BFTP: Safe mistakes

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post November 15, 2007. Had General Petraeus made a few "safe mistakes" with e-mail as a student from which he learned something, he might still be employed.

The girl was very upset.

One of our sixth grade girls reported that judging from her sent mail folder on Gaggle.net, someone else had been using her account to send messages. The principal was brought in. The guidance counselor, parents and media specialist all met. And even yours truly, the tech director, got involved.

After some discussion, the girl remembered that she had given her username and password to her "very best friend" at another school, and that they were using the e-mail program at her friend's house on the day the messages (which were innocuous) were sent.

The media specialist changed the girl's password. The counselor gave another talk on cyberbullying. The media specialist emphasized security and privacy in her next lessons. The principal learned the kids actually had e-mail accounts. The tech director was happy this turned into a "teachable moment" for all involved.

It is because of incidents like this that I am glad we have always given our students school sponsored e-mail addresses. It allows kids to make "safe mistakes." The girl and probably her classmates got a real-life lesson in protecting one's password and about identity theft without anyone getting hurt. Hopefully the girl will think back on this when some shyster asks for her social security number or credit card information after she is out of school and may be tempted to make a mistake that has more damaging consequences.

Safe mistakes are why we need to give kids as much access to Internet resources as we can while they're in school and while there are responsible adults to whom they can turn if there is a problem.

How would this have been handled if the girl had only had a Yahoo account and home access? 

I don't want to be the one to tell them...

Folks in my department are loving the Google Nexus tablet. With the exception of a rear-facing camera (which for us is actually a pretty big deal), the Nexus is faster, has a better screen, and plays better with GoogleDocs than the iPad. It's also 2/3rds the cost of the iPad mini. An increasing number of real competitors to the iPad are available. (See Miguel Guhlin's great chart below.)

So why not just switch from iPad deployment to Android tablet deployment?

Maybe it's because I am very afraid of telling teachers and administrators they need to learn a new mobile device operating system, learn a host of new apps, and repurchase the apps for which they've already paid. Maybe I don't want to be the one to tell the technicians they need to learn a new app deployment/management system. Maybe I don't want to tell my media specialist and tech integration coordinators that much of the staff development work they've been doing over the past two years getting people comfortable with iPad is going down the toilet. And just maybe, I personally don't want to learn a new system and lose my investment in apps I've purchase for my own iOS devices.

No matter how much better or less expensive the second technology might be, it's tough to make a change.

I'm OK with change myself - I just don't want to be the person who has to tell others that THEY need to change.

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Miguel Guhlin down in the great state of Texas has developed this very good chart comparing some popular devices available this holiday season. It's a little different approach to informing people about devices for the kids than the one we took with our holiday letter.

We may create a similar chart someday, but I am a little reluctant to do so for these reasons:

• We want to recommend features and functions that back to tasks and resources being used in school.
• New devices and changes in specs/costs will make keeping a chart like this up-to-date very challenging.
• Informing parents when changes are made will very challenging.
• We are not aware of every device available nor have we had hands-on experience with each device related to reliability, compatibility, etc.
• There may be a lot of older technology in homes that kids can still make use of. 

Anyway, I appreciated Miguel's chart and will send parents and teachers to it. Here is it, but look at the original and Miguel's commenst about it:

BYOT Mobile Device Chart

Please note that mention of a device in this chart does not constitute a product endorsement; these are offered for informational and/or reference purposes only. All data subject to change.

 

The 5-Hornet rating is as follows:

1. 5 hornets= BYOT Exceptional - mobile creativity, storage, and sharing device (e.g. WiFi iPad/Nexus allows for Google Drive, cloud storage options, video/image editing and creation, GoogleDocs accessibility, etc.)
2. 4 hornets= Great - allows for wide range of creative apps (e.g. pictures, short video clips, texting) and wireless sharing (WiFi) only limited by account options and apps. Devices include iPod Touch, iPhone, laptops, netbooks)
3. 3 hornets= Fair - allows for some use (e.g. allows for research via Internet, pictures, video). WiFi access
4. 2 hornets = Acceptable - usable for specific purposes (content consumption) only (e.g. eReader without Internet or apps) and WiFi
5. 1 hornet = Limited - Not appropriate for BYOT Classroom use (e.g. may lack WiFi support, difficult to get media on or off device, gaming options).

Here's the link to the "stretched-out" version...the version below is compressed into a small space for the blog entry.

Device	Image	Features	Hornet Rating
Netbooks/Laptops
Asus/Dell Netbook approx >= $230   Find out more at your local retail or computer store		WiFi access Local hard drive storage and GoogleDrive Access Various creativity programs including Office suites Requires anti-virus/anti-malware Built-in webcam Web Browsing
Google Chromebook approx >= $249   Find out more online at http://google.com/chromebook		WiFi access Local hard drive (small) storage and GoogleDrive Access Various creativity programs including Office suites Requires anti-virus/anti-malware Built-in webcam Web Browsing
Tablets
Apple iPad approx >= $330 minimum   Find out more at http://www.apple.com/ipad		iTunes App Store WiFi access GoogleDrive Access Wide variety of creativity apps, including Office apps Video/Still Image Camera(s) Email/Social media Web Browsing Bluetooth compatibility for external keyboard
Android Tablets  (>=$200)   Examples: Google Nexus 7https://www.google.com/nexus   Kindle Fire Series http://www.amazon.com/kindlefire   Nook HD Series http://www.bn.com/nook		Android tablet with access to Google Play apps GoogleDrive Access Office apps Video/Still Image Camera Email/Social Media Web Browsing Bluetooth compatibility for external keyboard eBooks via Barnes and Noble and Amazon Handheld (7inch)
Apple iPod Touch  (>=$200)		WiFi iTunes App Store GoogleDrive Access Office apps Video/Still Image Camera Email/Social Media Web Browsing eBooks via Barnes and Noble and Amazon Handheld (4.3 in x 2.4 in)
SmartPhones
Apple iPhone		WiFi iTunes App Store GoogleDrive Access Office apps Video/Still Image Camera Email/Social Media Web Browsing eBooks via Barnes and Noble and Amazon Handheld (4.3 in x 2.4 in)
Android Phone		WiFi GooglePlay Store GoogleDrive Access Office apps Video/Still Image Camera depending on model Email/Social Media Web Browsing eBooks via Barnes and Noble and Amazon Handheld
eBook Readers
Barnes and Noble Nook SimpleTouch WiFi approx >= $99 Nook http://www.bn.com/nook		WiFi No creation or sharing features Touch screen MP3 player eBook Formats Supported: PDF, EPUB, eReader, PDB, JPG, GIF, PNG
KINDLE 6” WiFi (4th generation) approx >= $69   Kindle 6" WiFi http://www.amazon.com/kindle		WiFi No creation or sharing features Touch screen MP3 player eBook Formats Supported: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively
Other Devices
Nintendo DSi approx >= $100		WiFi Photo/Video Touch screen with stylus Not appropriate for BYOT
Gaming consoles		Not appropriate for BYOT

 

Feel free to borrow, etc. under CC-NC-SA-Attribution

You'd think the Director of the CIA would know better

It’s also worrisome that the nation’s spymaster — who had presided in a military where adultery could result in court-martial — could not have found a more clandestine manner of talking naughty to his biographer babe than a Gmail drop box, a semiprivate file-sharing system used by terrorists, teenagers and authors. Maureen Dowd, Reputation, Reputation, Reputation

I was thinking the same thing, Maureen.

I can understand why a man might have an affair. I can understand why a woman might be jealous of another woman. But what I cannot understand for the life of me is why a person who heads up a security organization would think his Gmail account is actually private. You sort of wonder if Petraeus also  sexts and puts incriminating pictures on his Facebook page thinking no one else can see them.

Let's teach our kids to be a little smarter about online privacy and reputation, OK?

Image source