TLDR 13

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 13

Published: 2015-09-18 • 📧 Newsletter

Thank you once again for signing up for this newsletter. Thanks again for the support.

I also want to thank the incomparable Bryan Mathers for the incredible cover art for the TL;DR Newsletter. He is a true genius...and a good friend.

This week I posted:

Introducing Web Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Participating - I'm presenting twice at the K12 Online Conference coming up in October. One of these sessions is with Greg McVerry and focuses on the Mozilla Web Lit initiative we've been working on. This post shares a video remix teaser for our session available below. We were trying to spoof this commercial from Microsoft.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Bryan Mathers' Art: TL;DR newsletter cover art from an incomparable genius and good friend.
Ahmed Mohamed: 9th grader arrested for bringing DIY clock to school—sparking dialogue about maker culture and underlying cultural issues.
Domain of One's Own: Audrey Watters on giving students digital domains as a radical act—working on and with the Web.
Grit Narrative Critique: If you work hard enough, you escape poverty. Contrapositive: if you didn't escape, you didn't work hard enough. Problematic.
Backyard Science: Weather balloon + GoPro launched, recovered two years later with stratosphere footage.

📺 Watch

Grand Canyon from the Stratosphere! A Space Balloon Story

I love opportunities for backyard science. This is even more fun as technological devices are getting even more inexpensive by the day. A great example of this is from my good friend Gus Lessing.

In the video above, some students wanted to launch a weather balloon attached to a GoPro to see what they would get. Two years later...they got their answer. The full story is here.

📚 Read

9th-Grade Maker Arrested Because His Clock Project Looked Like a Fake Bomb

The terrible story of Ahmed Mohamed, a 9th grader in Irving, Texas, was led from his school in handcuffs earlier this week after bringing his DIY clock circuit to school.

The web we need to give to students

A great piece from Audrey Watters and the need to provide all of our learners with a "domain of one's own."

"Giving students their own digital domain is a radical act. It gives them the ability to work on the Web and with the Web."

Poverty, grit, and teachers

Interesting opinion piece from Taylor Williams as he considers the narrative we often share about the need for "grit" in our students. The belief that if you work hard enough, you can escape poverty. This is acceptable until you consider the contrapositive...if you didn't escape poverty, you didn't work hard enough.

Psychology lessons from Key and Peele

A great overview from Scientific American discussing the wit and insight presented from Key and Peele as they leave their show.

I was introduced to the show by Shane Smith, a former colleague while at UNH. Since watching the Substitute Teacher skit...I've used their pieces in many of my classes.

The ten most important books to expand your brain

Searching to expand (or validate) your reading list? Check out this list by James Altucher...and the comments...for some great ideas.

How to be a better listener

As the school year starts, we focus on listening, speaking, and argumentation skills with our students. This piece from Scientific American discusses some strategies for clearing our heads...and focusing on the ideas and thoughts of others.

🔨 Do

Create magazine covers using Canva

I really love Canva. Canva describes itself as "amazingly simple graphic design software" and they deliver. Looking to design graphic elements for your digital content and social media pages? Check out Canva.

The tool is free for most uses. You can pay for certain elements, but I can get a lot done with their free tools.

Classroom Applications:

There are tons of potential uses for the classroom. I really like Richard Byrne's idea of creating and critiquing magazine covers using the tool. I'd also recommend checking out this overview on using Canva to teach visual literacy.

🤔 Consider

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." — Henry David Thoreau

Ahmed Mohamed's arrest for bringing a homemade clock to school exposes the intersection of maker culture, racial profiling, and institutional fear. A 9th grader builds something, brings it to school to show teachers, and gets led away in handcuffs. The positive ending, support online and off, leaving his school, doesn't erase the harm. I feel kinship with Ahmed, though I'm not totally like him. That distinction matters.

The grit narrative Taylor Williams critiques deserves scrutiny. "Work hard enough and you'll escape poverty" sounds motivational until you flip it: "If you didn't escape poverty, you didn't work hard enough." That contrapositive reveals the cruelty embedded in the message. Grit becomes a weapon to blame individuals for systemic failures.

Audrey Watters reminds us that giving students their own digital domain is radical. It's about agency, not just access. Working on the Web and with the Web requires ownership, not just consumption. Domain of one's own isn't infrastructure; it's empowerment.

Thoreau's castles in the air need foundations. Weather balloons launched with GoPros, clocks built by 9th graders, students claiming digital spaces, these are the castles. Our work is building foundations that let them stand.

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🌱 Connected Concepts:

Bryan Mathers — TL;DR cover art from genius visual thinker and good friend.
Mozilla Web Literacy — K12 Online Conference presentation with Greg McVerry.
Ahmed Mohamed — 9th grader arrested for clock, sparking maker culture dialogue.
Maker Culture — DIY circuits, backyard science, institutional fear.
Audrey Watters — Domain of one's own as radical act for student agency.
Domain of One's Own — Working on and with the Web, not just consuming it.
Grit Narrative — Contrapositive reveals: didn't escape poverty = didn't work hard enough.
Poverty and Education — Taylor Williams on systemic vs. individual responsibility.
Key & Peele — Psychology lessons, Substitute Teacher skit in classrooms.
Canva — Graphic design for visual literacy and magazine cover critique.
Backyard Science — Weather balloon + GoPro recovered after two years.
Better Listening — Clearing heads, focusing on others' ideas and thoughts.

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