Terry's Tech Tips

Common Sense Media just released its most recent annual research findings of Tween and Teen media usage.   Common Sense Media is a non-profit devoted to providing research to parents, educators, health organizations, and policymakers with reliable, independent data on children's use of media and technology and the impact it has on their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. I think you will find the highlights in the report quite interesting.  If you prefer, watch this 1+ minute video summarizing the findings. Teens average just under seven and a half hours’ worth (7:22) of entertainment screen media per day—not including time spent using screens for school or homework. This time does not include screen use for school or homework. What are they doing online for 7 hours a day? Teens spend a good chunk of their time watching TV or videos online, followed by gaming.  Boys and girls have vastly different tastes in media. ...

Common Sense Media recently released the results of their 2018 survey of student cell phone use - Social Media, Social Life:  Teens Reveal their Experiences .  As a professional working with teenagers, some of the results won't surprise you.  But some will!  Below are the results in graphic form.  ( Link to entire Infographic with all information.) Social Media use has increased dramatically among teens: Cell phones are changing teen preferences for how they communicate with friends and family, with more teens now preferring to text than speak in person: Speaking in person brings a new level of understanding to communication through non-verbal signals like facial expressions and verbal signals like voice tone.  What a shame students no longer prioritize that rich communication experience. Social Media distracts teens from enjoying other activities: The most interesting statistic of all, though not a surprise to many. Yet teens r...

As we talk about student engagement at CCHS, providing students with ' authentic, meaningful, real-world learning experiences ' is one technique that increases student engagement.  Theresa Ruggiero's Meteorology students routinely engage with meteorology experts to answer timely, real-world weather questions.  Here is how she does it! As a reminder, the CCHS Student Engagement Committee defines Student Engagement as: ...the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and/or passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education. Theresa's students watch the Weather Underground internet broadcast WUTV on Wednesday nights as homework.  (WUTV is a national weather news program shown weeknights 6-8 p.m.)  Using knowledge learned during Meteorology class, students post questions to expert meteorologists at the weather program abou...

If you have never used Twitter before, it can be very useful!  Twitter is great for: following events as they are happening .  People on the scene will tweet out photos, text, and video as things happen.  This makes Twitter a great social media resource for following current events as they unfold, weather, and sports! Twitter has really established itself as the ' Professional' social media platform.   You can build your PLN (Professional Learning Network) by following people or searching hashtags (#) whose topic is education. If you remember that Twitter is about the here and now,  posts older than a few minutes or hours are no longer relevant!  This can help you mentally deal with the sheer volume of information. Getting Started: Navigate to  https://twitter.com/ and create an account.  Click here for step by step directions. Finding content you want to receive: Twitter will send you tweets about topics you are interested...