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TLDR 73

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 73

Published: 2016-11-25 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to issue 73 of the TL;DR Newsletter.

In TL;DR we typically discuss events of the week in education, technology, and literacy. In this issue we take a look at critical examination of online information.

If you haven't already, please subscribe to this newsletter. You can review archives of the newsletter. Check out TL;DR on Medium. You can connect with me on Instagram and Snapchat.

This week I spent some time relaxing with family and working on some materials for upcoming presentations.

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

I love the videos from Ok Go. The music is catchy, but their videos are amazing mixtures of physics, technology, and expression. I'll often play these as we come back from a break in class, or a workshop.

This latest video is from the song The One Moment. You can see the "behind the scenes" video here.

Thanks to Kevin Hodgson for pointing this video out.

📚 Read

This piece reports on results from a study conducted by the History Education Group at Stanford. This work examined 7,804 responses from students across various levels (middle/high/higher ed) on 56 tasks across 12 states in the U.S. The results describe young people's ability to reason about the information on the internet as being "bleak."

These results are by no means new or startling. In my dissertation I studied critical evaluation of online information. In the theory section you can read up on how students do not critically evaluate the materials they read online. Adults rarely critically interrogate what they read online as well. IMHO, the biggest challenge comes in health care as individuals have been shown to "just Google it" and use that information to deal with health maladies as opposed to consulting a physician.

My focus has been on (as I detailed in last week's TL;DR) developing our health skepticism as we consume all media...especially as we read online.

A post from All Tech Considered on NPR in which they investigate and track down one of these supposed producers of "fake news" online. What follows is an interesting look at the digital bread crumbs that you leave behind even when you don't want to be found online.

What strikes me about this is the large audience and amount of money that can be gained by targeting specific groups.

In my dissertation, I had students create fake websites with the thinking that this would be a way for them to examine the strategies used in developing online materials. Little did I know this could be a lucrative endeavor. ;)

Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news' during election, experts say

Post from The Washington Post trying to connect the dots between the massive amount of fake news available online during the U.S. election and possible Russian connections. The article discusses an "increasingly sophisticated propaganda machinery" consisting of botnets, paid human "trolls" and social media accounts. The article continues as they detail the origins and possible motivations of this work.

As a researcher that studies literacies in new and digital spaces, this is fascinating. If I were to do my dissertation all over again, I'd have students study and recreate misinformation in the classroom. This in turn would be used to fuel discussions about how "useful" and "truthful" is the information that we read online.

As a web literate individual that seeks to empower and advocate for others, I think this spells out a very real future in which we'll need propaganda created and disseminated on all sides. Depending on your perspectives, if you do not agree with some of this news and label it as "fake," perhaps there is a need to have groups creating an equal and opposite news stream on the other side of the spectrum.

A new report from the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research. The report, titled Online Harassment, Digital Abuse, and Cyberstalking presents a look into the unwanted contact that is often used to intimidate, annoy, and frighten individuals using digital tools.

Some of the findings include:

I recommend reviewing the full report to understand the complexity of these findings.

Snooper's Charter is set to become law: how the Investigatory Powers Bill will affect you

We have a good number of TL;DR readers from around the globe, and I'd be remiss if I didn't include the recent news of the Investigatory Powers Bill, or as it is sometimes called, the Snooper's Charter. This sweeping legislation calls for internet service providers (ISPs) to keep a full record of every site that customers have visited. This information is then made available to a wide range of government bodies if asked.

We see a growing trend of these battles between privacy and surveillance springing up around the globe. Along with this our notions of privacy and security as we read, write, and participate online quickly vanish. Furthermore, this should not be viewed as a case of "you shouldn't worry if you have nothing to hide." It should also not be viewed as only an event in other countries. This is something for us all to discuss as the web is a networked space in which we all coexist.

🔨 Do

Inspiring young writers with Minecraft

A great piece by Matthew Farber on Edutopia discussing possibilities for Minecraft and building literacy skills and practices.

Specifically, Matthew looks at the use of Minecraft themed books to build independence in interest-driven reading. He also looks at the potential as a toolkit for aspiring authors and making writing relevant.

Check out the teaching materials submitted by Mark Cheverton and most of all the guide on writing Minecraft stories for kids.

🤔 Consider

"Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work." — Adrienne Rich

This week: critical examination of online information.

Spent time relaxing with family working on materials for presentations. Ok Go The One Moment - I love the videos amazing mixtures physics technology expression, I'll often play these as we come back from break in class or workshop. Stanford study most students don't know when news is fake results bleak - IMHO biggest challenge comes in health care just Google it instead of consulting physician, my focus developing health skepticism as we consume all media especially read online. NPR tracked down fake-news creator in suburbs - what strikes me is large audience and money gained by targeting specific groups, in my dissertation students create fake websites little did I know this could be lucrative endeavor. Russian propaganda spread fake news during election - if I were to do my dissertation all over again recreate misinformation in classroom fuel discussions about useful and truthful information, perhaps need groups creating equal and opposite news stream. Online harassment 47% personally experienced - more than quarter refrained from posting out of fear, recommend reviewing full report to understand complexity. Snooper's Charter Investigatory Powers Bill ISPs keep full record - notions of privacy and security quickly vanish, not you shouldn't worry if nothing to hide, this is something for us all to discuss as web is networked space we all coexist. Minecraft inspiring young writers - themed books build independence interest-driven reading toolkit for aspiring authors making writing relevant.

Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you.

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