In this weeks class we had a guest speaker, Jesse Miller, come and talk to us about online safety and privacy.  I found it very interesting and helpful to learn more about how and where our information is tracked, as well as things to keep in mind when having students work online.  I think it is so important for children to learn this kind of information as well before they start using things like social media or posting on YouTube.  I think that many kids don’t understand the digital footprint that is left behind anytime they post something, and the ramifications it can have in the future.  The earlier you can educate them and get them thinking about that, I think the more effect it will have on them being mindful and careful about what they post online.  Jesse’s presentation was a good reminder to me that while there are useful benefits of social media and other online tools it is important to ensure you understand their privacy agreements and be mindful about what kind of information you share when using them.

After Jesse’s presentation we also practiced video editing in iMovie.  I used a short video of Rich’s daughter and her goats, and learned how to trim, split, and add transitions, titles, and credits to the video.  I found it fairly straight forward to do because we were given very clear and detailed instructions from our teacher.  If I had had to figure it out on my own, however, I would have found it difficult as there were a lot of steps and it was tricky to find some tabs within the program.  I think iMovie would be a fun tool to use with students, but I believe it would be better for older grades like grade 4 and up.  Here is the video clip that I edited: