My Big Safe Campus

"Nice shirt." That's all another student had posted on Julie's* Wall.

Julie walked into my room and I tried to size up what was at first glance a benign instance of students just acting like fifteen-year-olds.  Julie looked cute in a Hello Kitty shirt and jeans and seemed to be in her normal mood.  I was unsure of when Hello Kitty had made a comeback from my 1980's childhood, but over the past few years even the high schoolers sported Hello Kitty backpacks, hoodies, and an occasional hair clip. Nothing seemed alarming or distressing.

So, I focused my attention on Abby. Abby had obviously seen the post on Julie's Wall as she had clicked on the "Report Abuse" option and tagged the post as "Bullying."  She was looking down and biting her nails and looked seriously uncomfortable in her own skin.  Julie and Abby did not seem to be particularly close, and I had a lack of any sort of intuition or sense of what was going on. I pulled Abby aside and asked why she had flagged the comment on Julie's Wall.  After all, it only said, "Nice shirt."

Abby, a quiet, calm, mind-her-own-business kind of young lady was overtly distraught. She told me Julie was being picked on by three girls, one of whom had posted the "Nice shirt." comment.  She explained that the girls were relentless in their verbal attacks and honed in on Julie's clothing, hair, lack-of-makeup, voice, walk, lunch choice, etc. You name it, they criticized it.  Abby overheard them every day in a shared class, but was too scared to stand up for Julie and of potential backlash from the three others. When asked what the teacher was doing about it, she assured me the teacher had no idea. Abby said they were incredibly careful to not get caught, but that the teasing had been going on for weeks. Today the girls had specifically targeted Julie's shirt as being ugly, juvenile, and other choice adjectives reserved only for hateful commentary. I assured Abby her anonymity and that she did the right thing.

image from: freedigitalphoto.com

It was simply heartbreaking.

In talking to Julie afterward, she reluctantly confirmed the situation. She seemed frightened, humiliated, dismal- and then relieved when we told her that it was all over.  Julie had no idea of the comment on her Wall (which we deleted, but was reserved as concrete evidence in the My Big Campus reporting system) as she had not logged in to My Big Campus since it had been posted only thirty minutes earlier. We called her parents in to talk and they were also completely unaware of Julie's dilemma at school. They had, however, noticed an unusual reluctance to attend school, refusal to participate in extra-curricular events, and being generally withdrawn.  Julie attributed this all to this vexatious and exasperating few weeks, which began when she had inadvertently tripped one of the three in a PE volleyball game.  She wore a brave, care-free face at school, then admitted to going home in depression and distress, often crying alone in her room.

Fast-forward to a few weeks later when all three girls had been dealt with from a discipline standpoint and I saw Julie laughing at a basketball game. I was thrilled to see her enjoying her high school years without worrying about threatening banter and other antics. In processing how she had gotten to this much more peaceful, healthier place, several aspects of how My Big Campus is such a safe platform jumped out at me.

#1- Users report abuse. It wasn't even Julie herself that had reported abuse.  ANY user that sees ANYTHING suspicious is encouraged to report it.  With the flags going to specific designees, this reporting can be kept anonymous if necessary.  Furthermore, by designating several recipients in a building or district, students and parents can be assured that reaction times will be swift.

#2- Reporting. The My Big Campus reports can be generated by both teachers and administration to see any and all activity- whether deleted or not.  Reports can be filtered by type of input, user, time frames, and keywords.  Since all activity is archived, there is no question when it comes to user activity.

#3- No anonymity. There are no untraceable posts, uploads, messages, commentary, or actions. All activity is traceable back to a verified user...and speaking of which...

#4- 100% verified users. Every account is initiated by a verified educator. Each user actually exists and is tied to one user account.  This makes activity monitorable and holds all users accountable for their on-line behavior.  100% verified users also means no spam accounts or false activity.

#5- Profanity filter and flesh-tone image scanning.  All content has to make it through a Spanish and English profanity filter in order to be posted.  Comments including lewd or tasteless verbage will not be displayed. All images are also scanned to be sure they only include files appropriate for school.  As an added safety measure, all videos are also watched from start to finish in the MBC shared resource Library.

I have heard stories similar to mine - reporting from My Big Campus saving students from potentially harming themselves or others, keyword searches that allow adults to reach out to students in need, users reporting abuse to prevent inappropriate interactions, and students learning lessons about digital citizenship from their own on-line behavior. These are some of the many reasons users love My Big Campus; not only are we an on-line community that grows and learns together, but we do so with safety at the forefront of our social-academic platform.



*all identifying information for students has been changed

Tis the Season...for Parent Conferences!

Deck the hallways and hang the welcome signs!  It is Parent Conference season!  

This day is filled with mixed emotions for students, parents, and teachers as well.  There is little less pitiful than a student begging you not to tell her parents about her homework allergy or that time she "accidentally" mixed together the chemicals you specifically told her not to and created a small stink bomb in the chemistry lab.  I have even  been offered bribes, to which I simply had to shake my head and point to the sign one of my former students made based on my frequent one-liners.

There is also little that is more rewarding than seeing a parent beam when I tell them I wish I could clone their child and even file for adoption if they were willing.  I love delivering that news!

Again, parent conferences are a mixed bag- but there are several ways to use My Big Campus to help make each conference the best it can be!

1- Show examples!  Since Schoolwork is stored on MBC, you don't have to worry about collecting work samples or making copies. You can retrieve exemplary examples of student work- and also the less-than desirable samples to come up with strategies for improvement. Using concrete pieces of work helps define where trouble spots are specifically and establish patterns of achievement. And with the Parent Portal enabled, parents can see these for themselves any time they desire!

2- Show them around Campus! By making parts of your Group (or even the entire Group) visible to anyone on the Internet, you can show parents how to access what you are doing in class, see future assignments, and even watch the same videos you are showing in class to help students at home.

3- Sign them up! Show parents how to subscribe to the Group Calendar to view the class from the ease of their own phones.  Parents can see any Events and Schoolwork you place on the student calendar automatically!

4- Reach them where they are!  Remember that your comfort level with technology may be different than that of the parents you are talking to.  Be sure to not assume that all parents understand the MBC lingo and terminology.  If you are creating hand-outs, include lots of screen shots and step-by step instructions!

Clip from:  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtIFbCj5ndI

5- Make a presentation! Use MBC to show parents a brief overview of what class looks like for their students. Highlight the increased differentiation, accountability, and safety that MBC offers students. One idea is to make a bundle presentation. Publish it beforehand and share it with parents when confirming their appointments via email—this is not only a time saver, but also allows parents to think of questions ahead of time. “Welcome to Your Child’s Class” bundle can include: What we’re doing in class, What’s next?, How MBC is used, Why MBC is safe, How parents can use MBC, and include how to subscribe to calendar. Show parents how you would recommend they use the site for your class, too!

6- Remember all of the regular Parent Conference Golden Rules!  Bookend a negative with two positives. Stick to your time limits to avoid getting behind (schedule follow-up appointments if necessary). Have a comfortable, circular seating arrangement to put parents at ease. Emphasize that you are all on the same team with the objective of making their student the very best he/she can be. And, of course, smile!

Parent conferences are a great way to show off the best side of your class as well as highlight the best in each student.  Use this opportunity to help everyone improve, grow, and learn together!

I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick

Everyone in my household had gone to bed just fine. We read books, gave hugs, squeezes, and kisses and then fell asleep content and well. Yet somewhere around the 2 AM witching hour both kids were up with various symptoms.  By 4 AM I was positive no one was going to school today...including me.

image from: www.essentialbaby.com.au

There was no question where the illness had come from or who had been the carrier.  As a public school teacher, I was a victim of every coughed-on, mystery-stained paper my students handed in- not to mention exposure to thousands of individuals, some of whom really liked to high-five and shake hands.  Especially when I was an elementary teacher, I walked into my own home and immediately began a surgical scrub-down- but not before playing "Guess What's on my Pants." Elementary teachers know this game. Little children with sticky hands feel compelled to hug, and most are about hip-height. This inevitably produces splotches, varying in color and size and placement on the pants. Could be chocolate, could be ketchup, could be paint, could be much, much, worse. Regardless, the pants and I needed a thorough cleaning before I wanted to love on my own children.  Even with the best intentions, though, I know I passed along a funk to them and we were going to be home for the next day or so.

This kind of scenario always left me in a bit of a panic in terms of lesson plans. I really didn't want to leave a movie (to be honest, NO ONE wanted me to leave a movie), worksheets never quite worked out (too many "I never got one's" and "I didn't know how to do it's"), and if I didn't leave something engaging, I would be left with an evening's worth of phone calls due to "the note" from the substitute about students finding creative ways to entertain themselves while actively not doing my work.  As most of our substitute pool did not speak Spanish, there was little chance I could introduce a new concept via the stand-in without a total disaster as well. The other problem with in-class assignments is that if I left paperwork, I would not be able to get to it until I arrived at school, so I would have no gauge or indicator of progress until I returned.  Obviously, this would put me yet another day behind. Another choice was to pack up my children and run to school and try to put together stations or activity centers, but subjecting two sick children to a 25 minute car ride there and back just seemed cruel. And then it hit me- Bundles!

from bundle: http://mybigcampus.com/bundles/my-teacher-is-absent-what-should-i-do---53613

From my own home, I could create absentee lesson plans that were almost as good as having me there in person. Here's why:

1- By assigning a bundle to the students, I eliminated the middle-man.  There was no more lost-in-translation of what I was asking from the students, no more "I didn't get it"s, and no more "the substitute must have lost it"s. Instruction, materials, and activities went straight from me to them.

2- In Bundles, I could deliver content through videos, websites, and tutorials.  I didn't have to put a lesson on hold or fall behind in my scope and sequence. Since I could unblock the resources I needed, I could find relevant, interesting materials to deliver the content.  I could even record myself giving the lesson and my students could pause, rewind, and watch it as many times as they needed.

3- By attaching Schoolwork either straightforward in the Bundle or through a Bundle Lock, I could keep my classroom barometer in-tact in terms of student progress.  I could even give formative assessments that automatically graded the work, so when I returned to class, I could pick up where they left off.  Since the Schoolwork is all stored in My Big Campus, there was also 100% accountability- no more "misplaced" assignments!

4- I could link a Discussion in the Bundle for students to ask me questions and get clarification. This hotline directly to me also allowed the substitute to not have to be an expert in content- particularly relevant in subjects most of us have not delved into since college or maybe even high school ourselves!

5- By Bundling my lessons ahead of time, it was simply a matter of adding some instructions and support for lessons I already had and then I was done! I didn't feel under a time crunch and students knew the lessons were not slush-substitute plans (they have a radar for those lessons!).  Everything goes smoother for the students, substitute, and returning teacher when students are engaged in meaningful instruction.

Flu season is just around the corner.  Stock up on tissues, hand-sanitizer, and vitamin C.  But if those germs blast their way through you or your loved one's defenses, rest easy.  With Bundles, your class can carry on while you tend to getting people on the mend! 

image from: www.rcgroups.com