Ashley Pesch's Blog

See ya Social Media! Image Source: Pexels Taking a break from social media is something I didn’t know I truly needed. I am definitely guilty of scrolling for what could be hours on Instagram, Tik-Tok, Pinterest and more. Especially recently as I am planning a wedding, I feel like I am constantly on Tik-Tok and Pinterest looking up ideas and sending them to my friends. I also just scroll for pure enjoyment. However, when I saw that giving up social media for a few days and blogging about it was an option for our last blog post, I knew I had to try it out.  I am not going to lie, I was nervous at first thinking there is no way I could last 48 hours without social media. I completed the social media hiatus Friday April 26th and Saturday April 27th. Here is a recap of how it went. Friday :  Friday was a little bit of an easier day. I started the social media break Friday morning. I usually start my morning by checking social media while I have a cup of coffee. Knowing I couldn’t c...

Image Source: Pexels What is Media Literacy? Media literacy is what we take from the media that we see. Media literacy is the message we take from the media and how we interpret that. We are able to access, analyze, evaluate and create media. There is a quote I saw in a screencast when learning about media literacy. I kept thinking about it. I even had to go back to write the quote down because I wanted to share and elaborate on it. “We are the 1st generation of educators with the power and responsibility to shape how the future generations will use technology to become good digital citizens.” This is so much to wrap your head around. As an educator, I use technology and the internet everyday with my students. When I was in my students' shoes as a fourth grader, we barely used technology. I remember it being a big thing to go to the computer lab for a project. In fourth grade, my teacher had a projector with transparencies. I vividly remember in fifth grade, one of the fifth grade ...

The internet and social media is huge in our students' lives. Even my fourth graders, who are under the age of 13, are always talking about Tik Tok, Snapchat, Messenger Kids, and more. So many of my students have said to me they rather stay inside and be on their phones or playing video games, than playing outside with their friends. Hearing them say this is mind blowing to me. For one, my fourth graders shouldn’t even be on social media websites as they are well under the age of 13. Also what kid doesn’t like to play outside?  CIPA & COPPA With kids being so active on the internet, there have to be laws in place to protect students while they are in school. There is CIPA (The Children's Internet Protection Act) and COPPA (The Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act). Under CIPA, if a school is receiving funding by E-Rate there are some things the school needs to do.  School districts need to have filters on their internet so students do not have full access to all th...

Image source: Personal Photos My Tattoo Story When I was a freshman in college my best friend at the time called me up and said “Hey, I’m going to get a tattoo today! Want to come with me?” I said “Sure!”. I didn’t mind sitting with my friend as she got her tattoo. My friend had quite a few tattoos already. I had always wanted a tattoo but I was scared of the pain and also putting something permanent on my body. Never did I think that that day I would have gotten a tattoo! It was one of the most spontaneous things I’ve ever done. The tattoo does have meaning behind it. It wasn’t just random. However, I often look at it and think about how this is something permanent on my body.  Instagram Analysis I have always heard of my online presence as being a “digital footprint”. However, I do agree that it is more like a tattoo. Things you post never truly go away. With that being said, I decided to revisit my Instagram posts. Instagram is probably my favorite social media tool to use with ...

  My District’s Acceptable Use Policy  Image Source: Unsplash The acceptable use policy (AUP) in my district is one document for both students and staff. It is a lengthy document with a lot of information. It also includes acceptable use agreements for both students and staff to sign and return to hold them accountable if they are not following the policy. According to the article by Kajeet, there are six important components that should be included when creating an acceptable use policy. These include: an introduction, definitions, policy statements, acceptable uses, unacceptable uses, and violations. It does seem as if my district's AUP has most of these items. They have outlined the purpose which sounds like an introduction to the document. There are sections for acceptable and unacceptable uses as well as definitions to terms in the document.  There are some things I feel this AUP is missing or is not clear. One thing that is not super clear is violations. It does ou...