I know many adults who have recently made the decision to stop watching the news on television or stop reading political articles. Some people have made the decision to not have social media accounts. I am not one of them but I can see why these decisions were made. At some point about 3 years ago I also noticed how consuming too much information online or on the television was changing my lifestyle for the worse. Even while catching up with friends on Facebook, I am still bombarded with news articles someone thinks I should read. I began to socialize face-to-face less and read actual books less. Eventually, I made some changes regarding my screen time and now I feel happier with myself. I was able to self-monitor. However, I think this is more difficult to do for students or young people who's brains have not fully developed and who seek constant approval from peers. It is also dangerous for anyone to not have a sense of what is legitimate news or what is contrived, biased, or simply false.
As we begin to design lessons for our students using technology, it will be important to help our learners become aware of not only how much they use the internet to gain information, but how to find accurate information. The Information Diet not only gives good examples of how the public is fooled but it also gives the reader tools to use to not only decrease screen time but also tools to help decipher which websites are legitimate sources of accurate information.
Going into the next grading quarter I will be teaching our Health and FLE unit. One of the PBLs I assign is letting the students research fad diets, sexually transmitted infections, and health foods. I will definitely share a checklist with them of how to decide if a website is reliable or not.
I know some people who have given up social media for a certain period of time, or quit all together because they were negative impacted. Girls are often comparing themselves to others, feeling they aren't getting enough "likes" to be cool or popular, and resulting in negative attitudes. I see this with my students all the time and I'm unsure how we can help improve this.
ReplyDeleteIt is really important for everyone, and in particular our students, to realize that monitoring our screen time and also information intake is so important. It's very easy for students to have their sense of reality or self worth be warped through things they read online. I think giving students a website checklist is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteSince technology has evolved and I can easily check my screen time, I've been monitoring my productivity on my cell phone. Majority of my time is "wasted" on social media, very little is productive time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great unit for your class. As the FCPS move forward with 1 to 1, can standards be established for all content areas to teach those information searching and evaluating skills?
ReplyDeleteI think standards should be added to content areas to address searching and evaluating skills. In addition, I think all students should be required to take a half-semester "Digital Citizenship" course. They haven't been created yet but they should be.
DeleteSocial media can be such an evil thing. I thought I would really miss my Facebook account, but deleting it was one of the best decisions I've made.
ReplyDeleteI also made my 11th grade daughter delete her various accounts (Snapchat, Instagram, etc) It's amazing what a more productive person she is when her face isn't buried in her phone, waiting for the next notification or mention.