TLDR 17
Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 17
Published: 2015-10-16 β’ π§ Newsletter
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This week I worked on the following:
- Closed with a side of open - Over the past couple of months I've hinted several times that I've been part of a super secret Slack channel with a bunch of colleagues and friends. This week Doug Belshaw started sharing a bit more about this collective and providing a chance to "out" many of us by building a collaborative writing space in Medium. In this post, I discuss some of what I've learned about learning online.
π Key Takeaways
- Slackerati Outing: Doug Belshaw's Medium collective revealing super secret Slack channel, learning about learning online.
- Ground Control: Tom Kucy remixed NASA's Apollo Archive into beautiful 4K short film, public domain art.
- Removed Photo Essay: Smartphones edited out of social setting, a Rorschach test for technology feelings.
- Post-Snowden Identity: Not everyone can openly share online showing respect privacy fears from government or neighbors.
- Paper vs Tablet: Reading comprehension research shows cognitive load differences, consider longer readings for digital readers.
πΊ Watch
Ground Control (Apollo Archive) 4K
Tom Kucy dug into the incredible motherlode of NASA's Project Apollo Archive of photos released last week to create this beautiful short film "Ground Control."
Basically, he dug into a bunch of photos released into the public domain and remixed it into a beautiful piece of art. I almost want to see this made into a full-length sci-fi flick. :)
π Read
A photographer edits out our smartphones to show our strange and lonely new world
In the photo essay titled "Removed" by Eric Pickersgill, he takes normal portraits of individuals in social settings using their mobile devices and edits out the device.
In sharing and discussing this with colleagues & friends, it becomes a sort of Rorschach Test to see how you feel about technology and our daily lives. People are either really freaked out and a bit despondent, or don't see anything wrong with the pictures.
What do you see?
Reach outside the silo
This great piece by Laura Hilliger makes you consider the learning networks and silos that modify our connections and identity. What starts as an inspection of Greenpeace, ends with some thoughtful questions about your own cultural perspectives and connections with others.
How might you use your daily actions and emotional energies to make the world a better place?
(Digital) Identity in a world that no longer forgets
This post extends some of the points I was hinting at in the Medium piece I shared above. As we consider the chilling effects of sharing online in the Post-Snowden era, you need to also consider (respect) the fact that not everyone might want to openly share and communicate online. We also need to consider that many individuals might not be able to share for fear of their government or neighbors.
This piece by Richard Byrne is a good counter to the piece shared above and offers tips to get people started as they connect online.
The six lists you need to make every day productive
Here you go productivity lifehackers...a list of lists to think about how you organize and spend your energies.
My latest 30-day challenge has me journaling every morning as part of my routine. Some of these elements I'll start working into my system. I'm intrigued by the "outsource" list and the "long-term goals" considerations. I've been focusing on short-term goals recently as I change jobs. But, perhaps it's time again to think about bigger aspirational goals.
As part of this series, FastCompany also has shared insights from "11 of the most productive people." I find it interesting to check out what others do to stay productive and (somewhat) sane.
You might also want to take a look at this tool released by Harvard Business Review to automatically turn your goals into actionable items.
Paper or tablet? Reading recall and comprehension
Some more insight into the effect of digital devices on our brains. In this research report, findings are shared from a study of the use of digital devices for reading purposes.
The final recommendations are:
- Consider assigning longer readings that create a slight increase in cognitive load for digital readers.
- Include a longer time interval between assigned reading and assessment of students' recall and comprehension.
- Extend these studies of digital vs. paper reading to primary and secondary students to explore their effects on learning and on children's developmental patterns.
- Consider other factors that might affect recall and comprehension among readers using digital and paper texts, such as the types of reading (deep, analytical reading vs. pleasure reading, for example) and the academic discipline of the students studied.
Microsoft researchers are working on multi-person virtual reality
Over the past couple of weeks in this newsletter I've shared a lot of news about augmented reality and virtual reality. I think things are starting to heat up, and it'll be interesting to see what comes of these technological advances.
What I like about this piece and the work by Jaron Lanier and the lab at Microsoft, is they are trying to figure out what these spaces mean for connecting with people in the real world. Cool stuff.
π¨ Do
Ultimate hot and sweet chili garlic ginger jam
I like to cook. Last year my family joined a farm share that would bring tons of veggies that I've never seen to my house. I kept searching online (and filling my Evernote notebook) with ways to prepare, store, and use up all of that good stuff.
One of the things I've started to do is figure out how to pickle and can items. One of my favorites is figuring out pepper jellies and jams. One of my recents jams involved a bunch of peppers, hot peppers, garlic, ginger, and peaches that were going bad. Once we moved in to the south we went on a binge of purchasing lots of peaches that we couldn't use up.
This recipe covers most of the process you'll need to follow. My only hack of this recipe is that I'd add some fresh squeezed orange juice to the mix before canning. If you don't like orange you can pick another citrus flavor that you prefer. The flavor should accentuate the hot peppers you pick. I usually mash up the orange pulp and add that in for texture. Finally, zest the orange and add that all in the mix as well. Add some fresh herbs and you're good to go.
As the weather gets colder, I like having jars of this around to add to marinades, soups, jelly on toast/naan/biscuits. Another secret is to whisk a bit into your eggs for a killer omelette.
π€ Consider
"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men." β Ayn Rand
Eric Pickersgill's Removed photo essay creates a Rorschach test for how we feel about technology. Smartphones edited out of social settings reveal something uncomfortableβpeople either see isolation and despair, or they see nothing wrong at all. What you see depends on what you believe about our relationship with devices.
The Post-Snowden era changed how we think about sharing online. Not everyone wants to openly share and communicate. Some can't for fear of their government or neighbors. The chilling effects are real. Richard Byrne's tips for nervous educators trying to connect online acknowledge this tension: how do we participate when participation carries risk?
Laura Hilliger's question cuts through: How might you use your daily actions and emotional energies to make the world a better place? Learning networks and silos modify our connections and identity. We start with Greenpeace, end with cultural perspectives and questions about where we direct our energy.
My latest 30-day challenge has me journaling every morning. I'm intrigued by productivity systems, including outsource lists, long-term goals. I've been focusing on short-term goals while changing jobs. But perhaps it's time to think bigger again, more aspirationally.
Tom Kucy remixed NASA's Apollo Archive into art. Public domain photos became a 4K film I'd watch as a full-length sci-fi flick. The farm share brought vegetables I'd never seen, leading to pepper jellies with peaches, orange pulp, and fresh herbs. As the weather gets colder, these jars become marinades, soups, killer omelettes.
Ayn Rand's quote on privacy feels relevant in a world where the savage's existence was public, ruled by tribal laws. Civilization sets man free from men through privacy. But our smartphones, our Removed photo essay devices, complicate that narrative. Are we more civilized or less?
π Navigation
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π± Connected Concepts:
- Slackerati β Doug Belshaw's Medium collective outing super secret Slack channel.
- Doug Belshaw β Collaborative writing space on Medium, learning about learning online.
- NASA Apollo Archive β 8400+ public domain photos remixed into Ground Control 4K film.
- Eric Pickersgill β Removed photo essay editing smartphones out, Rorschach test for tech feelings.
- Laura Hilliger β Reach outside the silo, learning networks modifying connections and identity.
- Digital Identity β Post-Snowden chilling effects, respecting privacy fears.
- Post-Snowden Era β Not everyone can openly share online, government surveillance concerns.
- Productivity Systems β Six lists framework, outsource and long-term goals integration.
- 30-Day Challenge β Morning journaling routine, habit formation through daily practice.
- Reading Comprehension β Paper vs tablet cognitive load research, digital device effects on brains.
- Virtual Reality β Microsoft multi-person VR, Jaron Lanier's real-world connection work.
- Farm Share β Vegetables never seen before, Evernote recipes for preparation and storage.
- Pepper Jelly β Hot peppers, garlic, ginger, peaches, orange pulp, zest, fresh herbs.
- Ayn Rand β Privacy as civilization progress, setting man free from tribal laws.
Part of the π§ Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.