TLDR 107

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 107

Published: 2017-07-21 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to issue #107 of TL;DR...but nothing can change the shape of things to come.

This week I shared the following:

Internet Inquiry Projects - In this post I detail some of the work on integrating the web and digital literacies into instruction.
Choosing a theme for your WordPress website
Customizing a theme for your WordPress website

🔖 Key Takeaways

The Shape of the Internet: Recently I was asked to describe the shape of the Internet. I've been trying to unpack this question over the last month. This video makes me think a bit more about that framing.
Freire's Revolutionary Praxis: A lot of my work, and one of the key tenets from my teaching and research philosophies comes from the work of Paulo Freire.
Total System Support Needed: My only real feedback on this are about the buy-in and support on these policies from administration on down to the students and parents. I think there needs to be total support across the system.
Blogging Is Powerful: Blogging helps you become a more effective communicator, challenges you to put your ideas out there and embrace feedback, empowers you to work on refining your craft and sharing it out, gives you a platform to help others and change the world.
Being Brave to Speak Up: I've been lucky (or perhaps brave) that I reached out years ago to sit in on digital badges and web literacy community calls and decided to unmute myself and speak up.
Blockchain Offers Solutions: To queries about trust and truth, I usually indicate that the blockchain and these distributed ledger technologies may offer solutions.

📺 Watch

What is the shape of space?

This video from the MinutePhysics YouTube channel features some of the work from PhD Comics. This specific video discusses our latest understandings about the shape of space.

This is interesting to me because I've seen/read too many sci-fi movies/novels in my life. More importantly, recently I was asked to describe the shape of the Internet. I've been trying to unpack this question over the last month. This video makes me think a bit more about that framing.

📚 Read

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and a Revolutionary Praxis for Education

A lot of my work, and one of the key tenets from my teaching and research philosophies comes from the work of Paulo Freire.

As I work with educators in a variety of settings, I try to bring a general awareness of the work of Freire and one of his best known works, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

This post by Kevin Gannon is an excellent homage to the life and work of Freire. Part II of this series focuses more on the text referenced above.

"Education is the solution": the Gloucestershire high school enforcing a digital detox

We often get into these discussions about digital overload and FOMO. There is talk about addiction to the stimulation provided by these digital text and tools that are ubiquitous in our lives. A variant of this are the discussions that I regularly hear from colleagues who gladly indicate that they want to ban mobile devices from classrooms.

As a possible response to these situations, this piece from The Guardian shares the story of Stroud High School that has banned the use of phones and electronic fitness trackers on the campus.

I'm intrigued by this situation and would like to learn more. After sharing it, I received a lot of feedback from many of you that suggested that you know of local schools that are pursuing the same policies. My only real feedback on this are about the buy-in and support on these policies from administration on down to the students and parents. I think there needs to be total support across the system.

4 ways blogging can reshape education

This post from Rabbi Michael Cohen shares his insight about blogging in the educational space. Specifically, he notes four reasons why blogging is so powerful:

It helps you become a more effective communicator
It challenges you to put your ideas out there and embrace feedback
It empowers you to work on refining your craft and sharing it out
It gives you a platform to help others and change the world

How to gain confidence to participate in open source

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I just came across this piece by the incredible Laura Hilliger in her Freshly Brewed Thoughts newsletter. The post provides guidance on gaining confidence and sharing your expertise online, and in open source projects.

As I work with students and colleagues to build up their web presence, some of the pushback that I get is that they believe that no one would want to hear from them...or read their materials. I've been witnessing a lot more of this recently as I'm urging others to join us in the Badge Wiki barn raising.

I've been lucky (or perhaps brave) that I reached out years ago to sit in on digital badges and web literacy community calls and decided to unmute myself and speak up. I've urged other to join in, but the common refrain is that I'm just "brave." Now it may make some sense to me.

I'll use Hilliger's post as a talking point in the future to see if that helps.

Disrupting the trust business

I've written a lot about the blockchain, and related technologies in the past, and I've continued to do a lot of work in the background on these topics. I have a feeling I'll do much more reading/writing/developing on the subject very soon. These are some technologies that you need to start thinking about.

This piece in The Economist talks about the blockchain and the topic of trust. Over the last year, in varied discussions related to education and technology, the topic of trust and truth tends to come up...and it tends to be problematic. To these queries, I usually indicate that the blockchain and these distributed ledger technologies may offer solutions.

🔨 Do

How to make dill pickles

I love to explore local farm shares and the vegetables they provide. This gives my family a chance to make use of vegetables we normally wouldn't have a surplus of.

Last week my neighbors showed up with a big bag of cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots. After some searching online, I devised a half sour pickle recipe from the link above. The end results are in the photo I've shared above. The one modification that I made included a batch of curried, pickled zucchini chips on the far right. All were delicious and haven't made it to the end of the week.

🤔 Consider

"If the structure does not permit dialogue the structure must be changed." — Paulo Freire

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🌱 Connected Concepts:

Freirean Pedagogy — Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed provides foundational philosophy for teaching and research, offering revolutionary praxis for education that empowers learners and challenges banking model of education through critical consciousness and dialogue.
Digital Detox — Schools like Stroud High enforce bans on phones and fitness trackers responding to digital overload, FOMO, and addiction concerns, requiring total system buy-in from administration through parents for policies addressing ubiquitous technology in student lives.
Blogging in Education — Blogging transforms education by helping students become effective communicators, challenging them to share ideas and embrace feedback, empowering craft refinement, and providing platforms to help others and change the world through public scholarship.
Open Source Participation — Gaining confidence to participate in open source communities requires bravery to unmute yourself and speak up in digital badges and web literacy calls, demonstrating how technical contribution barriers are often psychological rather than skill-based.
Blockchain and Trust — Distributed ledger technologies offer potential solutions to trust and truth challenges in digital spaces, providing decentralized verification systems that may address issues of institutional trust and data integrity in evolving information landscape.

Part of the 📧 Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.