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TLDR 11

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 11

Published: 2015-09-04 • 📧 Newsletter

Thank you once again for signing up for this newsletter. We're now up over 100 subscribers...and on to issue #11. Thanks again for the support. :)

This week I posted:

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

This past week an incredible 3-part series shared the animals and ecosystems of the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The partnership between PBS and the BBC took the Internet by storm. You can watch it online here. Check out the hashtag #BigBlueLive for more info.

I also recommend the supplemental YouTube video series by digital host Joe Hanson titled, It's okay to be smart.

📚 Read

This post came up just as I was sending out last week's newsletter. The piece discusses research presented in Science Magazine that looks at 100 studies published in top-ranking journals in 2008 and shows that 75% of social psychology experiments and half of cognitive studies failed the replication test. Read more at Science Daily and MindHacks.

I definitely agree with the final thoughts from Vaughan Bell on MindHacks:

"The main take home messages are that findings published in leading journals are not a good guide to invariant aspects of human nature. And stop with the journal worship. And let's get more pre-registration on the go. Plus science is hard."

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks died at the age of 82.

Read his obituary from the NY Times here. Follow up on the reading list he left behind.

Khan Academy and Pixar teamed up to develop a course that teaches kids all of the practical uses for stuff their learning in school. They also identify the basics of working on creative projects.

Great post from Jeremy Dean and Hypothes.is looking at opportunities to annotate the web in your classroom. Hypothes.is is a powerful, open tool that can be used to add a layer of commentary to the Internet and building conversation.

I have written a lot of about Genius in our classrooms. I'm switching over to Hypothes.is.

Insight from Lisa Conquergood and her photo editing site Picnik when they were acquired by Google. I value posts like this because they provide insight on possibilities to work in an agile environment, and the future of work.

The recommendations:

  1. Use technology to keep remote employees close
  2. Eliminate silos
  3. Master your inbox
  4. Set goals before meetings

Read up on the ways in which your web browser and plug-ins might be used to track and possibly attack you. I also recommend checking out the following browser extensions that you can use to protect your privacy online.

In terms of Chrome extensions, I uninstalled AdBlock, and have been using uBlock Origin. At this point, I feel like it's speeding up my page loads, but we'll see. I also have been using...and love Facebook Flat. It cuts all of the junk out of Facebook pages.

Awesome series of new functions in Google Drive apps. I'm most excited about voice typing built in. I'm wondering if that might be a solution for transcription of audio and video clips. I'll test it out soon. :)

It's always fun to share links this with tools that scrape your online information and draw up a profile for you. This allows us to consider how the information we share might be interpreted by others. This also serves as a wake-up call for those of us that think that we're relatively anonymous online.

The Apply Magic Sauce Prediction API from the University of Cambridge examines your digital footprint to provide a detailed psychological profile.

My "psycho-demographic profile" suggests that I'm 26, mostly masculine, more intelligent than 51% of the population...and only more satisfied with life than 47% of the population. :(

🔨 Do

Music videos on Vine

I love Vine. I've used Vine in classes and presentations before. I've created a #VineOff badge. To learn more about Vine, check out these excellent guidelines and tutorials as you get started.

As students start playing with digital content, it's important to find apps that will them to quickly and simply mess around and create something new. There are several good apps teachers can use with students to quickly and easily play with digital content. Animoto and VoiceThread are two that I've shared in the past.

This new feature of Vine adds in music tracks and allows students to easily fold in music to their content. This should lead to interesting discussions as they see what the addition of music does to their work.

The first step is to install Vine on your device...and start playing.

🤔 Consider

Writing about the IT&DML program's end feels bittersweet. Documenting the decisions, work, and materials over its lifespan wasn't just archival practice—it was honoring something meaningful. Programs end, but the thinking behind them shouldn't disappear. Sharing "the end for now" leaves possibility open.

The psychology replication crisis cuts deep. Vaughan Bell nails it: "stop with the journal worship." We teach students to trust peer-reviewed research, but 75% of social psychology experiments fail replication? Science is hard, and pre-registration matters more than prestige.

Oliver Sacks leaves behind more than books—he leaves a way of seeing. His reading list is a gift, curated curiosity about the brain's quirks and human nature.

Switching from Genius to Hypothes.is isn't just tool preference—it's about open infrastructure for building conversation. Annotation should be a layer on the entire web, not a walled garden.

My Facebook personality profile says I'm 26, more intelligent than 51% of people, and only more satisfied with life than 47%. The age flatters me. The life satisfaction stings. But that's the point—these algorithms read our digital exhaust and mirror uncomfortable truths. We're not as anonymous as we think.

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