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TLDR 25

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 25

Published: 2015-12-11 • 📧 Newsletter

In TL;DR I'm sharing things that happened during the week in literacy, technology, & education that I think you should know. Please feel free to share with others you believe would benefit. If you like what you see here, I recommend subscribing to get it hand-delivered to your inbox.

This week was spent getting caught up on emails and grading after LRA. Conference season can be fun. I also spent a lot of time thinking about open badges, blockchain technology, and cyberforensics/cybersecurity. More on that in coming weeks.

We also launched the AdvocatED publication on Medium. If you would like to write/blog for this publication...please shoot me an email.

I'll also soon start building up several online classes to affordably help individuals build up their digital identity for teaching, personal, or business purposes. If this interests you...or you'd like to provide feedback...please get in touch. I want to see if this would be of use/value.

Also, if you have five minutes...take time to nominate yourself or a colleague as a tech innovator in higher ed.

You can contact me for this...or any other request at wiobyrne@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter. To review past issues please click here. Thanks again for the support. :)

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

Watch this now.

Cory does a great job unpacking the increasing prevalence of online surveillance with the challenges of building your digital presence.

I do a lot of work urging individuals to build up their digital presence. This is the stuff that I have in the back of mind as I urge you all to do this.

📚 Read

Are you afraid to write on the Internet?

Thoughtful post by dex digital in response to a post titled Black culture is cool, so why aren't black people? by Gabriel Gutiérrez. These two pieces are related as the piece by Gabriel is a term paper assignment submitted for dex's class.

In his post, dex digital discusses diversity, individuality, education..and our willingness to speak out about these things online.

I recommend reading and responding the two pieces together. These two posts were published on Medium and show the potential for reading, annotating, and long form response on the platform.

A piece from Farhad Manjoo in the NY Times that starts by recounting some recent reactions to political events here in the U.S. and then extends to the online discourse and norms.

The online space has become a cycle of action, reaction, and kneejerk decisions.

Farhad states:

The spiraling feedback loop is exhausting and rarely illuminating. The news brims with instantly produced "hot takes" and a raft of fact-free assertions. Everyone — yours truly included — is always on guard for the next opportunity to meme-ify outrage: What crazy thing did Trump/Obama/The New York Times/The New York Post/Rush Limbaugh/etc. say now, and what clever quip can you fit into a tweet to quickly begin collecting likes?

A blog post from Dr. Julia Shaw on the Scientific American blog.

She discusses the challenges of personal memories and the challenges that arise as social media and algorithms manipulate nostalgia. Specifically she is referencing Facebook's "on this day" feature and the same type of product offered by Timehop.

Julia includes:

Facebook has even taken it upon itself to appropriate the very term 'memory', classifying things as 'memories' only if they were posted on its site. It seems to be not-so-subtly implying that if something wasn't posted on Facebook it may as well have not happened at all.

For some more perspective...check out this piece on the PsyBlog that discusses how the ways in which the "Internet" might be changing the ways we think and view our own knowledge.

Piece by Michael Gonchar on The New York Times Learning Network. Michael describes the challenges that possibly arise as we're always peering into those little black pieces of glass instead of watching those around us.

This piece is part of the Learning Network...so it offers prompts and materials to support classroom discussions.

Intriguing post on PSFK taking a look at upcoming trends with automation and quantification as it relates to children in a connected world.

If you have children, or work with children, it's interesting/scary to look at some of the tools that are coming out and wonder how comfortable we are with heading down this path.

When we discuss coding and programming, much of this talk centers on patterns and problem-solving using/developing algorithms. In recent writing and thinking about coding, I indicate that perhaps the real goal is to have students problem-solve using algorithmic thinking. The challenge is...what is an algorithm.

This video from Common Craft is another great resource to add to the collection. Have students watch this and think of others ways algorithms are or could be used in their lives.

🔨 Do

I'll admit that I use Google apps tools probably a bit too much. I try and diversify the tools that I use, and make sure I use other tools or backups in case I lose (or Google loses) something.

One tool that I use daily (and love) is Google Photos. Google Photos will allow you to automatically upload photos from your computer, or mobile device.

The link above shares some tips on how to use Google Photos in your classroom. You can also use this tool to make basic edits in photos. For something more advanced, Snapseed is available on iOs/Android. Finally, check out how to get more personalization with your content.

🤔 Consider

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." — Alan W. Watts

Conference season can be fun. Week spent catching up on emails and grading after LRA. I also spent time thinking about open badges, blockchain technology, cyberforensics/cybersecurity. More on that in coming weeks. AdvocatED publication launched on Medium—if you'd like to write/blog for it, shoot me an email.

I'll soon start building up online classes to affordably help individuals build up their digital identity for teaching, personal, or business purposes. If this interests you or you'd like feedback, please get in touch. I want to see if this would be of use/value.

Cory Doctorow: watch this now. Great job unpacking increasing prevalence of online surveillance with challenges of building your digital presence. I do a lot of work urging individuals to build up their digital presence. This is the stuff that I have in the back of mind as I urge you all to do this. The tension between surveillance and visibility. The necessity of being present in spaces that monitor presence.

dex digital and Gabriel Gutiérrez on being afraid to write on the Internet. Diversity, individuality, education, willingness to speak out about these things online. Term paper assignment published on Medium showing potential for reading, annotating, long form response on the platform. The question: are you afraid to write on the Internet? The answer depends on who you are, what you're saying, who's watching.

Farhad Manjoo on the Internet's loop of action and reaction worsening. The spiraling feedback loop is exhausting and rarely illuminating. Everyone—yours truly included—always on guard for next opportunity to meme-ify outrage. What crazy thing did they say now, what clever quip fits in a tweet to quickly begin collecting likes? The cycle accelerates. The illumination diminishes.

Dr. Julia Shaw on how Facebook learns while you forget. Algorithms manipulate nostalgia through "on this day" and Timehop. Facebook has even taken it upon itself to appropriate the very term 'memory', classifying things as 'memories' only if posted on its site. Not-so-subtly implying if something wasn't posted on Facebook it may as well have not happened at all. Memory becomes platform-dependent. Experience becomes content.

Michael Gonchar: do screens get in the way of the rest of your life? Always peering into those little black pieces of glass instead of watching those around us. The Learning Network offers prompts for classroom discussions. The question applies to teachers asking it, students answering it, all of us living it.

Connected child trends for 2017—automation and quantification. If you have children or work with children, it's interesting/scary to look at tools coming out and wonder how comfortable we are with heading down this path. The forecast isn't neutral. The trends reveal values.

Common Craft on algorithms—what is an algorithm? In recent writing on coding, I indicate perhaps the real goal is having students problem-solve using algorithmic thinking. The challenge is defining the algorithm. Have students watch and think of other ways algorithms are or could be used in their lives. Algorithmic thinking becomes civic literacy.

I'll admit that I use Google apps tools probably a bit too much. I try and diversify, use backups in case I lose or Google loses something. One tool I use daily and love is Google Photos. The confession acknowledges dependency. The love persists despite awareness.

Alan Watts: the only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Surveillance and digital presence. Meme-ifying outrage. Algorithms appropriating memory. Screens as barriers. Connected children. All forms of change demanding we plunge, move, dance.

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