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It’s not Super Mario Bros., but school is getting to be more fun. iPads replace textbooks, apps fill in for worksheets, and SMART Boards upstage chalkboards. For students, the changes are exciting. For teachers, the integration of technology into the classroom can feel more like work than play.
That’s where Jennifer Ehehalt comes in. As Education Program Manager for Common Sense Media in Pittsburgh, her job is to help transform learning for the 21st century. “We have to think of technology as a device,” she says. “It’s just a tool. It’s one way to bring in resources to the classroom…. The important thing is that we use them correctly.”
Common Sense Media is a one-stop resource for adults navigating the ever-growing list of software, movies, albums, and TV shows marketed to kids. A nonpartisan organization founded by a former teacher, Common Sense Media publishes high-quality reviews, tip sheets, ratings and curricula geared toward creating a positive media environment for kids. The website distills the opinions of many contributors into one easy-to-use resource. “We have a committee of parents that do the expert rating and reviews, a team that comes from all walks of life, all backgrounds,” says Ehehalt. Beyond that, readers can contribute advice based on their own experience. “It’s almost like Trip Advisor for media.” By leaving room for cross-examination, Common Sense Media gives adults and children the evidence necessary to have constructive, empowering conversations about positive and negative influences. “You can’t control digital media,” says Ehehalt. “You can’t control the media itself and what’s coming through the screens, but you surely can educate and really make [kids] understand what’s the good stuff and how to digest it and use it in a positive way.”
The discussion gets more challenging by the hour. With new software, new shows, new games and new movies launching for multiple platforms every day, Common Sense Media is a smart guide to the digital frontier.
Planning for Change
Teachers, famous for planning, are finding even that to be more difficult than ever. School district purchases, foundation grants, and corporate donations are streaming new hardware and software into classrooms across the country. Educators have to manage the integration of it all with their traditional teaching techniques. At the same time, they are managing something equally critical: their doubts. “With all these pressures in the classroom, trying to harness the technology can be scary to some folks,” Ehehalt says. “So when I come along and give my presentation, it’s just nice to hear that sentence, like, You are a breath of fresh air. The stuff you showed us today, I can really take it back and use it tomorrow.”
One exciting new Common Sense Media resource for teachers is Graphite. The website allows educators to review and recommend apps, TV shows, movies and more for use in the classroom. Teachers can search for specific reviews, but they can also pull from curated lists that reinforce the topics they’re teaching, from grammar to the scientific method. With Graphite, the sifting and categorizing is done, allowing teachers to focus on implementation.
The key, says Ehehalt, is not to feel pressured to learn everything at once. “Choose one thing and get to know it really well.” Teachers looking for hands-on training may be interested in Common Sense Media’s “App-y Hours.” Educators are invited to test out dozens of games and tools, while experts stand by to answer questions and offer advice. “I think it’s just a fun PD [professional development],” says Ehehalt. “I mean, students love technology, they love websites, they love apps, so what better way to kick off a school year than bringing at least five good ones into your classroom?”
With school budgets stretched thin, teachers may be relieved to know that all of the resources Common Sense Media offers are free thanks to foundation support. In Pittsburgh, that includes the Grable Foundation, Allegheny Intermediate Unit, APOST, the Fred Rogers Center, the Sprout Fund and the United Way.
For classroom technology initiatives to have full impact, positive media needs to be a big part of life at home. Whether a parent wants to determine which video games are safe for their middle school child or a babysitter is looking for a movie night feature, Common Sense Media provides in-depth reviews on both new releases and old favorites. The website provides a break down of violence, profanity and sexual content. Learning ratings indicate educational quality.
To fend off arguments, Common Sense Media created family media agreements allowing kids and parents alike to sign off on what’s appropriate. “I don’t know what it is about a child signing their name to something,” says Ehehalt, “but it can be pretty powerful.”
iQ: smartparent
Even if media content is under control in the home, most kids aren’t immune to the culture surrounding it. A Pew Research Center study reports that social networking is the most popular activity for 8- to 18-year-olds, and a 2011 Neilsen report stated that 13- to 17-year-olds send out 3,417 texts each month. That doesn’t even include YouTube: each minute kids upload 72 hours of footage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That increase in connectivity brings on 21st century complications.
Common Sense Media is teaming up with WQED to address those concerns on TV. Their new show, iQ: smartparent, focuses on raising kids in a media-saturated world. “Through television, I think you can reach a vast audience who needs these resources and who would appreciate them and help us spread the word,” says Ehehalt. The live studio audiences are diverse, comprised of everyone from college students to teachers to Girl Scout troops. Maybe they’re not the original target audience, but kids, teens and young adults can take away just as much about media decision-making as teachers and parents can. As Ehehalt says, “If you can leave with something that you can implement in your home or with your family, then something’s right.”
To discover ratings, reviews, tip sheets, and curriculum materials focused on media, visit CommonSenseMedia.org
To learn more about Common Sense Media’s new online community for teachers, visit Graphite.org
Episode 4 of the iQ: smartparent series, “Tune In, Tune Out”, premieres August 29 at 8pm on WQED. The first three episodes—“Learning With Games”, “Girls Growing Up With Media”, and “Health, Wellness, and Technology”—are available for free on the iQ: smartparent website.