schools and in our profession. Words hurt; labels hurt. Period.

Just yesterday, I read this piece in the New York Times, Empathy is Actually a Choice.  My work at the University of Saint Joseph has focused around digital citizenship with an emphasis on empathy.  This is the perfect time for us to embrace making a difference by providing our students ample opportunities to do empathy.

As we support the Semicolon EDU Project, let’s commit ourselves to breaking this cycle of fear and embarrassment.  Let’s model for our students, parents and communities the need to humanize the person next to us, as well as the person across the screen. Let’s shatter any and all labels with an abundance of kindness and empathy.

*Thanks to one of my very first follows on Twitter, Nick Provenzano for having the courage to inspire us all! Another big thanks to one of my former graduate students, Nick Howley for being the student who was the first to ask me to look out a different lens, who changed my practice and welcomed me into the “tribe” as a safe haven for all – my semicolon logo is inspired because of you.

For more information: #semicolonEDU and #ProjectSemicolon

 

Citizenship, Digital Citizenship, iCitizenship

What’s the best way to model and teach our students how to be socially responsible both on and offline? Do we focus on citizenship or digital citizenship or both?

Trolls & Trolling: How Do We Empower Others?

This post is for Curt Schilling. You are my #digcit hero and an all-star dad. I want to share your story with other educators, students, administrators and parents on a digital citizenship (#digcit) chat on Twitter on 3/11/15 between 7-8PM ET and I hope you’ll join us.

In 2011, I co-founded the #digcit chat with one of my graduate students. The chat was a direct result of the digital citizenship course I created and taught at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, the #digcit chat connects educators, students, administrators and parents from around the world.

I teach digital citizenship and digital literacy courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  Just recently, both my undergraduate and graduate students completed a #creepU assignment. It was a similar assignment to what you did to find the men responsible from sending the inappropriate tweets about your daughter. The students picked a school and examined public student accounts which lead them to multiple social media tools (which were all public). The #creepU assignment was a teachable moment and by no means was meant to shame the school or the students. Last month, we hosted a #creepU chat on Twitter to share our results and urge other teachers to assign the same assignment. Here’s the #digcit agenda from that chat and the archive from the actual chat. The big take-away from the assignment was that digital citizenship is a 24/7 conversation and must be taught in K-12 schools.

How do we help our students realize that your daughter could be their sister, cousin, neighbor? friend? Our students need to be mindful of the choices they make both on and offline and learn to humanize the person next to them, as well as across the screen. I believe it starts with teaching empathy and providing students opportunities to not just read and write about it, but to do it. We need to teach our students how to think and act simultaneously through a local, global and digital lens.

Next Wednesday, I’m going to host a #digcit chat on “Trolls & Trolling” and discuss the seriousness of it, how to prepare our students to handle it (and our teachers to teach it) and best practices on how to find and confront the troll(s). I hope that you will be able to join me and perhaps co-moderate the chat.

PS: I’m a diehard Red Sox fan too and the only official team jersey I own has your name on it! I’ll be extra proud when I wear it again to Fenway because you have now empowered a global audience to stand up to cyberbullies and trolls! Props to you #38!

Great Advice – Be Present & Auto-Correct Humanity

Spot on! Thank you Prince Ea for reminding us the importance of being present.

How many of us are so busy uploading pictures or videos to update our status that we’ve missed an event? I see people living their lives and watching the world through their devices and it makes me sad.

Leave your devices at home and be present – there’s nothing better than capturing the moment in your heart and your mind!

What I wouldn’t do for a picture of me and my dad sitting in the bleachers at Fenway Park back in the 70’s, but people didn’t bring cameras to sporting events back then.  As much as I’d love a picture in a frame (or one to post) – nothing is better than the image I have captured in my memory of the countless games I spent with my dad – nothing.

So, next time you are going to your child’s recital, attending a sporting event or concert – be present and experience the event without looking through your device.  I promise you, you won’t miss the moment.

I’m looking forward to smiling when I have low batteries – I hope you will too!