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October, 2019

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>> PROVING KIDS CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. >> I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU GUYS EXACTLY HOW I SOLDER. >> JULIE SAGE IS SOMEWHAT OF A TEEN SCIENCE SUPERHERO, WITH A CLEAR MISSION. >> EVERYONE FROM SUPER YOUNG KIDS TO THE OLDEST PEOPLE ALIVE ALL ENJOY SCIENCE AND WANT TO LEARN SCIENCE. IT WILL HELP OUR FUTURE. >> SHE IS SHARING KNOWLEDGE ONE YOUTUBE VIDEO AT A TIME. >> THE MOST DANGEROUS TREE IN THE WORLD. 20 NEW BLOOMS FIVE MILES IN DIAMETER HAVE BEEN FOUND ORBITING AROUND SATURN. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS CUTE GUY? THIS IS THE CREATURE SCIENTIST HAVE JUST DISCOVERED A SECRET SIXTH FINGER. >> THE NASHUA TEAM DOES IT WOULD HELP OF A GREEN SCREEN -- TEEN DOES IT WITH THE HELP OF A GREEN SCREEN, MAKESHIFT LIGHTS, AND A PARENT BEHIND THE CAMERA. SHE SOMETIMES TAKES SAGE SEVEN LABS ON THE ROAD. >> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AND TEACH PEOPLE SCIENCE CONCEPTS, THEORIES, EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. I LOVE TEACHING AND LEARNING SCIENCE. >> THERE IS A HUGE BREAKOUT OF A TOXIC BACTERIA. IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL, IT CAN KILL YOUR DOG. THERE ARE WAYS TO PROTECT THEM. >> SHE WAS ALSO ACTIVE ON ALSO SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS -- TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, ANYWHERE SHE CAN SPREAD S.T.E.M LOVE. >> I LOVE SCIENCE IN GENERAL. I WANT EVERYONE TO LOVE SCIENCE. THAT IS MY GOAL. I WOULD LIKE TO STUDY BLACK HOLES. I THINK THERE WILL BE SO MANY BREAKTHROUGHS. I WANT TO BE A SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR. >> JULIE'S LOVE FOR SCIENCE STARTED EARLY. IT WAS PROBABLY AROUND FOUR OR FIVE WHEN SHE STARTED READING BOOKS ON HER OWN IN EARNEST. WHEN SHE WAS SIX YEARS OLD, SHE MADE HER PROCLAMATION TO HER FATHER THAT SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTED TO BE WHEN SHE GREW UP. >> THIS FUTURE ASTROPHYSICIST HAS BEEN RUNNING ON ROCKET FUEL EVER SINCE. >> ONE WAS LAUNCHED ON A NASA ROCKET, AND ONE WAS LAUNCHED ON A NASA HIGH-ALTITUDE BALLOON. >> I HAVE BEEN IN A MARVEL COMIC, WHICH WAS SUPER COOL. >> JULIE THINKS THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE IN CONNECTING LIKE-MINDED SCIENCE BRAINS IN HELPING SPREAD THEIR KNOWLEDGE. >> IT HAS OPENED A WHOLE LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES. I HAVE MET SO MANY AMAZING PEOPLE. ♪ >> SO, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? JULIE'S PLANS ARE THE SAME AS WHEN SHE WAS SIX. SHE WANTS TO BE AN ASTROPHYSICIST, BUT SHE HAS ADDED HARVARD AND M.I.T. TO THE TO DO LIST. >> I WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. MY MAIN GOAL IS HELPING PEOPLE. >> SHE SHARES IT. SHE KNOWS WHERE SHE IS GETTING IT. SHE BRINGS PEOPLE A LOT. SHE WANTS TO BRING THE ENTIRE WORLD ALONG WITH HER INTO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE. ♪ >> ANOTHER NEW HAMPSHIRE MEDIA INFLUENCER IS WALKING THE HALLS OF HER MIDDLE SCHOOL, WITH FEW CLASSMATES AWARE THAT AT 12 YEARS OLD, SHE HAS 44,000 TWITTER FOLLOWERS, HAS GIVEN A KEYNOTE SPEECH AT TWITTER AND GOOGLE, AND HAS EVEN WRITTEN HER OWN BOOK. >> I LOVE THIS PLACE, BECAUSE I LOVE READING AND WRITING. THEY ARE MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO. >> THAT OVERALL IMPORTANCE, BOOKS ARE IMPORTANT. THERE IS THE RIGHT BOOK OUT THERE FOR EVERYBODY. >> OLIVIA TRAVELS THE WORLD, SPREADING HER MESSAGE OF POSITIVITY, HER LOVE FOR BOOKS, AND HER MISSION AS A MODEL OF DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP. >> I LIKE TO CALL MYSELF A LEADER, THINKER, AND KID VOICE BELIEVER. I BELIEVE KIDS CAN TEACH US, TOO. I MAKE VIDEOS WHERE I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS AND ABOUT LIFE. I DO KEYNOTE SPEECHES ALL OVER THE WORLD, WHERE I LIKE TO HELP ALL CAPS LOVE B-- KIDS LOVE BOOKS. >> SHE BEGAN WHEN SHE SAW HER MOTHER MAKING VIDEOS AS PART OF AN ASSIGNMENT. >> YOUNG SIX-YEAR-OLD ME CAUGHT, I CAN DO THAT TOO. I STARTED MAKING VIDEOS ABOUT SOMETHING I LOVED -- BOOKS. BE CREATIVE. HAVE FUN. MAKE YOUR MARK. AFTER I STARTED GETTING JOBS, PEOPLE WANTED ME TO COME TO THEIR SCHOOL AND TALK. I STARTED MAKING MORE VIDEOS, NOT JUST ABOUT BOOKS, BUT LIFE. >> HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT STEREOTYPES? STEREOTYPES ARE PEOPLE'S CRAZY IDEAS THAT CAN BE BASED ON HAVING DIFFERENT COLORED SKIN, OR BOYS BEING BETTER THAN GIRLS. >> OLIVIA SAYS SHE IS NOT FAMOUS, SHE IS GLOBAL. >> LIV'S BROTHER AND SISTER AND A TEAM OF FANS NAVIGATE LIVING LIFE AS A KID IN A DIGITAL WORLD. >> A LOT OF THE TIME, ADULTS TEACH KIDS TO BE SCARED OF IT, LIST THE BAD THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING. SOCIAL MEDIA IS MORE OF A GOOD PLACE THAN BAD. >> HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN GIVE AND THAT THE TO THE WORLD? -- GIVE EMPATHY IN THE WORLD? >> SHE AND HER MOM HAVE TEAMED UP TO WRITE A BOOK. >> KIDS LISTEN WHEN THEY HEAR ADVICE COMING FROM OTHER KIDS. WHEN IT IS A KID TELLING THEM SOMETHING, THEY LISTEN MORE. BEING FUTURE READY MEANS BEING BIGGER THAN YOU EVER HAVE BEFORE. IT MEANS YOU VALUE KIDS AND THEIR DIGITAL LIVES. >> I THINK SHE IS JUST A GOOD KID. I THINK SHE IS A CARING KID. I THINK SHE IS A GOOD SISTER. SHE IS A GOOD DAUGHTER. THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER ACCOLADES. >> WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THEY CAN DO WHAT LIV IS DOING. >> KEEP READING, KEEP THINKING, AND KEEP WATCHING LIV BITS.

Tonight, meet two NH youth who are going viral! One makes videos about books, the other has a YouTube channel all about science. See how these kid influencers are spreading their positive vibes through the internet and across the world. Plus , "Welcome to Marwen" is a Hollywood movie starring Steve Carell that tells the true story of Mark Hogancamp and the world he creates. That world, played out in photographs was on display at Keene State College and Karen Meyers got to sit down with the gallery's director, a friend of Hogancamp's, who gives us a personal insight into the mesmerizing world. On Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire: Stinson Lake in Rumney. For more information on tonight's stories:The Liv Bitshttp://www.thelivbits.com/Julie Sage7 Sage Labshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG8CLJDhaQfs5GVmYxURpkgThorne-Sagendorph Art GalleryKeene State Collegehttp://www.keene.edu/tsag/Marwencolhttp://marwencol.com/Hosting this week from:The FellsNewbury, NHhttps://thefells.org/

Tonight, meet two NH youth who are going viral! One makes videos about books, the other has a YouTube channel all about science. See how these kid influencers are spreading their positive vibes through the internet and across the world.

Plus , "Welcome to Marwen" is a Hollywood movie starring Steve Carell that tells the true story of Mark Hogancamp and the world he creates. That world, played out in photographs was on display at Keene State College and Karen Meyers got to sit down with the gallery's director, a friend of Hogancamp's, who gives us a personal insight into the mesmerizing world.

On Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire: Stinson Lake in Rumney.
For more information on tonight's stories:
The Liv Bits
http://www.thelivbits.com/
Julie Sage

7 Sage Labs
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG8CLJDhaQfs5GVmYxURpkg
Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery

Keene State College
http://www.keene.edu/tsag/
Marwencol
http://marwencol.com/ Hosting this week from:
The Fells

Newbury, NH
https://thefells.org/

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PROVING KIDS CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. >> I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU GUYS EXACTLY HOW I SOLDER. >> JULIE SAGE IS SOMEWHAT OF A TEEN SCIENCE SUPERHERO, WITH A CLEAR MISSION. >> EVERYONE FROM SUPER YOUNG KIDS TO THE OLDEST PEOPLE ALIVE ALL ENJOY SCIENCE AND WANT TO LEARN SCIENCE.

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People Magazine Article: Princess Diana Award

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People Magazine Article: Princess Diana Award

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On the day that would have been Princess Diana's 58th birthday, some of the young people inspired to help their communities around the world in her name are being honored.

The Diana Award, which was established in her memory 20 years ago and has the support of her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, announced the largest number of young people from the U.S. joining roll of honor.

More than 20 young people from across the U.S. are listed in the rundown of award winners. One of the award winners is being hosted at special evening at the House of Lords, Westminster, London on Monday.

The Americans represent the largest ever intake for the Diana Award - and follows the successful Changemakers campaign that was specifically set up to widen the impact of the charity. "There was a phenomenal response from across the States," a spokeswoman says.

The "exceptional young people have demonstrated their ability to inspire and mobilize their own generation to service their communities through campaigning, volunteering, fundraising, tackling bullying or overcoming extreme life challenges."

The chief executive of the award, Tessy Ojo, says, "We know by receiving this honor they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens."

The Americans included in this year's list of award winners are Brandon Gruber, a 23 year old from Brentwood Union school district in California, for founding the 321life+1 Foundation, which helps disadvantaged migrant communities and those with Down's Syndrome; Cory Alpert, 23, for organizing flood relief to families in South Carolina; Dea Kurtu, 17, of Novel Girls, in N.Y. for inspiring young women into STEM subjects; Elizabeth Niemiec, 25, of the Little Wish Foundation that helps children with cancer in Indianapolis; Jahkil Jackson, 11, who set up Project I Am to help homeless people in Illinois; Kamyr Krystal, 19, who helps people living with Alzheimer's Disease in Puerto Rico; anti-bullying campaigners Kheris Rogers, 12, who started a clothing line to remind others they are beautiful, and Mahealani Sims-Tulba, 18, from Hawaii, who has written a book and delivers training; and Meagan Warren, 15, from Ohio, where she set up Books for Bedtime that collects and distributes books to children.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

The list also adds Minh Nguyen, 16, from California, of USPEAK a special media safe-place; Olivia Van Ledtje, 11, creator of LivBits, to inspire kids and teachers about reading; Olivia Woodrich, 20, from Oklahoma, who was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, and has spoken on Capitol Hill about the syndrome; Salvador Gomez Colon, 16, from Michigan, for helping get humanitarian aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; Shruthi Kumar, 16, Nebraska, for her GoYogi mindfulness program to manage stress; and Muscular dystrophy sufferer Tabitha Bell, 18, from Utah, whose Pawsitive Pawsibilities helps provide service dogs for disabled people.

And the honorees also include Tahiris Castillo, 21, Philadelphia, for volunteering with numerous NGOs and non-profits; Tyler Carach, 10, from Alabama, of "I Donut Need a Reason to Thank a Cop" which supports the police; aspiring surgeon Vanica Bajaj, 21, Boston, who's started a project to provide mobile Breast Cancer Screening System for Ghana; Victor Ye, 16, from California, founded InnovaYouth, which promotes intellectual curiosity in the so-called Generation Z.

Last but not least, Kanchan Amatya, 23, an anti-poverty campaigner from Missouri, founded the youth-led social enterprise, Sustainable Fish Farming Initiative, and the founders of the YesSheCan Campaign, a non-profit made up of nine young people aged 15-23 from New Jersey, which focuses on inspiring girls and young women to continue their education and share their stories to make a difference. The organization runs 11 different programs across the U.S.

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Record Number of Americans Honored by Charity That Carries Princess Diana's Name on Her Birthday

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On the day that would have been Princess Diana's 58th birthday, some of the young people inspired to help their communities around the world in her name are being honored. The Diana Award, which was established in her memory 20 years ago and has the support of her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, announced the largest number of young people from the U.S.

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Google Headquarters, San Francisco, CA

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Olivia Van Ledtje #Digital4Good 2018 #kidsCANteachus

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#BLC18

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Olivia Van Ledtje - Teachers Make a Difference - Teachers Around the World

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Olivia Van Ledtje, just now 12, tells the story of giving a talk in a western Massachusetts elementary school auditorium that was packed with students and teachers from three school communities - when she was 10. She writes that, after her talk, the students wanted to ask "loads of one-of-a-kind kid questions - the kind I can never feel fully prepared to answer.

"Luckily, the one-of-a-kind questions at this visit were ones that created instant heartbeeps for me and the crowd. In other words, I didn't leave the visit rethinking any of my answers. In fact, I felt proudest of my final one - so much so that it's become a central message in all of my subsequent school visits."

One of the students had asked Olivia, "How does it feel to be famous?"

"I didn't even hesitate in my response," she writes, in Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World, the new book for educators that she co-authored with her mother: teacher, speaker and education consultant Cynthia Merrill.

"I'm not famous, I'm global!" was Olivia's response. Huge cheers filled the auditorium, she writes. She'd clearly ignited something and felt "so grateful to those kids for encouraging and believing in the purpose of my LivBit work."

Better & bigger than famous

What her audience got is that there's something bigger than famous - bigger in terms of scope (global, referring to the worldwide following of tens of thousands of educators, children's authors and students Olivia has amassed on social media platforms), yes, but also in terms of being more meaningful (to her and her elementary school peers) and in terms of hope. Fame is not something any kid can do. What Olivia does is something any kid can do - with the support of the adults in their life and connected media.

So what is it that she does? A lot of things along the lines of sharing her thinking in digital media, but "LivBits" are what Olivia, or Liv, has been doing the longest (since she was 8). They're little 60-80 second "selfie videos" she posts in social media for peers and teachers. Because she loves to read, they're about what she learns from and loves about books, something that people - like the books' authors, librarians and educators who teach with her favorite books - wanted to follow. So her network organically grew (as of this writing, @theLivBits has 44,540 followers on Twitter and close to that on Instagram). She also loves sharks and ichthyology, the study of them, so they too have figured prominently in LivBits. Soon teachers who followed her started using selfie videos in their classrooms, giving their little students voice. Liv got invited to schools to speak to peers about her experience and be their tech and media mentor. Her original LivBit topics have naturally broadened out to what Liv learns from speaking, life, and learning from people of all ages online, in her PLN (professional learning network), and her travels. She has also expanded into other media, having created a podcast (interviewing authors), a blog, keynote speaking at educators' conferences and now authoring a book.

Those are the basics of this young activist's work, but let me come back to the bigger-than-famous part and what sparked three schools' worth of children filling an auditorium with cheering. "Kids want to have purpose in their connected lives," Liv writes in Spark Change. She was showing them how, and they got it. In the auditorium and online, she'd been demonstrating for them how they can have and grow their voice and make a difference in the world too. This is digital citizenship, or just citizenship in a digital age: helping children find and take their place in the world by providing the tools and opportunities to express and act on what's important to them. It's self and citizen actualization.

'The Selfie Center'

How did Liv and Cynthia arrive at this formula? It started when Cynthia was teaching at the University of New Hampshire. For a research project, she created "The Selfie Center," where her graduate students would make short selfie videos in which they'd process out loud their student-teaching experiences. When they later had their own classrooms, many of her former grad students would send Cynthia selfie videos their little students had made.

"I was fascinated by how much more kids would say and the deep reflection they'd do when talking on video to themselves," Cynthia told me in a phone interview. Liv later wrote in their book that "these elementary students talked about their thinking as readers, and I just loved watching their videos over and over again. I was fascinated by how kids talked about books they loved, and I thought to myself, I can make those kinds of videos too!"

But what turned the video consumer into a creator was a really hard situation at school. Liv was bullied in 2nd and 3rd grades by a small group of kids. It got so bad she had to be transferred to another class. She missed her friends in her old class, Cynthia told me, and her self-esteem took a nosedive so "I told her, you're such an amazing reader, why don't you make your own videos about what you're reading, and I'll put it on my Instagram?"

Cynthia writes, "I wanted Liv to have a project where she could see herself the way I saw her: caring, smart, and resourceful. I knew if she talked about her reading, she'd get feedback from people other than me, and maybe she'd believe in herself a little more" - what Cynthia had learned from her university teaching and what Liv had learned from watching the results. It's an understatement to say that it worked. Read the book to find out how.

Kid-focused, citizen-sourced

Spark Change is breaking new ground. It opens eyes to children and young people's view of the world - how they want to engage with it and how they'd like us to work with them to that end, using the tech and media tools of their world. Each chapter features a young activist, and there are seven of them:

Digital Rights, where the authors urge us to consider that digital access and connected learning are children's rights

Digital Purpose, along with autonomy and mastery as the intrinsic rewards that kids crave because they're about doing work that's meaningful to them

Digital Authenticity, where we learn about Liv's dozens-strong #digitalcrew that provides digital safety backup (one of them is @helentheshark, who taught her how to "block [meanness] and bloom"), though Cynthia notes, importantly, that "in three years' time, Liv has had only four instances on social media platforms when she needed assistance"

Digital Creation, about how "creating content online helps kids feel connected to the world," among many other things

Digital Activism, where author Kate DiCamillo taught Liv to ask, "How do I see humanity?" ("I think Kate's advice about noticing humanity is what being an activist is all about," Liv writes)

Digital Exploration, helping teachers help kids make social media a "learning landscape"....

The last chapter brings us back around to the future of (digital) citizenship, taking our understanding of it to the next level by modeling how it's citizen-sourced. "Technology in the hands of children sparks the change we need in the world," Cynthia writes. "Let them tell their stories. Help them lift their stories. Believe their stories can change humanity."

Early in the book Liv talks about a word she came across for her family's nightly game of finding a word that stumps everybody. One night, when it was her turn, she brought everybody a word from New Zealand: turangawaewae. "Her word definitely stumped me," Cynthia writes. They laughed because Liv had found this word, one of the Maori people's most powerful concepts, when the two of them were in the middle of writing this book. It was perfect. To me (and I suspect to Liv and Cynthia, though I haven't asked them), it fundamentally expresses the ground from which humans and citizens grow. It has two parts, Cynthia found: turanga, or "standing place" and waewae, or "feet." It's a beautiful metaphor. Because growing up is all about finding one's "standing place" in the world, and digital citizenship must be in service to that.

Related links

Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World, by Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill, just published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), can be found here and their book trailer on YouTube here.

As of this fall, there is now solid scholarship backing up everything in this book: Young People in Digital Society: Control Shift, by Australian researchers Amanda Third, Philippa Collin, Lucas Walsh and Rosalyn Black. Other supporting scholarly work is Dr. Kristen Mattson's dissertation, "Moving Beyond Personal Responsibility: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Digital Citizenship Curricula" and Dr. Nathan Fisk's Framing Internet Safety: The Governance of Youth Online.

"Teens are leading movements - it's time to promote policies that reflect youths' promise," a commentary in TheHill.com from two professors teaching medicine, public policy, education and human development

Back in 2013, I discovered and wrote about a non-digital "tool" that supports children finding their turangawaewae and families helping them do that, including with digital tools

Past posts on digital citizenship in this blog

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Spark Change: The book taking (digital) citizenship to a whole new level - NetFamilyNews.org

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Olivia Van Ledtje, just now 12, tells the story of giving a talk in a western Massachusetts elementary school auditorium that was packed with students and teachers from three school communities - when she was 10. She writes that, after her talk, the students wanted to ask "loads of one-of-a-kind kid questions - the kind ...

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Listen to a Global Team of Educators Share Their Ideas on Learning <<<I'm in it!!!!>>>

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Bonus Episode 3: MastermindED | coachbetter.tv

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Sign up for our #coachbetter mailing list to receive a newsletter every other week all about coaching in a school context. Each FREE newsletter features one of our relevant coaching videos, a practical coaching tip you can use right away, plus a great resource created or selected by Kim, Clint or Chrissy to help you #coachbetter!

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Kids are naturally curious about the world around them. They seek ways to understand and interact with their environment, often using digital tools to do so. Imagine a world where children's curiosities are amplified -- helping them see the power of their thinking, perspective and voice. Spark Change examines the multitude of possibilities available when students are given the opportunity to amplify their learning online, centering on three ideas of citizenship: be a good person, be critical and be an advocate for something you care about in life.

The book introduces readers to Liv, a young changemaker empowered to use digital tools to create and share content online. Liv's story offers readers an opportunity to explore how students can use technology as a tool for empathy, equity and activism. Kids can't become changemakers if they aren't empowered to think beyond their own community. Liv's online sense of agency serves as an example of maximizing opportunities, developing a powerful voice and making global connections that deepen her compassion for people and the world.

This book:

Highlights the voice and work of student Olivia Van Ledtje who exemplifies responsible online activism, inspiring both kids and adults in the global community.

Follows a model of gradual release of responsibility -- I do, we do, you do -- to show how to teach kids how to approach connected-learning experiences.

Draws on rich literacy and technology research on student identity and pairing literacy and thinking in a digital age.

Illustrates the value of creation and connected learning, weaving in the critical need for digital literacy for students.

Features young students as digital leaders, providing examples of digital activism and the power of authentic student voice and participation.

Connected-learning opportunities help students develop key understandings about the world around them. This book shows how these understandings lead to social action, and how students develop a deeper sense of empathy and kindness from interacting with the world.
About the Authors
Olivia Van Ledtje (@thelivbits) is an 11-year-old who is smart about all things sharks. She hopes to be an ichthyologist and work to save sharks all over the world. A seasoned keynote speaker, Liv's work on LivBits has been featured internationally as a model of digital good. An accomplished ballerina, Liv has participated in summer intensives in Chicago and New York City. Liv is an avid reader and Pop Tart-eater, living in Durham, New Hampshire, with her family.

Cynthia Merrill (@cyndisueboo) is a consultant, speaker and teacher dedicated to strengthening literacy experiences for all students. She works in diverse school communities throughout the U.S .coaching, training and encouraging administrators and teachers in their practices. Merrill is passionate about creating authentic opportunities for students to document their thinking using tech tools.
Reviews "Spark Change is breaking new ground. It opens eyes to children and young people's view of the world - how they want to engage with it and how they'd like us to work with them to that end, using the tech and media tools of their world." - Anne Collier, Net Family News

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Kids are naturally curious about the world around them. They seek ways to understand and interact with their environment, often using digital tools to do so. Imagine a world where children's curiosities are amplified -- helping them see the power of their thinking, perspective and voice.

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Washington, DC

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WASHINGTON - Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill aren't a typical daughter and mother. They've embraced the online world and have co-written a book sharing their journey, experiences and thoughts about the future in our tech-empowered world.
Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital Worldmarks two firsts for its publisher, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) - it's the first ISTE book from a child author and the first book from a mother-daughter team.
Olivia, age 11, uses technology from her New Hampshire home to inspire empathy, equity and activism. Her mission is to share messages with the world that are hopeful, kind and true. She's the creator of TheLivBits - short videos for kids and teachers about reading, thinking and life. Her work is featured internationally as a model for digital citizenship and kid creation. Because of her activism, she's a recipient of the Diana Award, named in honor of Princess Diana and awarded to inspiring young people around the world.
For example, through social media, Liv discovered that an Ohio school could only fund its highly successful ukulele program (for grades K-5) for a limited part of the year because of budget issues. Liv's sense of social justice prompted her to immediately use her Twitter account to successfully seek donations of ukuleles from around the world.
Through it all, her mom, Cynthia, helps her understand how to strengthen literacy and tech experiences for all students.
" Spark Change illustrates what's possible when students are given the opportunity to use digital tools to create and share content," says Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE. "We're especially excited that the ISTE Standards provide a powerful and meaningful rudder for the work Liv presents in this book. Just as importantly, this book features several other students doing the kind of work Liv models; they all demonstrate how the power of technology is transforming teaching and learning."
Each chapter leads with an invitation to the reader and highlights the ISTE Standards for Educators that align to the chapter topic. The authors point out that all the LivBits work can be adapted to the classroom and function as student activities. Aside from the LivBits examples, there's a "Lesson Ideas to Try" section that features activities from other teachers in the field who have explored these ideas.
This book also:

Follows a model of gradual release of responsibility - "I do," "we do," "you do" - to show how to teach kids the best way to approach connected learning experiences.

Illustrates the value of creation and connected learning, weaving in the critical need for digital literacy for students.

As Liv writes, "My biggest hope is for all kids to have people who value their voices and lift their stories for the world. And the biggest thrill I've had from my school-based work is with kids who create with hope in their hearts and a desire to make the world better."
Cynthia says, "In today's connected world, it's no longer a question of whether students are going to be using a device; it's about supporting students to create, reason and connect responsibly. When we teach students to behave the same way online as they do in person, the focus is less about the appropriateness of digital space and more about becoming good humans."
Their video highlights the book at http://bit.ly/SparkChangeISTE.

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Daughter-Mother Book Highlights Online Ways to 'Spark' Change

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WASHINGTON - Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill aren't a typical daughter and mother. They've embraced the online world and have co-written a book sharing their journey, experiences and thoughts about the future in our tech-empowered world.

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EdTech RoundUp

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Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World is a new ISTE publication written by Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill. Olivia (Liv) is an 11-year-old student and shark-lover who runs LivBits and has done a ton of great work supporting youth empowerment through technology and social media. Cynthia is a literacy consultant and provides coaching and training to teachers and administrators.

​Together, they wrote Spark Change, which provides examples and ideas for how "students can use technology as a tool for empathy, equity, and activism." Continue reading on our Review's Page.

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Book Review | Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World by Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill

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Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World is a new ISTE publication written by Olivia Van Ledtje and Cynthia Merrill. Olivia (Liv) is an 11-year-old student and shark-lover who runs LivBits and has done a ton of great work supporting youth empowerment through technology and social media.

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Example of a Liv's List! Check them out on my website

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Example of a Liv's List! Check them out on my website

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Did you know there's a FLIPGRID for EVERY episode of The KidLit Show?

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Did you know there's a FLIPGRID for EVERY episode of The KidLit Show?

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Yes! There is! Check out this link!

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Check out my podcast: The KidLit Show on the Pinna App and in Apple Podcasts!

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Check out my podcast: The KidLit Show on the Pinna App and in Apple Podcasts!

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I've hosted chats for Wonderopolis and TCRWP! I'd LOVE to do more!

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Check out the link on my website!

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Hi, I'm Liv from @TheLivBits! I like to use social media to share positive messages about my passions. You can check out my LivBits on my Vimeo page!

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Keep reading! Keep thinking! Keep watching LivBits for more ideas about your books...and life!

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Liv uses social media for GOOD and shows the world that kids can teach! She's an excellent model for young learners.
- ﻿Kristin Ziemke ﻿
Author of Amplify Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom

In an age of global connectedness, Liv's videos, shared through her "mom-monitored" Twitter, Instagram, and Vimeo accounts have taken the world by storm since she began posting in February 2016.
- Cassie J. Brownell
Doctoral candidate and Marianne Amarel Teaching and Teacher Education Fellow in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University

Seriously! @thelivbits is awesome! Love the idea of #MentorTeching and - Derek Larson
Teacher, Keynote & International Speaker, #MyTaiwanTeacher . Such an inspiration!
Southern Utah Educators Conference and Utah Coalition for Educational Technology's Boards.

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In an age of global connectedness, Liv's videos, shared through her "mom-monitored" Twitter, Instagram, and Vimeo accounts have taken the world by storm.

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Olivia (aka as LivBit) is a 9-year old who is smart about all things shark and hopes to be a future ichthyologist. She is an ambassador for the Gills Club, an organization promoting girls in science through inquiry-based experiences meant to grow enthusiasm and activism for sharks.

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#SharkGuardian

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Educate, Inspire, Enable

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OCEARCH is a data-centric organization built to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean.

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I'm Kid Keynote at Alan November's BLC Conference

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I'm Kid Keynote at Alan November's BLC Conference

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Meet Your Host, Alan November

Alan November

Founder, November Learning, Marblehead, MA

An international leader in education technology, Alan November began his career as an oceanography teacher and dorm counselor at a reform school for boys. Today, he thrives on challenging educators' thoughts about what is possible in teaching and learning. Recognized as one of the nation's most influential thinkers, Alan has delivered keynotes and workshops in all 50 states, across Canada and throughout the UK, Europe, Asia and Central America.
More on Alan November

Meet Our Esteemed Keynote Presenters

Alan November selects each keynote speaker and featured presenter based on a personal connection with the ground-breaking qualities of his or her work. There is no request for proposals to find these innovative minds. Varied and valuable, the topics covered by our esteemed guests draw an array of participants for a truly global experience. Get to know more about these powerful practitioners of transformative education - including Alan November himself, BLC's host.

Zoran Popović is a Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, as well as founder of Enlearn. Trained as a computer scientist, his research focuses on creating engaging environments for learning and scientific discovery. He is one of the leaders in the field of large-scale citizen science. His laboratory created Foldit, a biochemistry game that produced four Nature publications, and showed for the first time that novices can be developed into world-class experts in a science domain through game-based scientific discovery. His laboratory has produced award-winning math learning games played by over five million learners worldwide. He is currently focusing on engaging methods that can rapidly develop mastery and expertise in arbitrary domains with particular focus on scientific breakthroughs and revolutionizing K-12 math education. Zoran is known for conducting large-scale educational campaigns including Algebra Challenges conducted in Washington, Minnesota, and Norway with almost 100,000 students. To maximize the impact of his research, he founded Enlearn to develop the first platform that adapts all aspects of the learning ecosystem by specializing to each curriculum, student, classroom and teacher in realtime, towards maximizing learning outcomes. His contributions to the field of interactive computer experiences have been recognized by a number of awards including the NSF CAREER Award, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and ACM SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award.

Christy LaPaglia

Autism Awareness Educator

Christy LaPaglia has been working in the field of special education as a teacher, consultant and an autism awareness educator for over 20 years.Christy began her career when she was hired to teach in the first classroom in a public school in Northeast Ohio designed specifically for children with autism. Most recently she was charged with the design and development of the first public school designed to meet the needs of students on the autism spectrum. She is currently the director of the Cardinal Autism Resource and Education School in Mentor Ohio.

Over the years, Christy has developed a quality and highly respected program for students with autism. Since then she has been asked by surrounding districts to help recreate similar programs in their own districts. Christy has been trained in many methodologies of educating students with autism including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Greenspan's DIR model, Carol Gray's Social Stories, but her primary focus has been on the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) methodology. Christy has twice been awarded the Franklin B. Walter Award for outstanding achievement in special education.

Christy has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Kent State University and a Masters in Curriculum and Design from Cleveland State University. Christy holds a permanent teaching certificate moderate/intense k-12 and an administration license k-12.

Olivia Van Ledtje

Wisdom of a 9-year-old digital citizen

http://novemberlearning.com/podcasts/Olivia_Van_Ledtje_podcast.mp3

Olivia (aka as LivBit) is a 9-year old who is smart about all things shark and hopes to be a future ichthyologist.She is an ambassador for the Gills Club, an organization promoting girls in science through inquiry-based experiences meant to grow enthusiasm and activism for sharks.Olivia is also a passionate advocate for books and using social media to promote digital citizenship, voice and audience.Wanting to promote a deeper understanding about kindness in social media posting, Olivia is working hard to be a mentor tech example for others. She loves to tweet out messages that help kids love authors, books, and big ideas about life.

Olivia is also an accomplished ballerina and spent several weeks this summer at American Ballet Theater's Summer Intensive Program in NYC, where she connected with dancers for all over the world and found out that she is a city girl at heart.She plays the violin, loves eating pizza, and has an incredible heart for all things Disney!

Olivia's work on LivBits has been featured all over the world, including conferences in Taiwan, Singapore, and England.She was so excited to be included as a keynote speaker and voice for kids and social media at the Twitter Headquarters this past October. She's been honored to present with accomplished authors at national conferences across the country, including NCTE, ASCD, ISTE, and ILA, and looks forward to more opportunities working with authors and organizations who share her drive to promote digital citizenship for kids.

Connect with Olivia at @thelivbits

Eric Williams has served as the superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginia since July 2014. LCPS serves approximately 78,000 students in 90 schools.

Williams served previously as superintendent in York County, Virginia, as an assistant superintendent and principal in Naples, Florida, and as a teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. He has also worked as a teacher and administrator in Massachusetts and Brazil.

Dr. Williams' educational background includes a bachelor's degree in education from the College of William and Mary, a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University and a doctorate of education from Boston University.

His Twitter username is @ewilliams65.

Rob Evans

Clinical and Organizational Psychologist

Robert Evans is a clinical and organizational psychologist and the Executive Director of The Human Relations Service in Wellesley, Massachusetts. A former high school and pre-school teacher, and for many years a child and family therapist, he has consulted in more than 1,700 schools throughout the U.S. and internationally, working with teachers, administrators, and boards, and speaks widely at educational conferences.
Rob received his undergraduate degree from Princeton and his doctorate from Harvard. His interests have focussed on change and resistance to it in schools and organizations, on the challenges of leading innovation, and on changes in American families and their impact on schools. He is currently concentrating on ways to improve collegiality and candor among educators and to promote realistic dialogue about accountability.

Additional Presenters

The following presenters have sent in welcome videos for BLC17. Please enjoy!

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Learn from innovative minds in Transformative Education.

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Alan November Founder, November Learning, Marblehead, MA An international leader in education technology, Alan November began his career as an oceanography teacher and dorm counselor at a reform school for boys. Today, he thrives on challenging educators' thoughts about what is possible in teaching and learning.

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You can also check out my pictures and selfie videos on my Instragram! @TheLivBits

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I love using Twitter to share out my LivBits and to connect with people all around the world! Follow @TheLivBits for great reading ideas (and some awesome shark facts)

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Tweets by thelivbits

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LivBit in a Nutshell: Keep Reading, Keep Thinking

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This is "LivBit in a Nutshell: Keep Reading, Keep Thinking" by TheLivBits on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.