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DL 276

Collective Action

Published: January 30, 2021 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Digitally Literate, issue 276. Your go-to source for insightful content on education, technology, and the digital landscape.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Welcome back family.

This week I posted the following:

📺 Watch

UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis clinched the win for the Bruins with a 9.95 on floor exercise against Arizona State on January 23, 2021.

The latest entry in the surprisingly robust YouTube subgenre of viral college gymnastics routines dropped over the weekend. Dennis's Homecoming-themed floor exercise from last season also went viral.

Worth exploring other performances that have broken through: Louisiana State's Lloimincia Hall in 2014, UCLA's Sophina DeJesus in 2016, and Katelyn Ohashi two years ago. These moments of athletic joy and cultural expression find audiences of millions—collective celebration in digital spaces.

📚 Read

Last week, an epic short squeeze drove GameStop stock up to $40 a share—roughly 1,500 percent increase from its low point nine months ago.

This is just the beginning of the story, and an important narrative in Internet history. Vastly different from GamerGate and the Arab Spring, these stories all hold portends for the future.

A group of young traders has been propelled, and empowered, by technology to make some money, make a mockery of the markets, and perhaps do it for the lulz.

They use tools like Robinhood, a trading app with no transaction fees and a fun, user-friendly interface. They turn to online communities like Discord and Reddit—most notably r/WallStreetBets—where foul-mouthed, meme-heavy discussions feel native to high school and college students.

Though most traders are too young to remember the 2008 financial crisis, they witnessed its impact on their families. They watched people struggle to make ends meet while losing jobs and homes. They are hyper-aware of income inequality and disparities in access to wealth in America.

For deeper analysis, see Alexis Goldstein's primer.

What the Arab Spring Can Teach Us About GameStop

Ten years ago, democracy protesters used social media to organize against oppressors. But ultimately, the powerful came out ahead.

It's difficult not to get swept up by the belief that activists using social-network tools could topple an oppressive regime. Yet rather than bringing democratic institutions to countries long denied them, the internet often works in reverse—destabilizing democracy around the world and expanding inequality.

Each time an online group tries to stick it to the Man, we allow ourselves to dream again. History suggests we should temper that optimism with the understanding that existing power structures adapt and often prevail.

A post by David Reinking, Victoria Risko, and George Hruby examines the war that persists over teaching phonics versus whole language.

The piece explores whether there really is a "science of reading" that has finally settled how reading should be taught. This video from Hruby provides a "direct-and-explicit" definition of what the Science of Reading is, and why so many literacy researchers are up in arms about it.

The debate reveals how "science" can be invoked to shut down discussion rather than open it—a reminder that even in education, we must interrogate claims to authority.

David Brooks with an editorial about the need to get kids back to school.

Review this thread by Aaron Tang. Yes, we want students back in school—but we need to be safe, smart, and actually following the science. Bryan Alexander discusses mistakes made in higher ed during reopening efforts.

Cliff Manning argues that a system relying on users having high resilience is toxic.

Digital resilience is a dynamic personality asset that grows from digital activation—through engaging with appropriate opportunities and challenges online, rather than through avoidance and safety behaviors.

Resilience and recovery are not the responsibility of an individual; they are the result of collective action.

This reframes how we think about preparing young people for digital spaces. We shouldn't just build individual toughness—we should build supportive systems.

🔨 Do

Jay McTighe shares opportunities for formative assessment to guide learners and anticipate instruction:

Simple techniques that make thinking visible.

🤔 Consider

Just be real with young people. Imagine the possibility that you might be wrong, and think about what message you want to send.

Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz

Sealey-Ruiz's call for authenticity with young people connects to this issue's threads—young traders challenging Wall Street, questions about what "science" really tells us about reading, and digital resilience as collective responsibility. Being real means admitting uncertainty and sharing power.

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