The Case for Quarantining

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, & assessment. Enjoy. 🙂
• Control Your Controllables: Preparing for the Post-COVID Classroom – This week I gave a virtual keynote to the keynote virtually to the Virginia College Literacy Educators. The slides and text for this address are here. I’ll share the video if/when it is made available.
• What’s on the other side of failure? Nothing – Many times the only thing stopping us, or holding us back is self-doubt, and a lack of belief in our abilities. The truth is that there is nothing on the other side of failure.
• Trading Up The Chain – This post discusses the recent Joe Biden earpiece conspiracy theory, and the broader challenge of memes and disinformation systems.
• Value In Finishing – This week I finalized and submitted my tenure and promotion packet. This post is an ode to this moment.
• De-hypnotizing Ourselves – We often hypnotize ourselves to believe what we want to believe, or see what we want to see about ourselves. The real truth is that in many ways, we’re believing what others want to see in us.

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.

Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

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

The video I share above is Brian Johnson’s review of five big ideas from the same text.

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

The case for quarantining extremist ideas

This week we heard a lot in the news about the Proud Boys, and 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?

For more on this topic, read this profile of Emily Gorcenski.

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.

This study identifies and analyzes the most prominent topics of COVID-related misinformation that emerged in traditional media between January 1 and May 26, 2020 based on a total sample of over 38 million articles published in English-language media around the world.

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.

This post shares insight on software designed to flag students cheating on tests by doing things like tracking eye movements via a webcam. In a related story, 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 that the software deemed suspicious.

As a result, some of my students are indicating that 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 also confirm that teenagers are human lie detectors, unafraid to call out a lack of genuineness when they see it.

Armed with this realization, content creators and distributors continue vying for this group’s attention, through ever-changing media platforms in an increasingly interconnected digital space.

Reimagining Learning Spaces for Uncertain Times

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

8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom

Really digging the intersection of food, design, and art of the Ghetto Gastro. These waffles look awesome…and definitely not an option on my current diet. 🙂

Read more here about the Ghetto Gastro.

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

George Orwell

With the news that President Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, the fast-moving information system that is the Internet has kicked into high gear. As a result, it can be hard to separate truth from fiction. It can also be hard to not be emotionally manipulated online.

This guide from The Verge and this from The Washington Post are two resources to help avoid being part of the problem.

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