WestCAST 2015

WestCAST 2015 was a huge success, not only was it a break from the final hectic weeks of school, but also a great opportunity to meat new people in the education field and continue my learning through professional development. Two items of the conference stuck out to me the most:

1: Jay Wilson, the keynote speaker, discussed the role of technology in education. He emphasized the importance of educating our students to become good digital citizens. Although this is not a groundbreaking topic, it is something that cannot be stressed enough. Take the time to educate your current or future students to be good citizens both online and in the non-virtual world.

2: A group named STARS (Student Teachers Anti-Racism Society) discussed the prevalence of racism among todays students. Often this racism is learned or expressed somewhere online, whether that be in the comment section on YouTube, behind a Twitter handle, or through a gaming console. By teaching students to be good digital citizens hopefully the trend of "cyber" bullying is eliminated.

I can't help but think back to how Bryce Ridgen models the use of Twitter in the classroom, and although this is not something that can be as easily done in a middle years setting, in high school I think it is valuable. By having a teacher encourage proper use of Twitter and be aware of what students are tweeting I think it is less likely the students are using the site inappropriately.