Brave or Savage?

Hi all, welcome to issue #257 of Digitally Literate. Each week in this newsletter, I synthesize the news of the week in education, technology, & literacy.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe if you would like this newsletter to show up in your inbox. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of this work at hello@digitallyliterate.net.

#Au-ghosted I’m taking August off from this newsletter and social media. I have a feeling the upcoming month is going to be really hard as I prepare for my kids to enter the school year, my academic year to begin/continue, and finalize my tenure materials. If you’ve been paying attention to this newsletter over the years, you recognize the fact that we need to find balance in these digital spaces…and understand that social media may not be good for us. In that light, I need to unplug as I prepare for battle. I hope you’ll understand. <3

Sara Bareilles – Brave

To help us prepare for what is next…let us know what is your mantra or guiding principle for the upcoming year?

• Take a moment to reflect and be self-aware. What is important for you this academic year?
• Visualize your word. Perhaps journal, mood board, or go on a vision quest.
• Brainstorm. Walk. Think. Swim. Eat.
• Narrow your options. Jot them down. Eliminate, synthesize, whittle down.
• Tell others and test your word.

For me…I need to be Brave.

Why Is Everyone Talking About Demon Sex All of a Sudden?

When I first started researching critical evaluation of online information over a decade ago, I didn’t think I’d have to unpack stories like this…but here we go.

We have a portion of our populace that is welcoming to anyone as long as they believe in at least one of the many tendrils that branch out from the theory’s heart—that the world is extremely screwed because of bogeymen behind the scenes, and only those smart enough to see through the veil can fight them. We have a lot to learn about how to fight this war.

• Trump’s New Favorite COVID Doctor Believes in Alien DNA, Demon Sperm, and Hydroxychloroquine
• Misleading Virus Video, Pushed by the Trumps, Spreads Online
• Trump Doubles Down on Demon Sperm Doc
• How covid-19 conspiracy videos keep getting millions of views
• QAnon Has Gone Global

Why Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple are Bad for America

On Wednesday, four big tech CEOs — Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — testified in Congress in a hearing held by the Antitrust Subcommittee. The hearing is one result of a yearlong investigation into whether these four companies regulate more of the U.S. economy than our public officials do.

These four corporations command bridges over which our news, entertainment, goods and services now flow, serving as the digital infrastructure of swaths of the American economy. These dominant platforms, whose market capitalization surpasses the gross domestic product of many large nations, function as the quasi-governmental gatekeepers of America’s commerce and communications.

If We Can’t Open Sports Safely, What Hope Is There for Opening Schools?

Kids and teachers will bring the virus to school, and nobody will know it until somebody gets sick enough to go get a test, and waits for their results, and the test turns up positive and somebody finally notifies the school.

What Will Schools Do When a Teacher Gets Covid-19? Cases are inevitable. Schools need to plan now.

Parenting Children in the Age of Screens

Parenting has never been easy. But the widespread adoption of smartphones and the rise of social media has introduced a new wrinkle to the challenges of parenthood. Two-thirds of parents in the U.S. say parenting is harder today than it was 20 years ago, with many citing technologies – like social media or smartphones – as a reason according to a Pew Research Center survey.

🌱 My blog is a digital garden, not a blog

My focus for my digital spaces as I take time off in August.

We are all constantly bombarded with information, a lot of it is really good information too, but the challenge is absorbing it and applying it to the context of our lives and careers.

How Brené Brown Runs Emotionally Intelligent Zoom Meetings

Some Great Guidance on How Brené Brown Runs Emotionally Intelligent Zoom Meetings

• Start team meetings with a quick, two-word check-in.
• Practice positive self-talk, even if you’re feeling terrible.

Be ruthless with systems; be kind to people.

Michael Brooks

Digitally Literate is a weekly review of the news, notes, tips, and tricks from the week that resonated with me.

I should be honest and indicate that I’m vacillating between my mantra being brave…or savage. Warning…this is video contains bad words.

Connect at hello@digitallyliterate.net or on the social network of your choice.