My take on Information Diet
This lesson is truly inspiring. I have recently changed the way I eat. As a result, I experienced positive effects such as lesser headaches and increased energy. It is enlightening how the author talks about how diet affects one's health is similar to how our mind is shaped by the Information we consume. I learned that just like watching what you eat, you will benefit from filtering what information you consume. The author talked about information obesity as a result of over consumption. It actually has physical symptoms such as apnea, poor sense of time, attention fatigue, loss of social breadth, distorted sense of reality and brand loyalty.
In the book Information Diet, the author also discussed the 'diet' that he recommends. Data literacy includes (1) searching, (2) filtering and processing, (3) producing and (4) synthesizing (p.80). Also important is keeping a healthy habit of reading locally as well as from reliable and direct source of information. Having a balanced information diet involves regulating intake of information and the source, as well filtering the quality and validity.
As educators our role is like that of a parent being fully responsible for our children's nutrition. We initially provide them with milk and as they grow older we teach them how to make healthy choices. As the internet continues to explode with information, we should set a good example for our students in modelling how we manage our use of information. Our students are the major information consumers now and in the future. They are targeted for marketing entertainment, gadgets, politics, fashion and lifestyle, educational products and others. The statistics on child obesity is alarming. Whose fault is it? Information obesity is real. What will we do about it? We need to be proactive in preparing our youths to make healthy choices in information using.
In the book Information Diet, the author also discussed the 'diet' that he recommends. Data literacy includes (1) searching, (2) filtering and processing, (3) producing and (4) synthesizing (p.80). Also important is keeping a healthy habit of reading locally as well as from reliable and direct source of information. Having a balanced information diet involves regulating intake of information and the source, as well filtering the quality and validity.
As educators our role is like that of a parent being fully responsible for our children's nutrition. We initially provide them with milk and as they grow older we teach them how to make healthy choices. As the internet continues to explode with information, we should set a good example for our students in modelling how we manage our use of information. Our students are the major information consumers now and in the future. They are targeted for marketing entertainment, gadgets, politics, fashion and lifestyle, educational products and others. The statistics on child obesity is alarming. Whose fault is it? Information obesity is real. What will we do about it? We need to be proactive in preparing our youths to make healthy choices in information using.
Agreed that youths, as the next generation of information users, need to learn to make healthy choices about targeted information. LCPS teachers have completed more PD recently about student data privacy. Certain educational apps, although flashy and engaging, mine and sell student data to third party companies, who then may send those students targeted advertising. It is so easy to click "agree" on a user agreement without actually understanding what terms we are accepting. The more data we freely give away, the more our inboxes are clogged, our social media feeds have targeted ads, and Google knows about our personal habits; our lives become obese with information we don't need! Johnson's "less is more" approach is definitely relevant here.
ReplyDeleteNot only do our learners need to learn healthy habits, but adults as well. I walk down the halls in my school and I see educators and learners on the devices, and they are not using it for education: unless Facebook or Instagram is part of the lesson. For adults this is like Mcdonalds and Burger King when we were young. It was new and we couldn't get enough, and the adults couldn't understand why we were so consumed by them. Then they saw how this made their life easier but just driving thru and picking up a meal for the kids. Social media is our McDonalds and Burger King.
ReplyDeleteI'm an itinerant, so I work in the classrooms of many teachers throughout the county. There was one teacher who had a very real addiction to Facebook. He had Cat B kids who were non-verbal and autistic. The goal I was working on with my student was to follow a visual schedule and only engage in pleasurable activities after completing his list. He was profoundly Deaf, so the only information he was taking in was visual. His pleasurable activity was playing on the computer. His teacher never left his desk or his computer. My student had a very difficult time with compliance, and I didn't blame him. He watched his teacher give instruction from behind a screen and never saw examples of completing work from an adult. If his teacher participated in collating activities, for example, my student would have been happy to collate as well. Because he only saw his teacher using the one thing he wanted to use, his behaviors were out of control.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to teach good information habits is to model them, just like eating habits. I would have no problem eating a big piece of cake with a glass of milk for lunch. (I may or may not own a Tupperware container that holds a single cupcake.) The only reason I don't is because of how my peers, students, and family would react. How ridiculous would it be to sit down with my student who is working on tasting new foods, that are scary to him, with a piece of cake? Instead, we lick carrots together. I think we need to do that with technology as well. If they see us engaging in unhealthy habits, they're going to think it's ok. But if we model how to find and use information, how to curb our cravings online, and how to limit junk, they'll think that's the right thing to do.
The story of that teacher with Facebook addiction setting a bad example to his student reminded me of my grand uncle who was an alcoholic. I was very young then, but I remember one day when his wife walked out and left. To this day the life of his children is never easy because of his addiction. The effect of addiction to technology truly cannot be undermined. It has real life impact. I am with you that the best way to teach good information habits is by modeling. Action speaks louder than words.
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