Tag: medialit

  • Tags and Hashtag Literacy

    Understanding and using both “tags” (metadata) and hashtags to find, organize, and archive information for later retrieval are essential literacy skills today. These concepts may be poorly understood by many teachers and students, however, and underutilized in school-required research assignments. In this post, I’ll explore both the concepts of tags and hashtags and the skills…

  • Conspiracy Theories, Apollo Moon Landings and SIFT 

    The last 3 days, Shelly and I have WONDERFUL learning and networking experiences attending the NASA 2022 Space Exploration Educators Conference (#SEEC2022) at Space Center Houston (@SpaceCenterHou). For the past two years, I’ve taught a media literacy unit to my 6th graders called, “Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories,” focusing on the Apollo Moon landings, YouTubers who…

  • Teaching Conspiracy Theories & Media Literacy to 6th Graders

    My favorite unit to teach the last two years to my middle school students has been on “Fruit Loop Conspiracy Theories.” Rather than study and discuss controversial political topics, we focus on the Apollo Moon landings and the skeptics (who are sometimes also “flat-earthers” on YouTube) who believe NASA never landed on the Moon, and…

  • Social Media Stories, Instagram Reels and Mojo Videos

    I love to play with media. As my wife, Shelly, has become a health coach this fall and learned more about ways to use social media to “share our story” of weight, diet and health transformation, I’ve been learning some new things about social media along with her. One of the things I’ve learned in…

  • Teaching About “Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories” and Web Literacy

    It’s hard to believe, this month we wrapped up the first trimester of our 2021-22 academic year. For the fourth trimester, I’m LOVED the opportunity to teach my 6th graders about web literacy through a unit I call, “Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories.” I started developing this unit 2 years ago with my Chicago colleague Brian…

  • The Technology Correction and Section 230 Liability Protection

    “The Technology Correction” is something Jason Neiffer (@techsaavyteach) and I talk about frequently on our weekly webshow and podcast, “The EdTech Situation Room” (@edtechSR). This is a term Jason coined for the forthcoming regulation of our powerful technology companies built on the “surveillance capitalism” economic model, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others. Like the GDPR…

  • When We Disagree on Facts

    Here’s a vignette from this morning that highlights  the challenging disconnect in “understanding basic facts” which we face today in our society and culture. I went into the VA clinic this morning for a lab blood draw, for my annual check up. I struck up a conversation with the lab technician, and we talked about…

  • Political Philosophy and Media Literacy Cornerstones

    Propaganda and disinformation can have real, destructive effects in society and government. That is one of many lessons we can draw from the past week in Washington D.C., when we saw large numbers of protesters storm the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in a riot which resulted in deaths, injuries, as well…

  • Tips for Discussing Conspiracy Theories with Students

    Conspiracy theories are far more than an amusement today. The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania this week released a study finding that a “Belief in Conspiracy Theories Is a Barrier to Controlling Spread of COVID-19.” Folks who profess beliefs in different outlier conspiracy theories today are more likely to reject mask…

  • Podcast473: Brainstorming About “Conspiracies and Culture Wars” with Brian Turnbaugh and Wesley Fryer

    This podcast is a recording of a conversation between Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussing a proposed workshop at the virtual version of the Summer Institute on Digital Literacy, coming to a screen near you July 19-24, 2020. The proposed title is, “Conspiracies and Culture Wars,” and the Google Doc of resources we…