Did you know that Facebook and Google were filtering the results you get? It’s true. This means that results you get may be completely different from results that your friends, your neighbors, your adversaries, people of different ages, different demographics, different locales and countries get. This is a scary thought to me.
Essentially what is happening: If I am a right-wing or left-wing person who only searches for right-wing or left-wing ideas, this is what I will find. This is what will be presented to me. This is what is reinforced in me as: Truth. I take that idea back that ‘this is scary to me’ and want to replace it with: THIS IS TERRIFYING TO ME!!
Proof:
Watch this video to understand more:
Strategy:
I am not going to repost this post from The Filter Bubble, but they explain main ideas for how to combat search result filtering:
Burn your cookies.
Erase your web history.
Tell Facebook to keep your data private.
Hide your birthday.
Turn off targeted ads, and tell the stalking sneakers to buzz off.
Go incognito.
Or better yet, go anonymous.
Depersonalize your browser.
Tell Google and Facebook to make it easier to see and control your filters.
Tell Congress you care.
I would add:
Compare friend results – like you saw in the video
Network through places like Twitter around the world and ask to compare results from people outside of your sphere of thinking – Try to think what you search for and like and choose the opposite #tag instead – for example, if you are a Republican and always search #Republican, try #Democrat instead, and vice versa. If you search #Vanilla, try #Chocolate. Connect with new people from the other side of your views, your searches, and your beliefs.
Start searching things you don’t normally search – Try to trick these algorithms. (I don’t know if this is possible, but it’s worth a try)
Taylor made is good, but not always. I hope you take action to see what you might be missing.
I can’t live without Podcasting or Vodcasting (Video Podcasting) and this article explains why. First have a look at this video to understand the implications this can have for the education system . The idea is a reverse-homework approach, which allows for a differentiated classroom with hands on teacher instruction.
Proof:
Of all places to start, I was initiated into the world of podcasting by listening to my banks podcasts found here: www.bmo.com/podcast They were actually interesting and informative. They made me want to explore more.
I realized that podcasts were not just books read aloud, but could also be lessons in digital form. I found lesson upon lesson at Apple iTunes and at BBC Radio. Beyond teaching and learning, I found “the ultimate podcast collection” at Podcast.com.
Moving away from the consumption idea I thought about the other end of it: Production. Podcasting meant that students were able to create, which meant facilitation of higher-level learning in Bloom Digital Taxonomy. It meant the digital natives in our classrooms had another facet to express themselves. But how do they do it?
Strategy:
Let’s look first at how to Podcast and then how to Vodcast, Mr. Bennett style.
Podcasting –
Plan your topic and what you are going to say.
Make sure you have sound accessories (tambourines, noise makers, etc.) and you know where you are going to record.
Think about background and ambient noise.
The Equipment you will need:
A computer
A sound card
Working headphones and mic
Some hard disk space (approx 2-3 gigs should be lots in the beginning)
Pop filters are nice, but not necessary. They take away the loud crackly ‘p’ sounds when you talk
Software to record and edit: Audacity is good for a PC / Garageband is excellent for a Mac
Everyone wants to know, “How can I download videos from Youtube?” Well, it’s never been easier.
Proof:
The fact that I get asked at least once a week about how to download Youtube videos should be proof enough that people are asking this question.
However, the fact that there are 2,220,000 hits in Google when you search, “Download Youtube videos” added to the fact that there are tonne of programs and ways to do this compounds my evidence that we can and should be able to do it pretty easily.
Strategy:
In my short video below, I explain how to download videos from Youtube through Firefox.
Schools are eager to become 1:1 with laptop programs, but they are wrong with this kind of thinking. Gone will be the days of mice and keyboards. The 5:1 and 4:1 classrooms are those of the future for tech-heavy, well-endowed and ‘lucky’ schools. What do these programs consist of? Let’s look:
education | technology | design 