Parents want teachers to know:

• We may be feeling swamped and are doing the best we can.
• Please speak to me in terms I understand. If you use education-speak, it either feels intimidating or as if you are trying to seem superior.
• Consider starting out with something positive. It can put me more at ease if I feel you value my child rather than opening with a criticism.
• You spend more waking hours with my child than I do. I would feel more comfortable if I felt you knew my child. Tell me something about your schedule, a story about something in your class.
• I know that you have back-to-back conferences, but I don’t want to feel like you’re watching the clock for your next appointment.

Teachers want parents to know

• We want to feel like we are on the same side. A suggestion does not mean that we are criticizing your parenting.
• Regardless of your child’s age, reading together is still one of the most important things you can do – simply reading at the same time is a good thing.
• Let your children know that school is important and that you value the work.
• We may see behavior that your child does not display at home. Please work with us to address concerns.
• Do check on your child’s homework but please do not complete it for her. We use homework to gauge understanding. If if comes back complete and correct, then we are not getting an accurate picture.
• If the homework takes all night, please let us know. Simply writing a note about how long an assignment took and what your child had difficulty with will help us to help them.

If your school allows students to participate in the process, I encourage you to include them. This reinforces the idea that parents, teachers and students are a team. You are all working toward the same goal. Perhaps most importantly it sends the message that the student is the focus, an active participant in the process. After all, they are the ones we are all there to support. So this Parent Teacher Conference season, let’s all take a deep breath, relax and enjoy  the opportunity to do the best for our kids.

If you, your children or students are interested, time is an issue. The window for entries opened on October 11 and will close on December 7 at midnight PST.

The contest entries must include an introduction, a hypothesis, the proposed method of conducting the experiment aboard the International Space Station and the expected results. Students may submit individual entries or work in groups of up to three. If you are particularly ambitious, they will accept up to three experiment submissions. Because this is a YouTube project, the submissions are in the form of a video.

Since this is a contest, there are certainly prizes. The parents and teachers in the room are saying that the best prizes of all are the thrill of participating, the benefits of working towards a goal and the honor of being chosen. Scientists will review the submissions based on the following criteria:

Your clear understanding of the scientific method.

How well you communicate your experiment idea.

The innovation and creativity of your experiment idea.

How well you present and the idea as a whole.

For its feasibility of being carried out in space

The YouTube viewers will also be allowed to vote on the experiments they like. Winners will be named around the world; these regional finalists will come to the United States. They will be able to take a flight on the zero-g plane (yes, the vomit comet!) and receive a computer from Lenovo, one of the program’s partners. From this group, two will be chosen to have their experiments sent to the International Space Station to be carried out by the astronauts on board. These two individuals/groups will be given the choice of traveling to Japan to watch the launch or to participate in a space training experience in Moscow!

The rest of us will be able to watch the video submissions – you can already do this – and the experiments themselves on YouTube.

So you have decided that this is a cool opportunity – what do you need to keep in mind? Perhaps the most important thing to consider is microgravity. While it is a misconception that there is a complete absence of gravity aboard the ISS, experiments will need to be carefully designed. Liquids and organisms will need to be appropriately contained, of course. But think about the limits of gravity here on Earth. What could an experiment conducted in space reveal about biological or physical science?

Other limits must be put in place to protect the ISS and the astronauts aboard. They will not accept hazardous materials or organisms: nothing poisonous or toxic or flammable. Sharp items and those made of fragile materials will also not be considered. So no matter how you may wonder about the behavior of a sparkler in space, you will need to rethink your submission.

Teachers, I encourage you to consider discussing this opportunity with your classes. If your district will not permit this to be a part of your class, it is possible to mentor your students during an extracurricular activity time. Keep in mind that students are not expected to conduct the experiment. They are encouraged to design a prototype or provide drawings in support of their experiment.

Project Resources

• Official Rules
• Experiment Guidelines
• Teacher Resources
• Space Lab YouTube Channel

Other Resources

• The Scientific Method
• Uploading to YouTube
• Google Sketchup

Image by Paul Klintworth

What comes to your mind when you think about the term ‘status symbol’? Sports cars? A great house? Fabulous shoes? For many of our kids, the number of names in their Facebook friends list fits the bill. “You only have 100 friends? I have 200.” As adults we have an easier time recognizing that our social lives have many layers and that not everything should be shared with everyone.

One of the ways that Facebook allows you to customize sharing is with their privacy settings. These can be set to Friends Only (only those who are in your friend list), Friends of Friends (those in your list and in the lists of all of your friends – think how many people that could be), and Everyone (be warned, this is everyone online, not just on Facebook).

Look for the triangle in the upper right corner of your Facebook screen and select Privacy Settings. Locate ‘How You Connect’ and click edit. You can then select the settings you feel comfortable with.

Now let’s think about your posts and who gets to see them; this is important not only for our kids but for us. We want our close friends to see the photos of our kids, but people at work? Probably not. Creating lists allows you to limit your posts to an appropriate audience. There are a few standard lists, such as Family, that can be automatically populated. However, you can create as many as you like. I have lists for family, close friends, acquaintances and work.

Look for ‘Lists’ in the left-hand column and click ‘More’. To edit an existing list, click on it. To create a new list, select that option and give it a name. Find ‘Manage List’ in the upper right corner. By selecting ‘Choose Update Types’, you can decide what postings you will see from the people on that list. To limit the audience for a posting you create, click the arrow in the ‘Update Status’ box and select the lists appropriate for your post.

There have been many emails and postings about Facebook implementing a subscription fee to use their service. They aren’t doing that nor do they need to. Facebook is full of advertisers that are happy to have access to millions of potential customers. Remember that your information is not limited to your account and advertisers use this to their advantage. This applies not only to ads but to the applications and games. You could have your account locked down tight, but if your friends’ sites aren’t, then advertisers have access to your information. While I can appreciate the well-placed ad for something I can use, I prefer to err on the side of caution and restrict their access.

To turn off the ‘Info accessible through your friends’, click on the arrow in the upper right corner. Select ‘Privacy Settings’, click ‘Apps and Websites’ and then select that option. While you are in that menu, you may wish to opt out of the ‘Instant Personalization’ and delete any apps that you don’t need. The last option from this menu is extremely important; make sure that the box for ‘Enable public search’ is left UNchecked.

Perhaps the hardest thing for our kids to understand is that posting online means you have no expectation of privacy. Anything posted, regardless

Image by DonkeyHote

of the carefully crafted private list, can be copied, downloaded, shared. Their addresses, hometowns, phone numbers, schools, and birthdays should not be posted online. Yes, it is fun to have all of those birthday wishes, but your close friends know when it is without Facebook having to tell them. It would be too easy to find out where they are and provides the perfect information for identity thieves. Unfortunately, one of the most fun and interactive features of Facebook is also one that exposes us the most: tagging. You can be tagged in photos, videos, notes, and posts which means that your friends and their friends can see those posts. How many of those people would you actually know? How many would you feel comfortable sharing an embarrassing photo with? Thankfully, you can set Facebook to ask before allowing a tag to go public. You can also opt out of a new feature that relies on facial recognition. This is important because Facebook’s servers, full of millions of images, are suggesting photos of you (or people who look like you) to your friends and encouraging them to tag you.

Click on the arrow at the upper right corner and select ‘Privacy Settings’. Select edit next to ‘How tags work’ and set profile and tag reviews to on. Set your ‘Maximum profile visibility’ to friends and leave ‘Tag suggestions’ off. The last category is also important. Checking into places means that you are posting your location. If you decide that this is ok to allow, I suggest that you turn off the option to have friends check you in places. It is extremely important that you UNcheck the box that says “include me in ‘people here now’ after I check in”. This would broadcast your child’s location to everyone else at that location.

Facebook is fun. I have been able to keep in touch with friends I haven’t seen in years. It allows me to see those adorable pictures of my friends’ children and to connect with people who have shared interests. The important thing to remember is to keep talking with your kids about their online activity and to use common sense in what you post and who you allow to see it. If there are any other major changes to Facebook, I will keep you updated.

Image by Paul Klintworth

If recent stories about Facebook’s new features have you questioning your own account settings or if you are concerned about the safety of your kids on Facebook, pull up a chair and let’s walk through some steps you can take to reclaim your privacy. Keep in mind that Facebook’s own Terms of Service restrict accounts to those over 13. As a middle school library media specialist, I know that there are many students with accounts who do not meet the age requirement. As a mom, I know how important it is to stay involved with your children’s online activities. For the record, I have a Facebook account that I use daily. It is a great way to keep up with friends and relatives and I do my best to stay on top of the security settings. However, Facebook continually updates the services, so the settings are a bit of a moving target.

With the availability of mobile devices and wifi connections, online safety begins with your Internet connection. Unfortunately, account hijacking happens. One of the easiest things you can do to keep your account information safe is to switch to secure browsing by typing https:// instead of simply http:// in your browser’s address bar. This tip can be used with many other websites; give it a try and update your bookmarks. Another simple idea is to name your devices within Facebook and set up an email alert when your account is accessed. Let’s set both of these options now:

Click the arrow in the upper right > Click Account Settings > Click Security > Look at Secure Browsing and click Edit > Select the check box > Save Changes > Now look at Login Notifications and click Edit > Select the check box to be notified > Save Changes

If you look down that list to the final item, Active Sessions, you can check to make sure that you are the only one accessing your account. If you see something on that list that isn’t you, clicking End Activity will shut them down. Of course, you’ll want to change your password, too.

Image by ssoosay

Whether you use Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome or another browser, they will all provide you with another measure of security. Cookies are computer snippets that allow websites to keep information about you and your browsing. If you’ve ever seen a form filled out automatically as you type, you can thank cookies for the convenience. You can typically manually delete cookies by clicking on the browser name at the upper left corner of your browser window and then clicking preferences. If the browser permits private browsing, you will want to select that as well.

In my next post, we will look at the privacy settings for wall posts, photos and videos. In the meantime, here are some dinner topics:

• Tell me about your Facebook page
• What is your favorite thing about using sites like Facebook?

The GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) Mission launched on September 10 carrying ‘twin probes‘ to examine the moon’s gravity. The Apollo astronauts covered the distance to the moon in three days; the GRAIL probes will take about three months. Once their orbits are established, they will begin their 82-day scientific phase. At this time, scientists will focus on determining the gravitational properties of the moon.

So where do the students come in? They can get involved right now. After all, what are NASA spacecraft without catchy names? Students from Kindergarten through high school are invited to name the twins and submit a short written explanation behind their choices. You may access the website and submission form here. They need to get their creative juices flowing, the deadline is November 11.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this mission – at least for educators and students – is the MoonKAM (Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) program. The probes are also carrying cameras that students will be able to control. Imagine the excitement of actually capturing your own image of the far side of the moon! Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, prepared this short video explaining the program. What’s next? If you or your child is in middle school, ask your teacher to sign up (Bethel Middle School is registered!). Homeschool providers are invited to participate as well. Registration is open and the entry form is available here.

Here are some suggestions to further the discussion with your children:

• Other missions were named Apollo, Gemini and Mercury. Where did those names originate? Can you think of names that would fit this mission?
• Why do you think the GRAIL probes are going to take so much longer than the Apollo astronauts to get to the moon?
• Why do you think NASA is looking at the moon’s gravity?
• NASA GRAIL MoonKAM Resources