Susan Benesch, founder of The Dangerous Speech project, tells the story of how worried people in Kenya were in the run-up to their national election in 2013. Dangerous, inflammatory speech around the previous election in 2007 had led to widespread violence involving more than 1,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of people being displaced, she said in a talk at Harvard’s Berkman Center, where she … [Read more...] about Counterspeech: New online safety tool with huge potential
agency
Digital citizenship’s missing piece
At the end of a long, thoughtful conversation on stage in Chautauqua, N.Y., last fall, public radio host Krista Tippett asked millennial author and commentator Nathan Schneider, "What makes you despair and what gives you hope?" His answer to both parts of the question focused on agency – the capacity to act, learn by doing and make change. "I think the sense of despair I feel comes from … … [Read more...] about Digital citizenship’s missing piece
Less parental control, more support of kids’ self-regulation: Study
It isn't the first time research has found that "parental control" is not the best way to keep children safe online and on phones. "Rather than restricting or monitoring internet use, parents should let their children discover the net, both good and bad, themselves," the BBC cites a new survey as saying. It's encouraging to see news stories like this; they've been rare over the past decade+, so … [Read more...] about Less parental control, more support of kids’ self-regulation: Study
Protecting student privacy calls for student participation
This era of big data and big exposure – of all aspects of life to peers, the public and even perpetrators – calls for big participation. Because every day people are exposing, sharing, uploading, creating and inputting things about themselves and others, whether in social situations or part of their jobs, as friends, relatives, students or professionals, everybody is a participant (and … [Read more...] about Protecting student privacy calls for student participation
The benefits of agency, choice, and student-centered learning
"More and more of society at large, and consequently many students, are demanding an educational system that works for and with them," wrote high school math teacher Paul Bogdan in Edutopia (emphasis mine). "A student-centered learning environment encourages students to become independent learners and ultimately to be in charge of their own education." Student-centered learning just makes sense … [Read more...] about The benefits of agency, choice, and student-centered learning