Social Media and Your Digital Tattoo

Last week, I had the pleasure of partnering up with the counseling department in Bedford High School's first annual Social Media Awareness Day. I must say that not only was it fun to help organize the day, but is was also very rewarding.

Last year the counseling department came to me with an idea to work together to help remind students (and staff) about how to handle social media in showcasing the 'goods' and the 'bads'. Throughout the school year, we got together in meetings to brainstorm what we exactly wanted to accomplish. We knew that there was going to be a presentation but we wanted to make the day even more than just that.

When it came to the presentation, we knew that we did not want to just lecture about the negatives of social media. Instead, we wanted our message to come out that it is ok and encouraged for students and staff to use social media with keeping precautions in mind.

To open this Prezi presentation in a new window, CLICK HERE.

We also wanted to make it real and personal for the students. With that, we surveyed our staff at BHS as well as all of our freshmen and sophomore students. That is right, we surveyed almost 600 students and staff!

We asked similar questions to both staff and students so that we would be able to make comparisons amongst each group. The results were very informative and helpful. Not only did we share the results in the presentation, but the counseling department also created posters to showcase in the main hallway.

We also decided that since we wanted to highlight how social media can have a positive impact on others (and we did not want students to get 'bored' of listening to Mrs. Puffer and I) we interviewed some teachers in the building. We asked them how social media has had a positive impact on them. It was really interesting to hear what the teachers had to share - personal and professional examples are both given in this video. To view this video in a new window, CLICK HERE. 

At the end of the presentation, we highlighted the YouTube video, "Look Up" by Gary Turk. If you have not yet seen this video, then you must take a look at it. This video really makes you think about your 'screen time'. We decided to challenge the entire BHS community and 'Look Up' during the lunch block that day. If you would like to view this video in a different window, CLICK HERE.

As students walked into the commons, some of the National Honor Society members as well as the BHS counselors reminded students of the challenge to not look at a device for 25 minutes and to be present.

These students actually took it another step further and placed all of their phones in the middle of the table while they were hanging out socializing and eating during their lunch break.

All in all, it was a great day! It was very refreshing hearing from teachers talking about how it either impacted the students or themselves in some way. The day would not have been possible without the Counseling Department - all the way from concept to reality. And a big kuddos to Ms. Puffer for helping give a great presentation. I know that I am already looking forward to next year.

Another GREAT Day to be a BULLDOG!

Sharing Information Through Infographics

In our world these days, we are obsessed with pictures and videos. We take selfies, we upload and watch videos on YouTube, and we like to share photos through social media. We like to see information in a visual form.

One of the ways in which information is being shared with others is through what is called Infographics. Why they are appealing you might ask? It is due to the nature of pictures, graphics, and limited text curated into a 'virtual poster'. Color, different sizes of font, and organization of diagrams and pictures is important when creating an infographic. And, if done well, infographics can do or almost do what a research paper can, even though there are not as much text involved.

If you do a simple google search on infographics, you will even find blogs dedicated to infographics.

The very first time I was introduced to infographics was from listening to Kathy Schrock present on the topic at the Christa McAuliffe Technology conference a couple of years ago. After that presentation, I challenged myself to create my very own infographic. Mine focused on the technology at our high school that I presented to the high school staff at the beginning of the 2013 school year. I had a goal of sharing how far we had come with technology, and I thought that an infographic would be a great way to do that. It was definitely a better way to go, instead of just putting some text on a presentation as it was a bit more engaging and entertaining for the staff.

To see the infographic in a larger format, click HERE.

Before you even create an infographic, it is important to first figure out what your ultimate goal is with the infographic. You will find that time will be wasted if you do not think about this first, no matter what infographic website you use. Things to think about:

• Is there a theme that can help determine your 'background'? (if you want one)
• Is there data that you can organize in some sort of chart/diagram?
• How is your information going to flow from top down?
• Is there one image where all information will feed off of?
• What is the most important information? (maybe that should be in bigger text)

Infographics in the Classroom
Last month, Mrs. Dudgeon came to me wanting to have her Roots Honors students create an infographic. I was thrilled as I had not had the opportunity to integrate infographics into a classroom prior to this.

There are several infographic websites that make it easy for people to create their own infographic. We decided to go with www.easel.ly. Easel.ly provides templates that people could use in creating their infographic or they can start from scratch. Easel.ly also provides the user with some stock images to help create the infographic.

Prior to students creating their first infographic, I came into Mrs. Dudgeon and Mrs. Magnusson's class to help them create their account with Easel.ly and the three of us explained what an infographic is all about as well as showed examples. I also provided instructions for students as a go by in case they were stuck with how to complete a certain task in Easel.ly. To view these instructions in a different window, click HERE.



Then Mrs. Dudgeon and Mrs. Magnusson shared with the students that their infographic had to include the cost/benefits of either tradition and progress or costs/benefits of morality and power during the Renaissance Unit.

Collecting Infographics

Once the students completed their infographics, they were required to post them on their class Padlet wall that Mrs. Dudgeon created. Mrs. Dudgeon has been a big fan of using Padlet as a means of collecting and sharing information. Below is a screenshot of what one of them looked like. This is a very easy way for students to each post their infographic as well as to see each others infographic.

Student Examples

To view some examples of what the students produced, click HERE! 

It is important to note that besides being graded on the content that the students provided in the infographic, they were also assessed on

• the type of infographic they created (timeline vs. venn diagram, etc)
• fonts
• colors
• layout
• citations

The purpose of that was to make sure that students truly understood the point behind infographics and I am glad that Mrs. Dudgeon and Mrs. Magnusson felt this was important.

Infographics are not going to go away any time soon. I think it is a great way of sharing information, and at times, they make learning fun due to the way it is presented. I feel that all students at some point in their career should be challenged to create an infographic as I think it is a great skill to learn and know.  I am excited that Mrs. Dudgeon and Mrs. Magnusson provided this opportunity for their students.

If you ever want to learn more about infographics or figure out how you can use them in your curriculum, you know where to find me.