TLDR 72

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 72

Published: 2016-11-19 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to issue 72 of the TL;DR Newsletter.

In TL;DR we typically discuss events of the week in education, technology, and literacy. In this specific episode, we discuss the development of healthy skepticism.

You can also follow along on Instagram and Snapchat. I'm continuing to share video on my Facebook page and Instagram to test alternative publishing models.

This week I worked on the following:

Don't click here: Facebook, algorithms, and articles you won't be shown - This post is my latest for the Literacy Daily Blog from the ILA. In the post I discuss the "filter bubble" and how to possibly pop that bubble.
Developing a domain of one's own for pre-service educators - I've been working on a bit of research and development in digital portfolios and "a domain of one's own." In this post I outline what this work might look like as we scale up in the spring.

🔖 Key Takeaways

I Think the Video Is: This week I have students completing video case studies of individuals or groups they studied over the semester. This video provides a possible exemplar for those that want to produce something a bit outside of the norm. I think the video is also a conversation starter for students in secondary/higher ed classrooms.
From My Perspective the Challenge: From my perspective the challenge in this is that we focus on modifying code and changing algorithms as opposed to building the "healthy skepticism" of individuals as they read, write, and communicate. Now we have programmers at Facebook (and many other platforms) that are revising code and the platform to add some serendipity to the model...but still keep you hooked on your feed.
I Typically Do Not Like: I should note that I typically do not like "checklist approaches" used for critically evaluating websites. I think that it leads to many errors of oversimplification. I prefer to build up the healthy skepticism in learners as they read, write, and communicate. Of course, this can be a challenge as we identify ways to make this happen. I'll share more in an upcoming post.
We All Need to Do: This need for digital security hit home yesterday as a student in my class all of a sudden realized that she didn't have her cell phone. Under my direction she went to the Android device manager, saw her phone moving on a map, wiped it, and called the police. We all need to do a better job maintaining our privacy and security with these technologies.

📺 Watch

Ambition

A poignant video from the Domics YouTube channel discussing ambition, education, immigration, and points in between. The video (7:40) serves as a modified case study as the illustrator discusses his challenges as he was asked the age old question "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

This week I have students completing video case studies of individuals or groups they studied over the semester. This video provides a possible exemplar for those that want to produce something a bit outside of the norm. I think the video is also a conversation starter for students in secondary/higher ed classrooms.

📚 Read

As we move on from the election results in the U.S., one of the heavy debates online is about the filter bubble and the amount of serendipity we find in online spaces. You can read more about the filter bubble in the post I shared above and in this piece from Molly McHugh.

In these discussions the technology sector is debating how to open up communication lines, and revise algorithms to add more serendipity to the model. This is a delicate balancing act as Facebook and Twitter most of all need you to use their platforms. As a result, they show you things you like to see. If they modify this and show you posts and information that you don't agree with...you'll likely move on.

Molly indicates that "echo chambers" existed long before online social networks and the 2016 election. These could include discussions within your local community, school, playground, water cooler, or the dinner table.

From my perspective the challenge in this is that we focus on modifying code and changing algorithms as opposed to building the "healthy skepticism" of individuals as they read, write, and communicate. In many ways, I saw this happen in prior research on teaching internet comprehension to adolescents. In this work, we found that students would just type a search term into the address bar on the browser. Programmers recognized this was a problem, so they adapted the tool/interface to better suit the user. Now we have programmers at Facebook (and many other platforms) that are revising code and the platform to add some serendipity to the model...but still keep you hooked on your feed.

To wrap up, be aware. Don't believe everything that you read...whether it is online or off. Practice some healthy skepticism as you read, write, and communicate with others.

Meet the professor who's trying to help you steer clear of clickbait

A post from The Chronicle of Higher Ed sharing guidance on media literacy from Melissa Zimdars, an assistant professor of communication at Merrimack College. Melissa shared a list of guidance for critiquing and analyzing online informational texts. Along with the filter bubble and echo chamber that I discussed above, the viral spread of fake news online was viewed as a problem in the recent election.

I should note that I typically do not like "checklist approaches" used for critically evaluating websites. I think that it leads to many errors of oversimplification. I prefer to build up the healthy skepticism in learners as they read, write, and communicate. Of course, this can be a challenge as we identify ways to make this happen. I'll share more in an upcoming post.

Finally, to provide a balanced perspective of the information that I'm presenting, I will also share this post titled "Meet leftist prof who wrote 'hit list' of 'fake' news sites" that I located while researching for this story. Let's see how you develop your healthy skepticism as you read online.

Protecting your digital life in 7 easy steps

This post from the NY Times discusses some "easy" steps to protect your personal information online. The need for this hit home yesterday as a student in my class all of a sudden realized that she didn't have her cell phone. Under my direction she went to the Android device manager, saw her phone moving on a map, wiped it, and called the police. We all need to do a better job maintaining our privacy and security with these technologies.

The guidance they provide includes:

Download Signal or use WhatsApp to send text messages
Protect your computer's hard drive using FileVault or BitLocker
The way you handle your passwords is probably "wrong" and "bad"
Protect your email and other accounts with two-factor authentication
Use a browser plug-in called HTTPS Everywhere
Remember that incognito mode isn't always private
Do sensitive searches in DuckDuckGo
Cover your webcam with tape

Please note that some of these steps are a bit challenging, while others take some time. I prefer the post that was shared in the beginning of the NY Times post titled How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour. I'll have a series of posts over the coming weeks providing more granular advice on how to secure your digital spaces.

Building a tinkering mindset in young students through making

An excerpt from The Invent to Learn Guide to Making in the K-3 Classroom: Why, How, and How! by Alice Baggett.

This piece discusses developing the mental dispositions needed as young makers thinker, think, and play. The key is in fostering an active state of mind primed for discovering and not afraid of failures or mistakes. Some of the guidance provided:

Read stories about mistakes
Actually make mistakes in front of kids
Use visual reminders (about the power of making mistakes)
Highlight both epic fails and spectacular discoveries
Emphasize that a mistake is not the end
Talk about the process

Check out this guide of 28 days of hands-on STEM activities for possible projects to tackle with your learners.

African-American teens missing out on digital innovation

Fascinating research examining more than 1,000 pairs of African-American teens and their parents to understand young people's use of computers and the internet out of school. This research was organized by a team that included partnerships between George Mason University and Arizona State University. You can review the full report here.

Interesting trends from the research include:

Young African-Americans frequently use technology to learn and create content, but far fewer write their own code.
Young people have a passion for their phones.
Vast majority of young African/Americans prefer computers to mobile devices for tasks related to school and career preparation.
African-American parents are substantially more likely to restrict girls in computer and internet use as opposed to boys.

🔨 Do

Google Quick Draw

A fun game built with machine learning from Google. Basically, you draw, and a neural network tries to guess what you're drawing as you add elements. Please note that as you add elements, the machine is learning all of the time.

This has tremendous possibilities as you have learners quickly sketch out ideas and try to express themselves visually. It also presents opportunities to play with machine learning and have discussions about what is happening as the artificial intelligence (AI) learns from you.

Click here for more AI experiments from Google.

🤔 Consider

"We can talk, and we can listen, if we only give each other a chance." — Gwen Ifill

This week: developing healthy skepticism.

Filter bubble post ILA Literacy Daily how to pop bubble, domain of one's own for pre-service educators research and development digital portfolios. Ambition video Domics illustrator case study - I think the video is also a conversation starter for students in secondary higher ed classrooms. Filter bubble echo chambers existed long before social networks - from my perspective the challenge is we focus on modifying code and algorithms as opposed to building healthy skepticism, practice some healthy skepticism as you read write and communicate. Melissa Zimdars list guidance critiquing online texts fake news - I typically do not like checklist approaches leads to errors of oversimplification, I prefer to build up healthy skepticism, I'll share more in upcoming post. Protecting digital life cover webcam with tape - student realized didn't have cell phone saw phone moving on map wiped it called police, we all need to do better job maintaining privacy and security. Tinkering mindset through making - fostering active state of mind primed for discovering not afraid of failures or mistakes, read stories about mistakes actually make mistakes in front of kids. African-American teens missing out digital innovation fascinating research - use technology to learn create content but far fewer write own code, passion for phones prefer computers for school career. Google Quick Draw neural network - machine is learning all of time, tremendous possibilities sketch out ideas discuss what is happening as AI learns from you.

We can talk, and we can listen, if we only give each other a chance.

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🌱 Connected Concepts:

Filter Bubble — Echo chambers existed before social networks, challenge is we focus on algorithms not healthy skepticism practice some.
Healthy Skepticism — I prefer to build up in learners as they read write communicate, don't believe everything you read online or off.
Fake News — Viral spread online viewed as problem recent election, Melissa Zimdars list guidance critiquing analyzing online texts.
Digital Security — Student phone moving on map wiped it called police, we all need better job maintaining privacy security with technologies.
Melissa Zimdars — Assistant professor communication Merrimack College, I typically do not like checklist approaches leads to oversimplification.
Machine Learning — Google Quick Draw neural network tries to guess what you're drawing, tremendous possibilities as AI learns from you.
Tinkering Mindset — Fostering active state of mind primed for discovering not afraid of failures mistakes, make mistakes in front of kids.
Domain of One's Own — Developing for pre-service educators research and development digital portfolios, outline what work might look like as we scale.

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