TLDR 105
Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 105
Published: 2017-07-07 β’ π§ Newsletter
Welcome to issue #105 of TL;DR. This week's issue is because your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear.
This week I posted the following:
- Redefining literacy in the advancing technological society - As I've noted recently, I've been selected as a member of Mozilla's Network50. As part of this initiative, I was asked to submit a short overview of my work. The edited, published version from Mozilla was published this week.
- Creating & curating your digital identity - I updated this post on crafting your digital identity with some of my recent thinking.
- I blog...therefore I am - I'm teaching two classes this summer in which students are building up a digital identity and websites for the first time. This made me think about my own reasons for blogging. I refreshed this post given my current thinking about developing a domain of my own.
- Fostering online research & discussion using Hypothesis - As part of my online classes, I put together a video overview of my use of Hypothesis in reading/researching online.
π Key Takeaways
- Understanding Things Is Good Immunization: "The only way to save a democracy is to explain the way things work," says Linus Neumann, a CCC spokesman and information security consultant. "Understanding things is a good immunization."
- Wikipedia Teaches Literacy: Findings suggest gains in understanding of digital literacy (online trust, critical evaluation of online information), as well as basic information and media literacy skills.
- How to Inspire Others: Make it meaningful, communicate clearly, pick the right people, encourage strength through unity, celebrate small wins, provide support, cultivate trust, don't discourage failure, anticipate discouragement, focus on possibilities not problems.
- Seven Survival Skills: Critical thinking & problem solving, collaboration across networks & leading by influence, agility & adaptability, initiative & entrepreneurship, effective oral & written communication, assessing & analyzing information, curiosity & imagination.
- Moving to Lesspass: I've been worried about Lastpass over the past year, and have been thinking about overhauling my password system. I think I'll follow Belshaw's lead and move to Lesspass once I see how it works for him.
πΊ Watch
Beastie Boys | Sabotage | Sesame Street Mashup
I love remixes and mashups. I love the Beastie Boys. Sesame Street is huge in my house with two little ones.
I was introduced to this video and the IsThisHowYouGoViral YouTube channel through this post from NPR's All Songs Considered.
π Read
Chaos Computer Club is fighting to save democracy
This piece by Vernon Silver in Bloomberg Businessweek has a very clickbaity headline, but I believe the storyline is very important in the current geopolitical climate. Give this piece some time for a close read. Some of this may seem foreign to you if you haven't been paying attention to hacker culture or the CCC. I've been marking it up in Hypothesis, and would love to have some dialogue there if you're interested.
Silver shares the culture and community of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) and their work hacking, informing, and possibly protecting democracy.
One of my favorite lines from the piece:
"The only way to save a democracy is to explain the way things work," says Linus Neumann, a CCC spokesman and information security consultant. "Understanding things is a good immunization."
Writing Wikipedia articles teaches information literacy skills, study finds
Many times in our classrooms, we indicate that learners should not use Wikipedia because "anyone can write anything" on the site. My response to this is to show people the Talk pages on Wikipedia articles, and the robust debate/discussion that should happen there.
This post from the Wikimedia Education Foundation (Wiki Ed) shares findings from research that investigated learning gains from courses in which students were required to edit Wikipedia articles. Findings suggest gains in understanding of digital literacy (online trust, critical evaluation of online information), as well as basic information and media literacy skills. The full report is here.
From my own experience as a student, I've enjoyed and profited from classes in the past that required me to edit Wikipedia articles. In my classes I have students edit a course wiki that we set up in Wikispaces. I may just have them edit/review content on Wikipedia.
How to inspire a group of people to do the impossible
I've been doing some thinking about "leadership" over the past year or so and trying to identify how this impacts my thinking and practice.
This post from Lolly Daskal on Inc. shares 10 ways you can inspire others:
- Make it meaningful
- Communicate clearly
- Pick the right people with the right skills
- Encourage strength through unity
- Celebrate the small wins that drive big progress
- Provide the support they need
- Cultivate a climate of trust
- Don't discourage failure
- Anticipate discouragement
- Focus on possibilities, not problems
7 critical skills for the jobs of the future
One of the regular topics here in TL;DR over the past six months has been a look at the "future of jobs" as technology, education, and automation impact society. This is a big topic as we see economies changing, and this in turn impacts our political systems.
This post shares insight from a World Economic Forum report I previously shared in TL;DR about the future of jobs. Tony Wagner shares the seven survival skills needed now and in the future:
- Critical thinking & problem solving
- Collaboration across networks & leading by influence
- Agility & adaptability
- Initiative & entrepreneurship
- Effective oral & written communication
- Assessing & analyzing information
- Curiosity & imagination
Why I've just ditched my cloud-based password manager
I've frequently shared advice about password managers, and specifically LastPass, as you secure your digital identity. Doug Belshaw shared this post in his awesome Thought Shrapnel newsletter about his thoughts as he is moving from Lastpass to Lesspass.
I've been worried about Lastpass over the past year, and have been thinking about overhauling my password system. I think I'll follow Belshaw's lead and move to Lesspass once I see how it works for him.
Also, if you haven't already, check out Thought Shrapnel Live. Doug is using Telegram to regularly update you with important things he's finding throughout the day.
π¨ Do
3D printed fidget spinner frames
My seven year old recently was bit by the fidget spinner craze. As you can imagine, in my house, we immediately started watching YouTube videos to see what to do with them. This led to a steady stream of YouTube videos and taking apart a bunch of spinners to "improve" them.
One project that we'll soon start up involves printing out a frame for the fidget spinner on the 3D printer I have access to at work. My son and I are currently studying everything we can about 3D printing, and the physics/dynamics of fidget spinners. We'll send these schematics to the 3D printer and try to capture as much of the process as possible. Results hopefully coming soon in a blog post.
π€ Consider
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." β Albert Camus
π Navigation
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π± Connected Concepts:
- Digital Identity β Blogging serves as essential practice for developing authentic online presence, with students building digital identities and websites for first time requiring reflection on personal reasons for publishing and curating professional/creative selves online.
- Hacker Culture β Chaos Computer Club demonstrates how hacker culture defends democracy through transparency and education, with CCC spokesman noting "The only way to save a democracy is to explain the way things work. Understanding things is a good immunization."
- Wikipedia Pedagogy β Research shows editing Wikipedia articles produces measurable learning gains in digital literacy, online trust, critical evaluation, and information literacy skills, challenging assumptions that "anyone can write anything" by revealing robust collaborative debate processes.
- Future of Work β World Economic Forum identifies seven survival skills for evolving job market: critical thinking, collaboration across networks, agility, initiative, communication, information analysis, and curiosityβrequiring education systems to prioritize these competencies over content memorization.
- Password Security β Transition from LastPass to LessPass reflects ongoing concerns about centralized password management security, highlighting need for users to understand encryption, evaluate tools, and adapt practices as threats and technologies evolve.
Part of the π§ Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.