DL 262

The Case for Quarantining

Published: October 3, 2020 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Digitally Literate, issue 262. Your go-to source for insightful content on education, technology, and the digital landscape.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Trump Drove the Infodemic: Cornell study of 38 million articles finds President was single largest driver of coronavirus misinformation
Strategic Silence Debated: By avoiding amplifying extremist ideas, are we starving them of oxygen—or letting them grow unchecked?
Proctoring Software Harms Students: Eye-tracking surveillance flags normal behavior as cheating, pushing students toward risky in-person testing
Show Your Work: Austin Kleon's framework for working out loud gains renewed relevance in remote work era
Authenticity Equals Relevancy: Media companies learning that teenagers are human lie detectors who call out lack of genuineness

Hi all, welcome back to Digitally Literate and issue 262.

This week I worked on the following:

Become a Digitally Literate Educator - I'm building up an open, online course for educators in Pre-K up through higher ed that want to be digitally literate in teaching, learning, and assessment.
Control Your Controllables: Preparing for the Post-COVID Classroom - This week I gave a virtual keynote to the Virginia College Literacy Educators.
What's on the Other Side of Failure? Nothing - The only thing stopping us is self-doubt and lack of belief in our abilities.
Trading Up The Chain - This post discusses the Joe Biden earpiece conspiracy theory and broader disinformation systems.
Value In Finishing - This week I finalized and submitted my tenure and promotion packet.
De-hypnotizing Ourselves - We often hypnotize ourselves to believe what we want to believe about ourselves.

📺 Watch

Show Your Work

Doug Belshaw had this great post about working out loud inspired by Austin Kleon's book.

If you really want to dig deep, check out this full session from Kleon at SXSW.

📚 Read

Strategic Silence and the Proud Boys

This week we heard a lot in the news about the Proud Boys, white supremacist groups that promote and engage in political violence.

This piece by Joan Donovan and danah boyd discusses the topic of strategic silence.

By avoiding amplifying extremist ideas, are we starving them of oxygen in the informational space?

Study Finds 'Single Largest Driver' of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump

Cornell University researchers analyzing 38 million English-language articles about the pandemic found that President Trump was the largest driver of the "infodemic."

The study is the first comprehensive examination of coronavirus misinformation in traditional and online media.

While on the topic of COVID, this piece by Zeynep Tufekci asks why some people and areas are super-spreaders—and others are not.

How It Feels When Software Watches You Take Tests

One of my students needed to take a test virtually this past week and immediately relayed to our class the challenges of testing online and dealing with virtual proctors.

Software designed to flag students cheating on tests tracks eye movements via webcam. Other students indicated that it felt callous and unfair to be suspected of cheating because they read test questions aloud, had snacks on their desks, or did other things the software deemed suspicious.

As a result, some students are indicating they may put their health, and the health of others, in jeopardy and head out to physical locations to test.

Connecting with Youth through Authenticity and Collaboration

Media companies around the world are finding out that when it comes to capturing the attention of youth, authenticity (or at least a sense of it) equals relevancy.

Anyone who has worked in a middle or high school setting can confirm that teenagers are human lie detectors, unafraid to call out a lack of genuineness when they see it.

Reimagining Learning Spaces for Uncertain Times

This great resource from UNESCO MGIEP shares insight on the possibilities for a post-pandemic world.

🔨 Do

Ghetto Gastro

Really digging the intersection of food, design, and art of the Ghetto Gastro. Read more here about their work.

🤔 Consider

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

George Orwell

Orwell's words frame a week where the single largest driver of pandemic misinformation was identified, strategic silence about extremists was debated, and surveillance software punished students for normal behavior. Truth-telling requires both speaking and knowing when silence enables harm.

Previous: DL 261 • Next: DL 263 • Archive: 📧 Newsletter

🌱 Connected Concepts:

Media Literacy — Trump misinformation study, strategic silence, trading up the chain
Privacy Rights — Online proctoring surveillance, eye-tracking software
Pedagogy — Show your work, youth authenticity, reimagining learning spaces
Digital Wellbeing — Health risks from surveillance avoidance
Civic Engagement — Proud Boys coverage, extremist amplification debate