72 Tips for Safe Computing

Most homes now adays will have a computer of some sort in it. Whether it is the parents work computer, student laptop or general house machine.....it is usually put through the paces.

Many people drive a car but don't have a clue what goes on under the hood. Same as a computer. It may be used for email, Internet searches, games but if some extra pop up boxes appear or if you have to find a file in the Temporary Internet folder or manually update a .dat file for your anti-virus software....HELP!

PCMag.com have put together 11 categories that cover 72 tips to help the "everyday user" have a safe experience on their computer. If you have a computer or work with a computer - take the time to read through these tips and understand them. Don't know why phishing is....then do a quick search on the Internet to find out what it means.

When I talk about security in workshops and conferences, it still amazes me how many people raise their hands when asked, who have passwords that are either their name or better yet....still "password". Have you purchased a wireless router for you house? Have you gone through to change the administrative passwords? Believe it or not....many leave the factory passwords activated.

If you use a computer .... learn what it can do and how to keep your digital information/footprint safe!

Categories:

• The Very Minimum
  
• Malware/Antivirus
• Windows Specifics
• Impossible Passwords
• Phishing
• Safe Surfing
• Anonymity/Privacy
• Spam and Spim
• Kid Computing
• Home Networks
• Physical/Security

School Chat....
Help your parent community. I remember parent teacher night. Most of my parents talked briefly about their kids and how they were doing. Then the discussion quickly turned to "I have a few questions about my computer or network." Create some handouts from these tips for your parent/teacher evenings.

Have a friendly competition with your staff during one of your PD days. Create an internet hunt and have these tips formed in questions. Teams of teachers will have a time limit to find the questions online.

Have this information available on your school Internet for all in your school community.

Maximizing the Impact: The Pivotal Role of Technology in a 21st Century Education System

A report was released today (Nov 5th Northern Hemisphere Time) called "Maximizing the Impact: The Pivotal Role of Technology in a 21st Century Education System." It was written by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association), and Partnership for 21st Century Skills .

The report urges action in 3 areas:

1. Use technology comprehensively to develop proficiency in 21st century skills.
2. Use technology comprehensively to support innovative teaching and learning.
3. Use technology comprehensively to create robust education support systems. [ read more.... ] [ pdf version ]

This report supports the framework developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills [ pdf version ]

Are school communities ready to take the immediate action that is required to make these and other actions come to fruition? The luxury of reviews, discussions, planning committees, etc... may have come to an end.

It is time for action...what country will reach out for the golden ring first?

New report finds new teachers in middle and high school feel most vulnerable to challenging teaching conditions.

There has been a lot in the news and research lately that questions how the education system is going to prepare students for the 21st century.

My question is how are we going to prepare existing and new teachers for the 21st century?

In universities across the world the number of students entering Education to become a teacher is going down. The number of teachers that are graduating as IT specialists is even less...sometimes in the single digits.

With the digital demands that exist now for our students and what is to come in the future....it greatly worries me that many graduating teachers have very, very basic digital literacy skills and understanding...sometimes at a primary student level.

A report just released by Public Agenda and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (reported from Docuticker) called: Lessons Learned: New Teachers Talk About Their Jobs, Challenges and Long-Range Plans, discusses 6 findings that came out of this research by Jonathan Rochkind, Amber Ott, John Immerwahr, John Doble and Jean Johnson. Download report [pdf]

The 6 findings were:

1. Secondary School Teachers vs. Grade School Teachers - Why They Teach and How Long They'll Stay
2. Secondary School Teachers vs. Elementary School Teachers: How Prepared Do They Feel?
3. Secondary School Teachers vs. Elementary School Teachers - The Drawbacks of Teaching
4. The Special Challenges of Teaching in High-Needs Schools
5. How New Teachers Would Improve the Profession
6. How Important is Salary?

This research shows that: "new teachers in middle and high school feel most vulnerable to challenging teaching conditions. Compared to new teachers in elementary schools, high school and middle school teachers are much more concerned about administrative support, more frustrated by student motivation and behavior, less likely to see teaching as a lifelong career choice and less likely to believe that all students can achieve in school than new teachers in elementary schools."

If many countries can not keep the number of qualified secondary teachers in their systems, will education systems around the world become "farmed out" to other countries with delivery online or with a "support advisor" in the classroom? Education administrators and ministries need to take a hard look at their education systems. Are we keeping up the support and training for teachers to prepare them for the 21st century?