more than half of students failed to click on the link provided within the tweet
Incredible... and somehow not surprising. When browsing news, I find myself often tempted to simply gather what is in a headline and move along. It is necessary to dig deeper when forming an opinion or staying informed.
But the person who has immersed themselves in the material of the news over time in a reflective way starts that process with three-quarters a race’s head start.
This is really interesting to think about. I keep thinking back to the covers on books and what draws kids in (e.g., font style, color, illustration style) etc. Are these characteristics synonymous to how kids navigate the internet and select which sources of information they immerse themselves in?
This traditional information/web literacy asks students to go to a random page and ask questions like “Who runs this page? What is their expertise? Do they have bias? Is information clearly presented?
This seems like a helpful framework for helping middle grade and secondary students become critical consumers of information. I worked with a few students over the summer who were using Youtube as a platform for research and would have benefitted from the RADCAB acronym.
Open up your journal or a new blank writing space. Take twenty minutes and write six words that identify who you are. Only six words…no more…no less. These six words may be who you would like to be, or who you think you should be. But, in this process, you need to identify yourself in six words.
This is not an exercise I've ever considered before. To take 20 minutes to focus on only 6 words to me originally sounded tedious, but upon mulling it over I think it's an important step when forging your online identity. Maybe it is not a necessary step necessary for everyone to understand who they want to be, or who they would like to appear as, but it can give concise direction. limiting it to 6 words also narrows the content you will create under that identity, creating a more focused audience that will more consistently be interested in your posts or other content.
In future posts we’ll discuss this and what information you share about yourself, and what you keep private.
We could do a much better job preparing and helping children develop an understanding around this before they reach the age of being able to partake in a platform like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and so on. What you say and how you say it matters!
As you begin this process, consider the identity that you would like to have online. You may already have multiple identities and accounts online.
I have been thinking a lot about my online identity on Instagram lately. When I browse other people's profiles it seems like they either glorify the bright and shiny parts of their lives and/or all their posts center around something (e.g., cooking, fashion, teaching, etc.). I'm struggling with determining what I want to get out of this platform. I spend hours of my day scrolling through other people's pages, but do very little with my own. Ultimately I think I would love to dedicate my Instagram to promoting and reviewing children's literature. Is there a benefit or hinderance to pigeonholing myself?