When Life Gives You Music, You Create Dances & When School Divisions Give You A New Platform Well You Got to Become a Jedi Master… Major Learning Project Final Post

Happy Dance GIF by renderfruit

Introduction

Being able to choose my own learning path this semester not only made the learning fun but also so personal and applicable to what I actually need to become a better teacher. When I first decided to enter into my Master’s my focus was on reading and writing but since those classes are not being offered I have had to veer in other directions, and I am sure glad I veered to this class. I chose Option 2: Personal Journey Into Social Media. The apps I have been working on learning more about this semester is TikTok (personal) and Edsby (educational). I should note that on my blog page I created the category Major Learning Project but then created sub categories to help organize my project:

The Last Jedi Training GIF by Star Wars

TikTok has 4 sub categories: What is TikTok, Privacy, Terms of Service & Community Guidelines, My Exploration, & Common Sense

Edsby has 6 sub categories: What is Edsby, Privacy Policy & Terms of Use, Parent Exploration, Teacher Exploration, Student View Exploration, & Common Sense

TikTok

I chose TikTok as a personal platform to get to know better because of my daughter; she has been wanting to download it onto her phone I had reservations about it mainly because I did not know how to use it myself. I have definitely learned a lot through My Explorations and my understanding of learning how to use TikTok from embedding the videos has grown since my first post of attempting the hair and makeup tutorials to adding sound, voice, using visual effects, adding simple text, adding visuals, using slo mo effects, combining videos and pictures, playing games, changing my voice, playing with durations of text, multiple layers of text, and transitions. The amount of time that goes into creating some of these videos was staggering to me but I felt as I became more fluid with the platform it would come quicker.

An important step to understanding TikTok was to learn what TikTok was so take a look here to see my summary of the app.

Diving into the Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines provided me when some clarity of what the platform offers you or in my case my daughter and my piece of mind in how they protect your privacy. Unfortunately I am not in love with this piece of it, and have decided that I am not comfortable with my daughter putting up TikToks of herself onto the platform but I would be comfortable with her using the platform to watch other TikToks. I did really like to Community Guidelines section and I would like to believe that they will and do stand by these standards but am curious if anyone has had any other experiences.

This semester I have been introduced to Common Sense and I have really enjoyed looking through the educational tools they offer parents, students, and teachers. I came across a page within the website that rates the platforms privacy safety, and in this case TikTok Privacy Safety evaluation falls short. In addition to discovering the evaluation I also came across a “Parents’ Ultimate Guide to TikTok” I found this tool particularly helpful as a parent and a new user to the platform.

I still have more to learn about the app and its relationship to the teaching profession, however that was not to purpose of my learning at this point in time. I was wanting to learn how to use the app and understand some of the ins and outs before giving my daughter the go ahead. I believe I have accomplished the task I was hoping to achieve and am happy with my learning! I had a great time!

Edsby

Edsby is a platform that was introduced to our school division about 2 years ago; just as we were shutting down for COVID we were instructed that coming in the new year we would expected to implement and use this new program. I always felt that I can easily pick up on the systems our division gives us but learned quickly that Edsby is more than just a place to put your grades and take attendance but I was NOT READY to take it any further than just the basics. This is where my professional learning journey for this class came into play. I knew there was more to Edsby then what I was using it for; the teachers in my upper grades use the platform for a lot more than I do and at some point in my career I know 2 things: 1- I want to teacher upper elementary and knowing how to create assignments like I do on google classroom but on Edsby is going to be a must and 2- I want to eventually make my way into administration and I believe knowing the systems we have in place inside and out is vital to being able to support my colleges. The learning about the capabilities of Edsby was vast throughout this project and I am so glad I was able to learn more in-depth about something that is directly correlated to my job requirement.

Now I have to say I have been so lucky to be able to show you the platform from 3 different views, the teacher view, parent view, and the student view. All these views offer similar looking platforms which has its benefits but also its downfalls. Edsby has worked with our school division and many divisions in Saskatchewan and has made changes to the platform when complaints are being brought up. One that I have noticed that has made a significant difference is the update mobile app; it was extremely difficult to use, you couldn’t access certain information on the app only on the computer, etc. Anyways positive changes were made and now as a parent I can access everything from my phone and from a computer; we can’t assume everyone has both a phone and a computer (digital access right? Mike Ribble’s 9 Elements). My hope is that the next big change they do to their platform is to make a more child friendly version!

I also explored Edsby’s Privacy Policy here and I felt confident that my privacy was safe, my students privacy was safe, my children’s privacy was safe. I also used Common Sense and looked up the evaluation they performed on Edsby; check out how they scored and if Common Sense believes it is a safe place.

Thank you for stopping in and looking at my major learning project this semester!

More Fun *Ahem I Mean Learning With TikTok

So I decided to play around with the interactive effects this time. First I went looking for the dinosaur filter that Steve Boots said to try but then I got sidetracked and remembered it was my sisters birthday so I created this TikTok for her and used a fun filter:

I then decided to play around with the “How Old Do You Look” effect. I am happy to report I am happy with the result; it could be worse, much worse:

I was feeling in a good dancing mood so I then decided to give this one a go. Let’s just say my daughter was less than impressed to be sitting in a parking lot with me while I played with these effects!

Now I am TERRIBLE at video games; I blame my parents because we were never allowed to have such things in our home growing up but when I found this interactive game on TikTok I was quite surprised that they offered many other games. I added music, captions, and changed my voice to a chipmunk.

Privacy Policy

Here are some of the highlights from TikTok Privacy Policy that I took away

tiktok privacy policy
https://www.dignited.com/60030/diving-into-tiktoks-privacy-policy-uninstall-or-not/
  1. The information they collect on you is when you first create your account on the platform

2. They use the information to tailor your “For You” and target advertising

3. They share your information with third parties: business partners, content moderation services, measurement providers, advertisers, and analytics providers.

4. They keep your information for as long as they need it to provide you with the necessary service. They also keep it for legal claims.

5. Types of personal data they use

  • Your Profile Information
  • User Content and Behavioural Information
  • Information from Third Parties
  • Technical Information –  your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices. Where you log-in from multiple devices, we will be able to use your profile information to identify your activity across devices. We may also associate you with information collected from devices other than those you use to log-in to the Platform. AAAHHH SCARY
  • Location

The security of your personal data:

“We take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with this policy. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will protect your personal data, for example, by encryption, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted via the Platform; any transmission is at your own risk.”

Community Guidelines

I really like that TikTok not only has its typical terms of use and privacy policy but it takes it a step further and incorporates a community guideline which I really appreciated. Maybe other platforms offer this too and I just didn’t realize it? I am also curious based off of the information shared by Alec, I am wondering if TikTok has ever been used to exploit other people? It definitely goes against their community guidelines.

TikTok States in its introduction of the Community Guidelines,

“Our Community Guidelines establish a set of norms and common code of conduct that provide for a safe and welcoming space for everyone. At TikTok, we prioritize safety, diversity, inclusion, and authenticity.”

Topics Covered in this guideline are:

  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • National origin
  • Religion
  • Caste
  • Sexual orientation
  • Sex
  • Gender
  • Gender identity
  • Serious disease
  • Disability
  • Immigration status
Diversity Ethnicity World Global Community Concept Stock Photo, Picture And  Royalty Free Image. Image 41467374.
https://www.123rf.com/photo_41467374_diversity-ethnicity-world-global-community-concept.html

TikTok Has A Mission

TikTok mission is to have a place where someone can come and create a short videos that inspires creativity and brings joy to others. https://www.tiktok.com/about?lang=en

Investopedia says that TikTok is, “a popular social media app that allows users to create, watch, and share 15-second videos shot on cellphones. With its personalized feeds of quirky short videos set to music and sound effects, the app is notable for its addictive quality and high levels of engagement. Amateur and professional creators alike can add effects like filters, background music, and stickers to their videos, and can collaborate on content and create split-screen duet videos even if they’re in different locations.” Which I think this explains it much better then what TikTok says about themselves.

Interesting fact: Did you know TikTok was formally Musical.ly?

Privacy Policy

Data Privacy Day warning: Organizations that succeed take privacy seriously  | IT World Canada News
https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/data-privacy-day-warning-organizations-that-succeed-take-privacy-seriously/426506

The one thing that I am guilty of is just clicking agree to privacy policies and terms of use before even reading them. Taking the time to learn about Edsby’s Privacy Policy was an important step to my growth. I was mostly curious with what information was collected and who they share it with.

What Personal Information Do They Store?

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that they store some pretty private information but it is mainly the students private information that has the most at stake.

Students: “name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, student number, Ministry ID, address information, email address, photos for student profiles, certain health information kept in student records, course information, individual education program (IEP), indigenous status, and community service hours.” https://edsby.com/privacy-policy/

Teachers and Staff: name, salutation, email address, school, staff number, title, and role.

Parents: name, address, email, relationship to students, and flags about their access rights to information.

Personal Information They Collect:

  • Student Progress- attendance, assessment scores & comments by the teacher, pictures of a student’s work along & teacher comments, and report card information.
  • User Generated Digital Content- text, images, audio, video, files and web links
  • Usage Information- how many students and/or parents use the program

Who Do They Share Your Information With?

  • Your Educational Organization
  • Third parties at the request of the Education Organization
  • Microsoft and Google
  • Cloud service providers
  • Legal authorities, as required by law
  • Business transaction

Student Support on Edsby

Transparent Cartoon Headphones Png - Edsby, Png Download , Transparent Png  Image - PNGitem
Edsby

Say whaaaaat? Students have access to support on Edsby too? Here some of more advanced students can look up some of their own questions. This helpful student guide would be useful for teachers and parents alike, so we know how to support the students from their end of things.

Frequently asked Questions Section:

Learn About Section:

How To Videos:

Parent Support on Edsby

Edsby for Parents - How Edsby helps parents
Edsby

Oh man this would have been so helpful to share with parents when we first began and I think is going to be vital in getting some of a parents logged on. A Parent Support Guide

Here parents can find answers to frequently asked questions like:

There is a parent learn about sections:

And even how to videos:

As a teacher it would have been great to have been told about Edsby having this, it would have maybe saved me hours and hours explaining and answering some of parents questions. Now I know…

Teacher QuickStart

What parents see when they log into Edsby | Edsby
Edsby

Throughout my research into Edsby website I came across this helpful guide for teachers. It is a comprehensive how to for teachers. It starts with a Getting Started Section, then learning about the home screen, classes, assessing student performance, Edsby messaging, and Edsby Groups. It also includes a nice video that shows you Edsby as well.

Teacher View- Part 2 Uploading & Creating Student Assignments

Big Data Invades the Classroom | ParentMap
https://www.parentmap.com/article/student-data

To be honest, I thought this was going to be more teacher intimidating then it turned out to be. Maybe because I have been using Edsby for a while now and have learned some of the features already that I found this to be not as cumbersome. Something I learned is that I have almost been creating assignments this whole time but thought I was just creating my gradebook assessment; turns out that if I added instructions in the student section and uploaded any files I would have been creating an assignment. Who knew? Not me but I do now and I don’t think I hate it as much as I thought I would.

Anyways check out my video!