Filtering…in and out

#ETMOOC

As I sat through Dean Shareski’s session on #ETMOOC “sharing is accountability”, an image took form in my head.  We often hear how the web is a busy place, that there is too much information, it’s overwhelming…  Do you remember in college or University, the first time you walked into the library?  Did you feel overwhelmed?  There were millions of books and documents, there were different rules, one specific way of searching, we couldn’t talk to anybody and were left alone on our search…  Did you feel you had to read all those books and documents?

If I make a comparison to the web, I know I don’t have to read it all.  @Shareski the question was raised, is it too much sharing or not enough filtering?  I think filtering is the answer.  We need the information to circulate because that way we are not alone in our search, in our journey.  The tools to filter are accessible but many time unknown by the users.  I use TweetDeck, I find it user friendly and I can have access to my different social media in one place. I can filter and also interact when it fits my needs.  The other good one that I have tried is Flipboard on the ipad. It is another interesting one, it presents all the information under a magazine display.

Once again, you have to identify your needs, what are you looking for?  The information is out there, but you have to be clear and precise.  

So just how we had to teach students to use Google as a research tool, we will have to teach our students how to manage social media.  At the base, it is the same filtering of information process, you need to know what you are looking for, you need to refine your thinking and make links.  

As we become more efficient at filtering, we must stop and think how others are also filtering.  Eli Pariser in his TedTalk: Beware online “filter bubbles” presents the different ways filtering is affecting informations.

Screen Shot taken from the TedTalk presentation: http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html     

As educators, we now have a double mandate, to teach students how to use filters to get information and to be aware of how information on the web is filtered to them.