Month: September 2013

Plan for Making a Difference Online

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Making A Difference Online

Digital Citizenship

1:10-2:00 p.m.

             

 

Susan TOPIC Digital citizenship 15 minutes

  • Haiku Deck  ]http://www.haikudeck.com/p/seBRTsh6wd/digital-citizenship-bchs
  • Be a Digital Citizen (2mins. 13 seconds)

http://youtu.be/FdEXijFXfD8

  • Digital Dossier Video:4 minutes 23 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA&feature=share&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhRhUa0Zet5__9yfLX8NRvb3

Marc Global Citizenship

  • Global Digital Citizenship

Tremendous Growth of Easily Accessible Information

  • 1993 vs 2013

So much information, but…

  • Benefits vs problems

Tremendous Growth of Ability to Connect and Communicate

  • 1993 vs 2013

Ease of communication, but…

  • Benefits vs problems
  • In 2013, we have tremendous ability to access information and communicate with others…
  • In 2013 we have tremendous power to engage, connect, and advocate.
  • So what?

What is this ability for?

…or can we aspire to something greater?

Remember this?

Can we do better?

  • Syria – Civil War
  • Toronto – Street Car Shooting
  • KONY 2012

Peter Making Positive Connections

  • Remind 101

You can use social media to Make the World A Better Place

THINK before you post how are you going to do this?

 

What we want students to know:

  • Being online can make a positive difference in your life. Students throughout the world are doing great things online.
  • Act on and off line as if the world is watching because they are.
  • Learn all you can about being a good digital citizen. Google digital citizenship
  • Act with integrity on and off line
  • Be aware of your digital identity google yourself
  • Research creative commons and be able to explain it to a younger student.
  • You can build a positive reputation on line
  • You can be a positive creator
  • Your reputation is created by YOU

Digital Citizenship has a place in every school and we need to focus on the positive aspects of the internet as well as the things that concern us.

We want students to ask themselves:

  • What are the creative opportunities on the web?
  • What are the ethical dilemmas?
  • What are the rewards and the risks of being on line?

It is important to find great examples on the internet of students doing things to not only improve their own opportunities, but to improve the lives of those in their school, communities, and around the world. We would like to encourage students to look for these great examples as well.

I’d like to see schools focus on those students who Make A Difference Online by providing them with a scholarship that recognizes all the good they do online. Anyone interested in providing one?

Here is a great example of students doing amazing things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo2S1fdhGmo&list=UULSeLxP1JlUEmz_FKNZsXVQ&index=1&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

As educators we need to create our own digital footprint and model good Digital Citizenship for our students. Taking Care Of Your Digital Self highlights the importance of a positive digital presence.

When teaching Digital Citizenship we need students to recognize that they need to be the same person ON and OFF line.

We need to ask students:

  • If I were to look you up online what would I find?
  • What would you want others to find?
  • If your grandmother googled you would she be proud of what she found?
  • What is your digital tattoo? Find out more information at http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/

We want students at Bishop Carroll to show great citizenship skills:

  • Positive attitude
  • Proactive
  • Connected
  • Engaged Thinkers
  • Ethical Citizens
  • Entrepreneurial Spirited
  • Sharing,  and creation of new knowledge and learning to help others.

 

Here is an activity students can do.: Choose what happens next … a you tube video that is interactive

http://youtu.be/pGkaw44-Ql4

Digital citizenship is so important and what we do with students matters.

 

Lessons For A New School Counsellor Post #2

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Every September I forget just how unbelievably busy a school can be and most school counsellors are not just counselling they have several other responsibilities. That is an important lesson for all school counsellors. Be aware of all that you may be asked to do.

Here are some new lessons. Lessons 1-6  are here.

Lesson #7

Be patient with yourself. It takes time to learn all the things you have to know as a school counsellor and often times you have several roles to play. You may be in a classroom part time teaching and attempting to do a full time job at counselling even though you are half time counselling /half time teaching. You can’t do and be everything for everybody.

Lesson #8

Lists help. Having lists will help you do and follow up on all the activities you are responsible for.

Lesson #9

Technology helps. This year we have a master calendar for all our counselling activities on Outlook. Each calendar is synched with our counselling Admin. Assistant and she makes sure it is coordinated. We discuss our monthly activities in our weekly Counselling team meetings. This keeps us all on track and aware of what is happening. We utilize technology in numerous ways in which I will discuss over the course of the school year.

This year in September we held three different seminars . One on Digital Citizenship, four on Counselling and one on scholarship information for students in grade 12 . Throughout the year we will offer several more.

The first was held at our grade 10 retreat with four hundred new grade 10’s and I will post more on that later.

The second was held in our computer room where we discussed :

  • What school counsellors do
  • What services we offer
  • Confidentiality and the limits
  • Resources we have available like our school counselling website, our counselling course that we offer on D2L, our school twitter site and our school facebook page

The third will be held in the computer lab with access to a fantastic livebinder.

Here are some links you may get some ideas from:

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/seBRTsh6wd/digital-citizenship-bchs

https://sspellmancann.jux.com

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/L1wGnD3MT0/what-high-school-students-need-to-know

Scholarships, Student Loans, Occupational Information livebinders.com/play/play/830830

 

Lesson #10

All school counsellors should be trained in suicide prevention and if they are not they should be trained in their Masters programs. School Counsellors often have to assess for the risk of suicide. Yes, even in the first few days of school when students are back in September. School Counsellors need to be prepared to ask for assistance if they are not trained. This is not something you should handle alone. It can be very scary when a student says they are thinking about suicide and you are not trained to know what to do. Even when you are trained well it can feel overwhelming and so it is important to debrief with another counsellor. In our district all school counselors have to train every two years as well as do a refresher course. This is so important for our students at risk. School counsellors can and do save lives.

As I reflect on the work we do, I think about what we do and how important our role as school counsellors are. Exhausting at times, but so worthwhile. To all new counsellors hang in there. It is and has been the most rewarding career for me. I still love what I do in year 33.

Marc’s reflection on his first weeks as a high school counsellor:

Starting a practicum placement is intimidating.  I am fighting the  presence of ‘imposter syndrome’, feeling somewhat ill-prepared and anxious, hoping that my lack of experience is not apparent to the students or staff in my words or behaviour.  I am fortunate to be in a familiar environment with a supportive supervisor and colleagues, but it will take time to feel comfortable and confident.

It’s been a steep learning curve at my practicum placement.  At first, I was frustrated because the established counsellors were busy with a full schedule of student clients, while I had a slow trickle.

While I recognized that some students may prefer a veteran counsellor, I soon realised this disparity in appointments was primarily due to the students’ unfamiliarity with me, rather than an indication of their perception of my competence or a sneak preview of my upcoming caseload.  The number of students coming for appointments has picked up, but I have come to appreciate any opportunity I have to reflect, consult, complete documentation, or catch up on additional work.  Further, after having an experience assessing an at-risk student, I’ve learned that a gradual immersion into client contact allows me to build competence and confidence at a comfortable pace.  I was not ready to assess this particular client, and missed several key aspects of the necessary process.  It was a good learning experience, helping me to remember the importance of policy and training, but also to pace myself and appreciate any lighter schedules.

 

World Suicide Prevention Day

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Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. As School Counsellors we need to talk about this very important topic. We need to break down the stigma, one conversation or one assembly at a time.  Our students could be at risk. Sadly, sometimes we can miss the warning signs.

In our opening school retreat we address this issue directly and let all students know we are there to assist them to provide HOPE and support.

We let students know that even if they are not at risk he/she may need to help a friend. Evidence suggests that youth are more likely to talk to their peers about their thoughts of suicide so we need to reinforce in students that they cannot keep suicidal thoughts a secret. We would much rather they had an angry friend than a dead friend.

Later this month we have every grade ten student take a manditory suicide prevention workshop through Canada Mental Health.

Our HOPE is that all students will reach out and get the help and supports they need. Our young people are precious and we want to keep them to understand they have a purpose and are meant to be here.