TLDR 134

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 134

Published: 2018-01-26 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Issue 134. Friend or foe, poison or detox.

As a reminder, last week we rebooted the Digitally Literate Research Project. This is an open research project in which we're studying the use of technology in instruction around the globe. Our survey is in English and available here. If you're an educator in Pre-K up through higher ed...especially in international audiences...please take/share this.

This week I posted the following:

Take the time to review & reinforce your digital hygiene - This post is the synthesis of my earlier series of posts on ensuring your privacy and security online.
Where I'm from - As part of my slam poetry class, students spent this week writing about where they're from and will post to our Medium pub. In these activities, I'm remixing some of the learning events from our previous work with the Walk My World project.
Challenges in localization of research - This post is a researcher note from our work on the Digitally Literate Research Project.
Video: Two ways to use Hypothesis for reading, research, & response
Video: Theoretical perspectives & contexts of language development

Please subscribe to make sure this comes to your inbox each week. You can review archives of the newsletter or on Medium.

Say hey with a note at hello@wiobyrne.com or on the socials at wiobyrne.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Being an Ally Requires Education: Chescaleigh's video provides essential overview of allyship expectations and roles—Safe Zone training revealed that being ally means more than good intentions, requiring ongoing education about privilege and commitment to advocating for marginalized communities without centering yourself.
AI Deepfakes Creating Dangerous Reality: Machine learning and AI systems can now synthesize anyone's facial expressions and gestures from video clips, creating convincing face-swapped videos—app allows superimposing celebrity faces onto porn performers for free compared to $200 million CGI, raising urgent concerns about revenge porn and very real fake news propaganda.
Tech Executives Don't Use Own Products: Facebook developers admitted designing platform to be addictive yet many tech titans are very careful about how they privately use tech and extent to which they allow their kids access to screens and apps—revealing "never get high on your own supply" mentality where executives won't let their own children use products they call "greatest of all time."
Digital Detox Reduces Environmental Toxicity: Middlebury DLINQ initiative seeks to reduce toxicity of personal digital environments and how we engage with them through developing critical habits that improve overall well-being and reduce risks to personal digital data—bi-weekly newsletters provide information and activities for reality check if you or loved one spends too much time plugged in.
Five Steps to Shatter Silence About Race: Sonja Cherry-Paul provides actionable framework for addressing racism in schools through building safe spaces, establishing unified vision, creating action plans, identifying goals, and partnering with parents—Hechinger Report piece originally from International Literacy Association's Literacy Today magazine.
Burger King's Net Neutrality Masterclass: Despite brands usually avoiding political issues to not alienate customers, Burger King created best explanation of net neutrality through Whopper analogy—most Americans support net neutrality once they understand ISPs shouldn't pick and choose content to block or throttle.

📺 Watch

5 tips for being an ally

We've talked a bit about unpacking privilege and the challenges of advocating for others. One word that increasingly comes up in this is the term "ally." I've heard it pop up in some recent research, and in talks with students in class.

This week I attended a "Safe Zone" training here on campus, and one of the pieces that we started to unpack in this session is identifying exactly what is an ally, and what are the expectations of this role.

This video by Chescaleigh provides a great overview of what is involved in being an ally. Take the time to educate yourself.

📚 Read

We are truly f****d: Everyone is making AI-generated fake porn now

Please be advised this story contains content that is NSFW. In short, it talks about PORN.

This story in Motherboard talks about an app that allows you to superimpose someone's face onto another person's body. For now, this app is being used to superimpose celebrity faces onto the bodies of porn performers.

Through machine learning and artificial intelligence, a system is able to copy and even synthesize anyone's facial expressions and gestures if given enough visual data like video clips. The face-swapped videos may not look 100 percent real, but they're convincing enough.

The photo I shared above is an example of this work. The top image of Carrie Fisher is the CGI version that cost $200 million to make in a movie studio. The bottom image is created using this app for free.

You can click through the article to find the app, associated subreddit community, and more examples of this work. This work is still very new, and is becoming more sophisticated. It raises questions about the impact of this on "revenge porn" or very real "fake news" and propaganda.

Much has been made about the role of social media, and the possible negative effects of these spaces on our lives.

It's interesting to consider that Facebook developers have recently admitted that they designed the platform to be addictive. This extends to a larger context where we consider the impact on civil discourse in society. How does this all impact our ability to cooperate, deal with misinformation, or simply connect?

This piece by Alex Hern in The Guardian looks at addiction, these digital products, and the reticence of their executives to actually use the platforms.

Hern posits:

Many tech titans are very, very careful about how they privately use tech and how they allow their kids to use it and the extent to which they allow their kids access to screens and various apps and programs," says Alter. "They will get up on stage, some of them, and say things like: 'This is the greatest product of all time,' but then when you delve you see they don't allow their kids access to that same product.

Digital Learning & Inquiry (DLINQ) Digital Detox 2018

I've been working on my own series of posts looking at cleaning up your digital hygiene at the start of a new year. But, perhaps you're more interesting carving out some headspace and going on a detox from these digital signals that inundate our lives.

The Digital Detox is an initiative that seeks to "reduce the toxicity of our personal digital environments and how we engage with them". They strive to help you counteract these forces by helping you develop critical habits that will improve your overall well-being and reduce risks to your personal digital data.

They are about 3/4 of the way through the month, but you can still up to review the bi-weekly newsletters they've been sending out that include information and activities to help you detox. You can also read all of their previous newsletters on the website linked above. This is a great reality check if you think you (or a loved one) spends too much time plugged in.

It's time to shatter the silence about race

This piece in The Hechinger Report by Sonja Cherry-Paul originally appeared in the January/February 2018 issue of Literacy Today, the member magazine of the International Literacy Association.

Cherry-Paul indicates five steps you can take to foster change, and addressing racism in schools:

Build a safe space
Establish a unified vision
Create an action plan
Identify goals
Partner with parents

Even Burger King is roasting Ajit Pai over net neutrality repeal

Brands usually don't get involved in politics and publicly take sides on an issue. They usually do not want to risk alienating a portion of their customers due to partisan issues.

Most Americans support net neutrality because most understand that it's not a good idea to allow Internet service providers to pick and choose the content they might want to block or throttle. And if they don't understand it at first, they tend to do so once they get a little information.

Once again, this issue of net neutrality is a hard one to understand. This video, from Burger King, a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants is most likely the best explanation of net neutrality that I've seen.

🔨 Do

How to add voice comments to Google Docs

Kaizena is a free add-on for Google Docs that makes it easy to add comments to your materials. In a recent update to the tool, they streamlined the ability to add voice notes so you don't have to leave your document. This is a good way to leave verbal feedback, or a think aloud to your work, or student work. Check out this overview from Richard Byrne to learn more.

🤔 Consider

"We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains." — Ursula K. Le Guin

Previous: TLDR 133 • Next: TLDR 135 • Archive: 📧 Newsletter

🌱 Connected Concepts:

Being an Ally — Chescaleigh's video provides essential overview of allyship after Safe Zone training on campus revealed need to identify exactly what ally means and expectations of role—being ally requires more than good intentions, demanding ongoing education about privilege and commitment to advocating for marginalized communities without centering yourself, taking time to educate yourself rather than expecting marginalized people to teach you.
AI Deepfakes Danger — Motherboard reports on NSFW app allowing superimposing someone's face onto another person's body, currently used for celebrity faces on porn performers' bodies through machine learning and AI able to synthesize anyone's facial expressions and gestures from video clips—face-swapped videos convincing enough despite not looking 100% real, with Carrie Fisher CGI costing $200 million versus free app version, raising urgent questions about revenge porn and very real fake news propaganda as technology becomes more sophisticated.
Tech Executives Don't Use Products — Alex Hern in Guardian examines how Facebook developers admitted designing platform to be addictive while many tech titans are very careful about how they privately use tech and extent to which they allow their kids access to screens and apps—revealing "never get high on your own supply" mentality where executives will get on stage saying "this is greatest product of all time" but don't allow their own kids access to that same product, raising questions about impact on civil discourse, cooperation, misinformation, and connection.
Digital Detox Movement — Middlebury DLINQ initiative seeks to reduce toxicity of personal digital environments and how we engage with them through developing critical habits that improve overall well-being and reduce risks to personal digital data—bi-weekly newsletters provide information and activities for detox with all previous newsletters available on website, offering reality check for those who think they or loved one spends too much time plugged in.
Addressing Racism in Schools — Sonja Cherry-Paul in Hechinger Report (originally from International Literacy Association's Literacy Today magazine) provides five actionable steps to foster change and address racism in schools: build safe space for difficult conversations, establish unified vision among educators, create action plan with concrete steps, identify measurable goals for progress, and partner with parents to extend work beyond classroom walls.
Net Neutrality Explanation — Despite brands usually avoiding politics to not alienate customers, Burger King created video roasting Ajit Pai that provides best explanation of net neutrality through Whopper analogy—most Americans support net neutrality because they understand it's not good idea to allow ISPs to pick and choose content to block or throttle, with video making hard-to-understand issue accessible once people get little information.

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