Monthly Archives: March 2018

My critical, digital life.

24 Saturday Mar 2018

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My critical, digital life.

I normally wake up and go on some form of social media (either Facebook or Instagram), and probably log a minimum of two hours on it per day. Side note: This, like many other people, is normally how I get my news.

I check sports highlights (Crosby, wow), 
friends’ activities and scroll through my feeds with the multitude of posts that people in my social network share parceled with advertisements specifically catered to my search histories and demographics I fill.

As I scroll through each post, I’m analyzing content consciously and unconsciously. Someone shares a politically-charged post about the latest Trump or Trudeau controversy, someone shares a post about the legalization of marijuana, or someone tags me (and it’s usually my fiancé) in a funny cat video or meme.

All the while there I am, looking at my electronically-powered, 5.1-inch screen of my phone, consuming and questioning in some combination, if not all, of the following (reflective of my video on Fake News):

  • Is this post valid or accurate? (Is it making claims that just aren’t true or promote opinion as fact?)
  • Why did they share that? (Was it funny? Intentionally offensive? For others’ benefit?)
  • Would I ever share that? (Yes? No? Did I ever? Why would/wouldn’t I now?)
  • What caused them to think that way? (What is causing me to think this way about it?)
  • Do they see how biased the source and article is? (Do they even care about that?)
  • Did they look into that claim before sharing? (Will I bother to look into it?)
  • Do they know that has no validity to it? (Do I actually know enough about this topic to provide validity?)
  • Why do I think that’s funny? (Is it something I agree with? Am I right in laughing about it?)
  • Why do I find that inappropriate? (Am I right in thinking so?)
  • Should I say anything about this? (Why should/would I?)
  • What do I do about this post?

After some combination of these thoughts and questions go through my head, it becomes a decision based on the final underlined questions. What do I do about this post? Like, share, comment, or ignore? Even more simplified, it’s ultimately one of two thoughts:

1. I’ll just scroll past.

OR

2. I can’t just scroll past this.

In the event I select option 2., a series of follow-up considerations will occur depending on the content of the piece, for the sake of this post – our exemplar content can be any of the following, all legitimate posts from people in my social network, several of which I felt “I can’t just scroll past this… I have to comment”:

Exhibit A and Exhibit B

CBD Oil via Cure for Life
CBD Oil via Cure for Life
"Some Thoughts for People who Live in Canada"
“Some Thoughts for People who Live in Canada”

Exhibit C

Does it convey “fake news”, and what specifically about this post is “fake news”? Does it misinform people and who are the people who can see it? What message does it send? What about it specifically do I feel compelled to discuss?

And the big question, if one of my students shared this, would I address it and how would I address it if this was the case? Address it that way, because we are all learners:

  • Respect, be positive towards the individual and have empathy for the individual – treating them as a learner.
  • Find common ground on this topic.
  • Address the specific issue of the content of the post.
  • Avoid getting emotional in your response or in reading theirs.

After making a post/comment, follow-up reflective questions surface:

Do I like what I posted? Could I have done better? Did I word it right? Will they understand what I’m trying to say? Will they listen to me? What if they don’t? Is it pointless to comment, then? What about the people who don’t comment, don’t like, but see it and consume it but leave no visible trace of acknowledgement for me? Am I doing a service to them?

My comments have been met with likes and dislikes.

Sometimes I’ve received insults. Other times the original person who shared the post doesn’t comment or their comment is strictly defensive and not open to what I have to say (maybe the way I wrote it was offensive?).

Kristin and Cats Instagram

This is what daily social media consumption looks like for me in the worst-case scenario. Best-case scenario, I see pictures like this (my fiancé and two of our cats).

But best-case or worst-case, all scenarios are part of the deal.

How do you consume online?

Have you found yourself exposed to similar posts on your social media feed? What did or do you do?

Comment and let me know!

– Logan Petlak

Can we ever be “fully literate” in all dimensions of literacy?

19 Monday Mar 2018

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Am I “fully literate”?

Is anyone?

As evidenced on my page, I believe we are all lifelong learners, so is it even a fair question to consider the notion that there exists a specific point in literacy that we officially “hit” and are considered “fully literate”?

Probably not, the idea of literacy seems too subjective.

Indicators exist in certain subject-areas that would serve as evidence to infer literacy-attainment, so in that sense we can create benchmarks for literacy. But when considering the ever-shifting development of subjects and or expanding knowledge on learning, benchmarks today may shift tomorrow. What is the next benchmark or desired milestone associated with grades and subjects?

Being literate today is a tall order (inadvertently implying that it was necessarily any easier at different points in history). I feel like becoming fully literate today has become synonymous with wisdom, utilitarianism and benevolence (or maybe that’s just my view on it). But you’d think the wise would know that you can never be fully literate (this is me thinking that I’m wise).

Literacy seems almost synonymous with learning (you have to learn to be literate). If you’re capable of continuous learning, consuming information, and improving in all dimensions of literacy (or perceived important ones of today), with certain benchmarks, maybe that’s the way!

BUT WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WITH BARRIERS TO LEARNING AND INFORMATION CONSUMPTION?! IS THE SAME BENCHMARK OF “FULL LITERACY” STILL A SPECIFIC GOAL DESIRED?! HOW DOES “FULL LITERACY” APPLY THEN?!

science 10 scientific literacy.jpg

A Scientifically Literate Student via SK Curriculum

This brings me back to my post about media literacy and, as Carter also said in his vlog, it is needed. And to me, social and media literacy almost seems to transcend specific subject literacies. But then I think of how important scientific literacy is and how passionate I am about it (so much so that I’m making a resource for it an media literacy) – and how that, too, is needed for citizens today. Yet it needs to be delivered in a non-Eurocentric way which requires some cultural literacy.

Aside: these are great considerations for the development of my science resource.

The considerations are making my head spin, though. We probably need some form of benchmark to provide students with skills to become “fully literate” in today’s society, yet don’t want to be so specific that it becomes constrictive or culturally-uniform (devoid of diversity). The reality is that there are many different forms of literacy that I haven’t listed yet that are important to the holistic growth of individuals (health and physical literacy, for example) and all need to be pursued when able. Especially when all of these forms of literacy depend on one another as an intricate web enhancing the impact of another.

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Literacies for the Digital Age via Educorp

If all forms of literacy are continuously pursued, beyond the benchmarks, we become the benevolent, wise, and “fully” (but not really, “fully”) literate. As educators we have to be pursuing this personally, regardless of the courses/subjects we instruct, to model this for our students as well.

Agree? Disagree?

Get at me!
– Logan Petlak

 

The Need for Media Literacy

18 Sunday Mar 2018

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Media literacy is an integral part of learning.

Image result for media literacy

Global Competencies via AML

Many of the “to do’s” of media literacy, as evidenced in vlog posts by Dani and Luke are pretty straightforward and may occur in courses anyway without the deliberate classification as media literacy. Literacy in senior English includes media literacy in dissecting all elements of literature including the writer and content of the piece. History courses analyze the context in which historical events occurred much like we would analyze all the factors surrounding articles and posts.

I think that it is a very easy-to-realize goal of extending media literacy (specifically in the digital realm) into many, if not all, subject-based classrooms. It seems like it would be the most relevant learning for students as well (at least in the environment in which I instruct, high school), which should increase engagement. I would hope that this is a trend that more and more educators seek to address in their classrooms, but how would I ever know that its occurring when I’m busy teaching? Prep time rarely gets used to observe other educators as many of us re trying to keep our head above water working on marking/prepping. This presents the necessity for it to be required/enforced at an administrative or divisional level. And this presents the question then: does every teacher need to do it then? Is it a part of teacher assessment and professional growth for us all as a profession? I’m biased, obviously, but I think it should be! Do you agree?

With this in mind, what currently is happening in my school regarding media literacy? How are we educating students about digital citizenship and media literacy?

ccicyclonenation

Screenshot of ccicyclonenation post on Instagram.

At Central Collegiate we have been fortunate that administration encourages opportunities for sharing and leadership as educators supporting one another with educational technology. In addition, individual teachers are encouraged to take “risks” and utilize social media as a means to build community at Central Collegiate.

Our school social media, differs from that of each of our educator’s social media posts, as its very much about the school, not personal (obviously). With different types of sharing occurring with each of us teachers, I think that diversity in types of sharing is reflective of the diversity present in schools and also illustrate that necessity for instruction and unpacking of the idea of media literacy for everyone (this extends to include other roles within the school including facilities, office/administrative positions, and support staff), does this become mandatory and assessed in the same way it occurs for educators?

It’s still kind of a grey area when considering personal media use as evidenced by our ECI 832 discussion with Patrick Maze. There are some obvious things to avoid, and there are some things that perhaps shouldn’t be posted, but are arguably okay depending on perspectives. This raises that learning and modelling digital responsibility (and ultimately, media literacy) as individuals working with students and youth. Would we be okay with a student sharing something like what we post? Are selfies okay? And is that wide range of subjectivity regarding “what’s okay” a good means to go forward, rather than a definitive line?

I’m not sure on these questions regarding the future of media literacy, but it is a big part of society and culture today that we all need to be educated on.

Digital Identity: Past, Present, Future

03 Saturday Mar 2018

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In an effort to better understand (and educate for) digital citizenship, I am going to reflect on my personal journey through digital citizenship in my past, present, and future.

Logan Petlak’s Digital Identity Past
A.K.A why Facebook Memories makes me shake my head [smh] at myself daily.

Digital identity and footprints weren’t a thing until social spaces became prevalent like Myspace, which was prefaced by MSN Messenger. I made my names and statuses either song lyrics that I thought were cool or that people would like (“I got soul, but I’m not a soldier”) or put hearts around elementary school girlfriend’s names “<3 Michelle <3”, or both! I liked bands and people on Myspace that I thought my peers would be impressed that I liked, and adjusted half-mockingly, half-seriously, my top five friends on Myspace. But this identity, at least to the best of my ability to find it, no longer exists.

Facebook had emerged in high school, and there began posts begging for attention and acknowledgement. Some funny, some needlessly oversharing (given my definition of oversharing now).
Facebook “on this day” serves as a constant reminder of this, to which I have been pressing delete to try to minimize the non-digitally-citizened presence of Logan Petlak, despite the positive learning experience I bet it could be.

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Facebook Profile Picture (17 years of age) – April 13th, 2007

I had hoped to find pictures on Google Images that would help should my youth and digital footprint from long ago, but I was unable to find anything prior to my teaching career – I considered that a positive!
Here’s my first Facebook Profile Pic though!

Over the course of several years, as I went through my undergraduate studies at the University of Regina, I continued to experiment with sharing online in what I considered my “private” world of Facebook. There was a progression in the content I shared over time. There were less pictures at social gatherings and less posts asking “what everyone was up to tonight”. They progressively become fewer and fewer as my teacher education grew and grew.

This progression brings up questions though, what caused the shift? Was it brief forms of digital citizenship occurring in my courses? Was it settling into a long-term relationship? Was it simply exiting my early-twenties and maturing? Or a combination thereof?
Petlak’s Digital Identity’s Present
A.K.A Educating students on digital citizenship and their digital identity.

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Present-Day Logan with Fiance, Kristin

Present-day. I’ve found success in not getting too full of myself as an educator. The reality is that with the multitude of experiences and perspectives sitting in every one of my classrooms, my experiences are so specific and limited, it’s really not logical to assume I know more than any student in any particular subject, especially social media and the social dynamics therein that influence their relationships with one another. This translates to how I approach digital citizenship in my classes. I believe I possess the humility required in “recognising and respecting the knowledge students already possess about these media”. The reality is, I possess a fair amount of experience with social media and its inherent effects on identity as it played a role in shaping mine in my teenage years, especially when compared to other educators belonging to different generations. But it would be presumptuous to think I know more than my students. The idea of being a facilitator of discussions about digital citizenship hopefully allows students to consider their digital roles, identity, and footprint better than I did at their age. As with much of the learning in my classes, it revolves around questioning.

But will it look the same in the future? I don’t specifically assess how they interact online – definitely not summatively at least, but they have to critique/cite sources. They question bias of sites. Maybe my document will allow me (and others) to more formally assess digital citizenship learning in my science courses.
Petlak’s Digital Identity Future
A.K.A what will my digital identity become, do I or don’t I comment on “Fake News” or blatantly-biased and inaccurate posts on social media by my peers?

In class, we did some cyber-sleuthing to see what we could dig up on some individuals and their digital footprints. Naturally, I felt the need to revisit my footprint.

And?

My present identity seems positive: my website, tweets, work with the division’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and hockey stats. Good for you, Logan!

But how will it look in the future? And what is and what will my digital identity look like through the lens of my friends/followers whom I rarely see in person anymore but still follow their lives on social media?

As an educator, do I stay true to my trade and try to educate in my social circles as well? If I call out “fake news” to my friends in the future, do I become too preachy in their eyes? Does their perception of me matter if I’m promoting what I am required to as an educator and representing my profession “well”?

What about if I have kids someday!? How will I educate them? Will I share photos of them while they’re young so that they actually have a digital identity before they’re even capable of deciding their own?

I very much agree with Krista and Kelsie’s phrase of digital citizenship being a “patchwork process”. My journey is evidence, albeit subjective, of how digital citizenship education can’t be precisely defined, but I really think speaks to the incredible scope of education and learning that can occur when the digital realm is responsibly utilized (or even the learning that can occur when it is irresponsibly utilized).

There’s always questions!

Logan Petlak