I was gone for a minute but I’m back now
TL;DR #173 – 11/10/2018

Hey all, welcome to TL;DR!!! Each week I synthesize the news of the week that I think you need to know in education, tech, & literacy.

This week I was involved in the following:

• MURSDLeads: Anya Kamenetz – As a reminder, I sat in on the interview with an interview with Kamenetz as we discussed her book, The Art of Screen Time. The interview shares some great insight into her work on the topic. As a reminder, feel free to jump in and get involved in our discussion about the topic here.
• Educational Use of Twitter in Teaching, Learning, and Socializing – I’ve been doing some deep reading and research around trolling and harmful behaviors online. This post unpacks how to respond to trolling in digital spaces.

Walk it like I talk it – Wocket in my pocket – Migos vs Dr Suess @drseussrapper (2:30)

Migos is a hip-hop trio from outside of Atlanta, GA. Their staccato rapping style is perfect for Dr. Seuss books. This performance of Wocket In My Pocket is incredible.

You should also check out the animated version as well.

We Should Teach Media Literacy in Elementary School

Primary and secondary school are supposed to be supplying students with the skills they need to develop into productive, informed members of our society. As our society evolves, perhaps the curriculum we are teaching our students needs to evolve as well. Schools have partly recognized this by incorporating programming and computer science classes into curricula to match our tech-hungry society, but perhaps we need to go further and also instruct our youth on how to properly consume and disseminate online information.

If you would like to support movements similar to the ones mentioned here, contact your local school board officer today or get involved media literacy organizations such as such as Media Literacy Now and the Digital Citizenship Institute.

What the Times got wrong about kids and phones

The screentime series from Anya Kamenetz dissects the NY Times posts from last week.

I’d also recommend this post from The Atlantic, The Backlash Against Screen Time at School, if you want to dig into the topic a bit more.

What Is White Privilege, Really?

I’ve been on a journey over the last two years learning more about racism, white privilege, and white fragility.

White privilege is—perhaps most notably in this era of uncivil discourse—a concept that has fallen victim to its own connotations. The two-word term packs a double whammy that inspires pushback. 1) The word white creates discomfort among those who are not used to being defined or described by their race. And 2) the word privilege, especially for poor and rural white people, sounds like a word that doesn’t belong to them—like a word that suggests they have never struggled.

Is the Era of Voice Texting Upon Us?

Lately I’ve been spending more and more time using voice typing on my mobile keyboard. I don’t know why it took me this long, but I’m using it more often.

On my Android device, there is also the option to send a voice message as opposed to text messages. I’ve been wondering why someone would send short voice clips, as opposed to just call. Well…apparently a lot of people.

If I do jump in full speed on this, I might check out Wire.

Drawing Is the Fastest, Most Effective Way to Learn, According to New Research

Researchers hypothesize that you provide your brain with many different ways to engage with new material. You have to figure out how to draw it by imagining it in detail in your mind, you experience the physical feeling of rendering that idea, and then, in the end, you look at a visual representation of it.

How to get some rest when stress is keeping you up at night

This week I was stressed out about a couple of things. I’m hoping that I learned lessons that I won’t forget (or repeat) in the future.

This post shares several good strategies for managing and dealing with stress.

I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness. All seems beautiful to me. Whoever denies me, it shall not trouble me; Whoever accepts me, he or she shall be blessed, and shall bless me.

Walt Whitman

TL;DR is a summary of all the great stuff from the Internet this week in technology, education, & literacy. Please subscribe to make sure this comes to your inbox each week. You can review archives of the newsletter here.

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