Digital Tattoos: Forward We March!

I am very sorry to have missed our face-to-face class meeting for the topic of digital tattoos, because it is interesting and pertinent, if somewhat chilling to me.  The permanent trail of data we leave online is the main reason I have chosen not to have an online presence on Facebook or other social media sites up until taking this class.  Having a Twitter account for school purposes has not bothered me, because it seems to be a good professional resource, and a nice way to open the classroom up to parents, but Facebook and Instagram make me uncomfortable.  I do not like the idea of my private life being shared with lots and lots of people.

Whether I like it or not, social media and the footprint it leaves are here to stay!  I can't say I was surprised about the data that can be found online about someone.  I feel relief for the fact that I grew up before the 'digital age' truly got underway, and was therefore exempt from making all kinds of stupid (but permanent) mistakes just from being too young to know better.  I also feel great concern for my children and students.  There is no way to prevent them from making their own digital blunders, no matter how much we try to instill the importance of good digital citizenship into them.  Not that we shouldn't try, but it seems to me we will have to come up with a way to forgive digital mistakes, or we are going to run out of acceptable candidates for almost everything!

That being said, I think it is EXTREMELY important that we teach students about digital citizenship.  It seems to me that this subject is more pertinent to their lives and futures than almost anything else we teach them at school.  As many of the articles sited by Nicole on the wiki page stated, prospective college students are being weeded out due to their social media posts. Link to NY Times Article from 2013.  It doesn't end with college admissions, either.  The stakes are just as high for people seeking employment.

Just for fun, I googled myself.  There are a lot of Mona Mann's out there.  Two of these are me.  

Google Search Image

I guess I would rather know what's out there than not.  Sometimes, it kind of makes me want to go back in time to slates and chalk and hand-written letters that took months to receive.  But I do really like the new SMART board in the auditorium, and I love the camera on my ipad.  The smartphone is pretty great, too.  There's no going backward.  Maybe we just need to step carefully, and use the backspace button a lot.

PLN's: My experience with Twitter!

I had certainly heard of Twitter (mostly on NPR) and knew that one of my music colleagues loved it as a way of advertising her program.  She felt it gave parents a window into the great things going on in the classroom.  I knew about it, I just hadn't taken the time to find out more!

Now, I have a Twitter account @d90monamann and I am following a number of teachers in District 90, as well as music educators and educational organizations around the United States and beyond.  At first, I was a little surprised to find that there isn't more of a presence of Orff-Schulwerk teaching and learning on Twitter, but each time I found someone new to follow, it led to other followers, and gradually, I started finding my Orff-Schulwerk colleagues around the country!

One of the most useful educational resources I found on Twitter (to date!) is the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, the heart of my own Professional Learning Network.  You can find them at @ORFF1968  I did not find AOSA through someone else's post.  I had to go searching... But, the first name I saw is a friend from our Chicago chapter who is now serving on the National Board!  There are so many resources and ideas here, I won't want to 'miss out' on checking this weekly.

I also participated in my first Twitter chat on Monday, October 10th, at 7PM CST.  The reason I point out the CST is that the previous week, I logged in to the chat room at 8PM, only to find the chat ending -- it was 8PM EST.  So, check your time zone when you want to do a Twitter chat!  The chat was an interesting experience, but would have been better for me if it were more geared toward general music teachers, specifically Orff-Schulwerk teachers.  It was mostly band directors, and focused on the topic of whether students should be involved in setting their own goals.  This is an important consideration for band and orchestra directors who need their students to spend a good deal of time practicing outside of school, but the goals of general music teachers are different.

My First Twitter Chat on Setting Student Goals in Music

Still, when I go to the AOSA National Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey in November, I will start asking around about Twitter chats for Orff teachers.  I would love to participate in a discussion around issues in the general music classroom.