Our discussion in class about the "truthiness" of online information put me in mind of a few things. To better appeal to all of us Millenials, here's a list-icle:
1. 20 Questions with 20+ people is difficult. All my bets were on Ned Stark.
2. Snopes! This is a pretty good source for verifying online rumors/"repost this to show your account is active otherwise Mark Zuckerburg will deactivate it" scams. (Not like ever fallen prey to one of those or anything...) It can't check all facts for you, but it can keep you from looking silly and forwawarding the wrong thing.
3. I was involved in a similarly-minded activity in elementary school. The idea of being cautious about information online isn't a new one, apparently. I can remember when my school first got computers when I was in about 4th grade. They put in a computer lab and everything - it was quite a big deal. Anyway, for our first ever media class, we were placed in front of computers and given a worksheet on the "Bolivian Mountain Dog." We were told it was meant to teach us online research skills, and included such questions as breed size, typical weight, and standard coat colors. We were given a website to go to (how did we even get there before Google??) where we were told we'd find all the information we needed. I, being the diligent student I was, finished in no time, and sat smugly waiting for my classmates to catch up. After all the worksheets had been handed in, our media teacher informed us that we'd just completed an assignment on a breed of dog that didn't actually exist. Touche.
My conclusion from all of this is that being appropriately wary is a skill all students, at all levels, need to be reminded of. This lesson can clearly be taught in several ways, but it definitely should be taught. It's something that I think will serve students well for much of their lives, and that's not even considering the fact that I really would rather not grade 30 research essays with "www.fax-about-shakespeer.com" listed as a reference...
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If only I new about fax-about-shakespeer in high school, AP English would have been so much easier! Also, I'm pretty sure I saw a Bolivian Mountain Dog wandering around the art fair last night. I think it's really interesting that your school was already doing that with 4th graders! With these new generations being born into technology, that might be a useful practice for all schools with computers (which is probably all schools) to take part in! Internet research is becoming absolutely essential to schooling at all level. And considering how much nonsense exists on the internet these days, classes addressing how to do proper research via the interwebs might be useful for students. Do you think 4th grade was too early for something like that? The lesson seems to have stuck with you all of this time, do you think it did for some of your fellow classmates? Anyway, I enjoyed your blog, as always.
ReplyDeleteGus. T. Windsom
As a Game of Thrones enthusiast, I, too, thought it could be Ned Stark. Or, perhaps some other character. But, as for safe online browsing, I don't remember using the Internet until I got to college. So, I'm dating myself a bit ... again. When I first encountered it, I was pretty much already considered an adult, and had no guidance whatsoever. Nevertheless,perhaps some part of my personality has remained vigilant. But, when it comes to media, digital or otherwise, having a healthy sense of skepticism seems warranted. And, as for technology, it would make sense to provide students with guidance, even for the non-digital stuff. For example, in a science class, you need to be aware of students' use with chemicals and various tools; though some of that is being supplemented with, if not replaced by, virtual labs. Despite all of my vigilance, sometimes when you are searching for something useful and academic, you can still find yourself face-to-face with a challenge. Trusting media and the sources thereof can be tricky, I agree. Another possible pitfall, perhaps, is adware and malware. About a week or so ago, I was looking for free video editing software because I couldn't get my QuickTime to work on my pc. I was investigating a few alternatives when I acquired some adware in the process. After troubleshooting for several hours into the night, I was able to mitigate the problem and go to bed sometime around 2:00 of 3:00 in the morning, but not getting done everything that I had wanted to. So, my question is, how do we provide extra safeguards? Should we simply provide lessons just on media sources and "truthiness," or do we have a lot more tackle with students when it comes to media and technology?
ReplyDeleteAhhh, viruses. The bane of every deadline. I think teaching students about how to examine the validity of media sources is a good chunk of the battle. I feel like no matter how much you tell them not to, middle schoolers (and some high schoolers, really) are still going to click on that "FREE IPAD FOR 1,000TH VISITOR" link. Or try to stream shows from shady sites. And, as you've pointed out, even when you think you're safe, you can still accidentally download something malicious. Most of avoiding that stuff, though, is just common sense, which takes time to develop. In the meantime, we should probably just hope our school tech departments have installed good antiviruses...
DeleteCaution...respect the internet. I am very respectful of the internet. It is a powerful tool and can be used for good and for evil. I look at it like an automobile and driving. An automobile can be used in the wrong manner and cause the loss of lives or do bodily harm to a number of people. Or it can be used in a positive way to provide a means to earn a living, enjoy the county or be part of a display in a car show. In class I was not sure of the purpose of the 20 question exercise. I did not make the connect to trust and truth on the internet. After I read your blog, and thought about it, your points are valid and I am clearer on why we participated in the 20 question class activity.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteQuestion: If you were to plan a lesson on how to effectively navigate the internet, what would it look like? I actually like the Bolivian Mountain Dog idea and I think it would work on high schoolers (sadly).
I think I would probably take the mountain dog idea and tweak it a little. I'd pick a topic that actually exists (ex. American Revolution battles), and direct students to sites with conflicting information. It would be their task then to figure out what information is valid. (It would be great if I could edit Wikipedia right before the class on whatever topic we were looking up to show wrong information, but 1. there's no guarantee that someone wouldn't change it before my students got to it, and 2. I'm not sure the folks at Wikipedia would appreciate me messing with their site for the purposes of a lesson). As part of the lesson, I'd also provide them with hints for finding reliable resources online (ex. the fact that .gov or .edu sites are GENERALLY more reliable than .com, good places to look up journal articles, etc.)
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