DL 303

Ecological Harmonization of Humans With Everything Non-Human

Welcome back, friends! Here's Digitally Literate, issue #303.

This week was wild and bumpy, but I’m glad to reconnect and share insights.

🔖 Key Takeaways

• Inclusive Learning: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a framework for accessible and engaging teaching strategies.
• Digital Equity: Addressing disparities in tech access and harassment faced by educators and students.
• Equity in Hiring: Automated hiring systems need rethinking to uncover hidden talent pools.

📚 This Week’s Highlights

1. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

In this video, John Spencer explains UDL with practical strategies for inclusive teaching.
Why this matters: UDL ensures that learning environments are accessible and flexible to meet diverse needs.

2. KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor

Long-time reader and friend Bryan Alexander shared this resource from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). It is interesting to unpack the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations.

The unvaccinated tend to be younger, less educated, Republicans..

When we think about parents in the pandemic, the results are even more interesting. Four In Ten Parents Of Children Ages 12 To 17 Say Their Child Has Received At Least One Dose Of The COVID-19 Vaccine. Four In Ten Parents Of Children Under 12 Say They Want To "Wait And See" Before Getting Their Child Vaccinated.
Why this matters: Insights into vaccination trends can inform equitable public health strategies.

3. Brazil’s Restrictive New Social Media Rules

Brazil’s new rules appear to be the first in the world to make certain types of content takedowns illegal under national law, even as other national governments around the world implement rules that force social media companies to take down more types of content proactively.

“Such an approach would essentially be a political decision to move in the direction of an Internet with even more vitriol and toxicity which, of course, is often directed primarily against women, minorities, and people with political views that sway from the mainstream.” - Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
Why this matters: This approach could exacerbate harassment and misinformation globally.

4. How to Deal With the Dark Side of Social Media

Michael Bérubé on comprehensive guides to defending faculty and staff members and students from trolls and outrage addicts online. I was sent this post by Verena Roberts.

Bérubé references the Faculty Support Safety Guidance from the University of Iowa and the Social Media Support and Resources from Penn State.

This is something that absolutely every single person in academia (especially administrators) should read. Every single campus should develop one if they do not have one.
Why this matters: Universities must develop policies to protect faculty and students from online harassment.

5. Automated Hiring Software Rejects Millions of Candidates

A Harvard Business School report reveals how rigid hiring algorithms overlook qualified candidates.
Why this matters: Organizations must rethink hiring practices to uncover hidden talent.

6. How to Build a Bigger Following on Twitch

Twitch, is a video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions. In addition, it offers music broadcasts, creative content, and more recently, "in real life" streams.

Building an audience is more of a content game than a numbers one. Focus on the former, and the latter will come.

• Don’t fixate on numbers, but do focus on content
• Participate on the platform with others
• Collaborate with other streamers outside your lane
• Be as consistent as you can
• Know how to promote yourself elsewhere, especially in advance of streaming

Why this matters: Building authentic connections drives meaningful engagement.

🛠️ DO: Exercises for Building Resilience

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki recommends these daily exercises:

• Visualize positive outcomes.
• Turn anxiety into progress.
• Try something new.
• Reach out to others.
• Practice self-affirmations.
• Immerse yourself in nature.

Learn more here.

If that doesn't work for you, check out this sage advice on pandemic living from a long-forgotten, and very long, 18th-century poem.

🌟 Closing Reflection

“If you're too bright for others, they'll try to find some shade.”
— Lisa Nichols

Reflect and Engage

• How can UDL improve your teaching or learning environment? Explore more in Universal Design for Learning Overview.
• What steps can institutions take to protect educators from online harassment? Reflect in Supporting Educators Against Social Media Harassment.
• How can hiring practices be restructured to include hidden talent? Share your thoughts in Equity in Hiring Practices.

Thank you for reading Digitally Literate. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions. Connect with me at hello@digitallyliterate.net or explore Newsletter Index for all past issues.

The smartest person in any room anywhere’: in defence of Elon Musk, by Douglas Coupland.

This post made the rounds in my circles online. I really like the closing statement:

I think the biggest difference between the 20th century and the 21st is that in the 20th century you were able to see “the future” in your head. There were new ways of envisioning, say, an information utopia – or an ecological harmonisation of humans with everything non-human. But here in the 21st century we’re only able to possibly glimpse a small workable future, and even then only if we work at it incredibly hard. That’s a huge difference in looking at what lies down the road.