Wow. That was impressive. I always knew that the Google results are skewed. If you google a subject like “Immigration” the results will be overwhelmingly skewed to the negative because the vast majority of the posts are people concerned will illegal immigration. The squeaky wheel get the oil, so to speak. I never thought about the personalized filter and was completely unaware of this happening. Very interesting.
I will have my students to set up a tagxedo in the shape of a footprint to illustrate where they have been on the Internet and talk about what reliable websites should contain.
I plan on having our students evaluate various websites/search engines in order to keep them engaged. In addition, I plan on using tools such as TitanPad, Wikispaces, and so on.
I would use a variety of resources, video, websites on the topic… I would have students share there experience with filtering on the websites that use regularly and discuss the pros and cons of computers making the choice of what you want to see on the web.
I would like to have a discussion on different websites that are popular such as The Onion that seem like they are legit but are satirical. I would also like to use the short video of Web 1.0,2.0, 3.0/augmented reality and have a discussion of the pros and cons of each. The last thing that I think my students will like is the filter bubble video and have them search for the same thing to see what the search engine gives them, and try it for multiple search engines.
I will have my students do a quick scavenger hunt to plan out a Saturday night. After the allotted time is up they will have to stop. I am hoping they don’t finish the hunt so we can talk about general searching vs intentional searching for specific things. I will lead in to a discussion about how search works and how Google works in particular. As we talk about how search is done I will question students as to how will they if the information they are finding is good information or not, leading in to evaluating websites.
I plan on using several websites for the scavenger hunt to keep the lesson relevant. I would also like to have a discussion that compares the websites the students used. I would be interested if students also saw different search results from each other when they are signed into Google, for example.
To co-construct the scavenger hunt list, I will model selecting an item to find and then writing it and my name (for accountability) on a post it note, having all of the students pick one item each. After the scavenger hunt and discussion, I will show the first video and classify each of the scav hunt items as 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, or some combination. We will then discuss the implications of technological trend on how we understand and interact with the world. What are the economic/psychological/ethical considerations? After an abbreviated jigsaw on the web 2.0 applications, we will watch the filter bubble video and discuss how different applications could be used in ways that are beneficial to humanity or ethically dubious. We will then create and apply criteria to evaluate websites with our current learnings in mind.
For me, this lesson lends itself well to larger school-wide conversations, including the importance of our school’s core values, particularly: socially skilled & mature, compassionate, and socially just & responsible. I would push students to debate the importance of being truly connected (and not being secluded by filter bubbles) in a web context and in a real-world context.
I really think this is an amazing opportunity for students to discuss the concerns/threats that technology poses in their lifetime and the potential database we are creating with our digital footprint.
I will have student get in groups for the different web and research and present info on it along doing the website search like the teacher group presented.
I kept my students well engaged throughout this lesson by revisiting live models of a computer; a couple of youtube videos about what is inside a CPU and how a CPU works; the Ted Talk video just viewed; and pair and share /report out about an assigned (by me) component of the computer. For the SPED students I have, it worked well to have them draw me a computer (with as many components showing and labeled that they could remember). Then after the students understood what creates the connection (modem, router, ethernet card etc) we talked about web 1.0-3.0 and the differences involved with the three. I then did the scavenger hunt approach as well and had the student classify what type of website they had came across a 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0.
I heard really positive feedback and this class has already been touted as “my favorite class” by many students-- even though it is a first hour class. I’ll take it…
There are so many great ideas here already! I think I will also show the Web 1.0/2.0/3.0 video before completing the scavenger hunt and having the students classify each thing afterwards. In addition, I think it may be interesting to set up some kind of contest for a week around A Google a Day to give students practice in making their searches more effective. I will do the JigSaw activities with the Web 2.0 applications and collaborate with other teachers in the school on the evaluation of websites to make sure the students are evaluating websites they could use in other classes.
We have some old computers that I will open and arrange around the classroom. Students will get into groups and use their cell phones to take pictures of each of the components in the list and post the pictures to a padlet wall (padlet.com)
After showing the videos, I plan to have my students work in small groups of 3 to search places to visit using different devices. Students will use the computers, their tablets and their phones to search the same topic. Later they will compare their results and share their findings with the class.
I plan to have student groups develop and deliver a “sales pitch” designed to convince an apprehensive user to consider engaging in one or more forms of social media.
Possibly an internet scavenger hunt using different search engines to determine if they get the same results and figure out why they get such results.
- Scavenger hunt including info relevant to their interests and community. 2. Ted talk video about filtering to foster discussion about who should control the flow of information they see.
I’m going to make this a two day lesson. One day we learn about the web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 and groups will become experts on some search sites that they might find useful for the school year. Day two will be presentations on the sites and the scavenger hunt.
It is imperative, absolutely crucial that an internet use be able to receive objective even dispassionate information, as much as possible.