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TLDR 26

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 26

Published: 2015-12-18 • 📧 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.

I also turned off tracking for this newsletter. Mailchimp has a ton of tracking features built in to the system. I decided to respect your privacy while believing in the inherent value of this work.

We also launched the AdvocatED publication on Medium. If you would like to write/blog for this publication...please contact me. As part of this publication, I just published this post on open publishing and scholarship. Feel free to read...and give me some feedback on the Medium pub.

Also, 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. This will be our last issue of TL;DR for 2015. We'll follow the same schedule in 2016. Thanks again for the support. :)

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

Read/Watch this Google email about time management strategy

Jeremiah Dillon is the head of product marketing at Google Apps for Work. Supposedly he was writing an email to his colleagues to talk about time management mistakes they were all making. The colleagues asked that he share this with others, and a video was made to aid the uptake of the concepts.

The key component is that we should strive to be makers...and not managers.

As many of you sit and plan your upcoming year and make resolutions...let's figure out how we can all be more creative and make.

📚 Read

A post by Jim Groom that gives a recommendation of a series of interviews conducted by Ian Svenonius with Calvin Johnson, a force in the punk rock movement.

The interview shares a glimpse at the possible intersection between "appropriate technology", creativity, and the DIY ethos.

Groom synthesizes from the interview:

Towards the very end of the interview (26:10) Svenonious wonders, given how arduous the production process is for capturing music, "Why don't people just sing to one another?" A off-handed remark that Johnson turns into a brilliant moment in which he posits: "That's what the internet is." By sidestepping the whole production process they're singing directly to one another while making it available instantly all around the world. A technological development that he sees as "the most basic form of the punk rock revolution."

A post from John Spencer in which he synthesizes research for an upcoming book on creativity.

Here's what they have in common:

  1. They make mistakes. Loads of them. Their work sucks at the beginning, just like yours and just like mine.
  2. They poop. I like to remember that everybody poops because it's sort-of a disarming fact. The greatest creative geniuses are still absolutely normal. They eat and drink. They stub their toes and yell out expletives. They fall in love.
  3. They get scared that no one will like their stuff. But still . . .
  4. They make stuff.

A blog post from Holly Korbey on the Mind/Shift blog that discusses the challenges and opportunities that exist in literacy, creativity, and patterns in dyslexia. This post also gives me a chance to share artwork by friend and creator of my TL;DR graphic, Bryan Mathers.

The research and anecdotal evidence in the piece give us opportunity to rethink and re-examine the role and opportunities for individuals with dyslexia.

Star Wars is a postmodern masterpiece

Piece by Forrest Wickman on Slate that discusses the pastiche that George Lucas created in the Star Wars space opera by melding together multiple narratives.

As we create, it is not only important to recognize the stories and culture that have come before, but it is also an opportunity to remix or mashup these to create something new.

Post by Maria Popova on BrainPickings looking at the top children's books of the year.

As we examine the roots of creativity, and try to embed it in our own processes, I'm always struck by the work in incredible children's books. Definitely purchasing all of these for use in my grad classes this year.

New insight from the Pew Research Center on the real people that game and how this fits in to their lives.

Some of the intriguing findings:

🔨 Do

Over the last couple of months there are new options for live streaming from your mobile device. Live streaming is when you open up your camera and send the video and audio of whatever you're witnessing live out to the Internet.

Periscope and Meerkat are two options for making this happen for free using your device and your data connection. Periscope is owned by Twitter...so there is extra support and funding to keep it alive.

As a viewer on either platform, you can open up the app and view any content that people choose to share. I've seen U2 concerts, people at UFC fighting events. I've even watched people sitting on their couches chatting. It's informal and ephemeral. Once the video stream is finished...many times it disappears.

As a new medium, there are many people experimenting with the tools. Teachers are trying to figure out what it could/should be. I think there are possibilities...but we need to be aware of the tremendous concerns before bringing it into our classrooms.

I recommend installing it on your phone and checking it out to see what is happening.

🤔 Consider

"Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous." — Bill Moyers

This will be our last issue of TL;DR for 2015. We'll follow the same schedule in 2016. Thanks again for the support.

I also turned off tracking for this newsletter. Mailchimp has a ton of tracking features built in to the system. I decided to respect your privacy while believing in the inherent value of this work. The decision wasn't dramatic—it was simple. If this work has value, it doesn't need surveillance to prove it.

AdvocatED publication launched on Medium. If you'd like to write/blog for it, please contact me. I just published a post on open publishing and scholarship. The challenges of being open in academia, of making work public when systems reward closed circulation. Feel free to read and give feedback on the Medium pub.

Jeremiah Dillon writing email to colleagues about time management mistakes. The colleagues asked that he share with others, video made to aid uptake. The key component: we should strive to be makers...and not managers. As many of you sit and plan your upcoming year and make resolutions...let's figure out how we can all be more creative and make. The distinction matters. Managers respond. Makers create.

Jim Groom on punk rock revolution and the Internet. Ian Svenonius interviewing Calvin Johnson, force in punk rock movement. The interview shares glimpse at possible intersection between "appropriate technology", creativity, DIY ethos. Towards the end Svenonious wonders, given how arduous the production process, "Why don't people just sing to one another?" Johnson's brilliant moment: "That's what the internet is." By sidestepping the whole production process they're singing directly to one another while making it available instantly all around the world. A technological development he sees as "the most basic form of the punk rock revolution." This reframes everything. The Internet as direct communication, unmediated creation.

John Spencer synthesizing research for upcoming book on creativity. Four things highly creative people have in common: they make mistakes (loads of them, their work sucks at the beginning, just like yours and just like mine), they poop (I like to remember everybody poops because it's sort-of a disarming fact—the greatest creative geniuses are still absolutely normal, they eat and drink, they stub their toes and yell out expletives, they fall in love), they get scared that no one will like their stuff, but still...they make stuff. The progression matters. Fear doesn't stop creation. Fear accompanies creation.

Holly Korbey on dyslexia and creativity. This post also gives me a chance to share artwork by friend and creator of my TL;DR graphic, Bryan Mathers. The research and anecdotal evidence give us opportunity to rethink and re-examine the role and opportunities for individuals with dyslexia. Pattern recognition isn't deficit—it's difference that sometimes enables different kinds of creativity.

Star Wars as postmodern pastiche—George Lucas melding together multiple narratives. As we create, it is not only important to recognize the stories and culture that have come before, but it is also an opportunity to remix or mashup these to create something new. Creation builds on creation. Nothing emerges from vacuum.

As we examine the roots of creativity, and try to embed it in our own processes, I'm always struck by the work in incredible children's books. Definitely purchasing all of these for use in my grad classes this year. Maria Popova's curation on BrainPickings. The best children's books don't condescend—they elevate.

Pew research on gaming and gamers. Equal numbers of men and women ever play video games, although men are twice as likely to call themselves "gamers". The identity gap reveals cultural assumptions. Four in ten adults believe violence in video games is related to violent behavior. Among the general public, attitudes toward games are complex and often uncertain. The uncertainty is honest.

Periscope and Meerkat—new options for live streaming from mobile device. I've seen U2 concerts, people at UFC fighting events, even watched people sitting on their couches chatting. It's informal and ephemeral. Once the video stream is finished...many times it disappears. Teachers are trying to figure out what it could/should be. I think there are possibilities...but we need to be aware of the tremendous concerns before bringing it into our classrooms. I recommend installing it on your phone and checking it out to see what is happening. Understanding requires experience.

Bill Moyers: creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous. Makers not managers. Singing directly to one another. Making mistakes, pooping, getting scared, making stuff anyway. Dyslexia as different pattern recognition. Remix and mashup. Children's books elevating. Live streaming's ephemeral possibilities. All forms of piercing mundane to find marvelous. The question remains: what will we make in 2016?

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