8 Must-Have Skills for Spotting Misinformation for 21st Century Students

A 21st century skill that all students need badly is the ability to spot misinformation. As educators, we desperately need to do as Loren Collins states in her book, Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation. We need to "arm our students with baloney-detecting tools to prevent false and unsupported beliefs so that such beliefs can be better contained." In other words, 21st century educators need to equip our students with "baloney-detection" skills.

What do these baloney-detection skills look like? Here's a starter list based on those described by Collins.

1. Be skeptical when people toss around the phrase "it's just common sense." Many individuals use this phrase as if it were sacred and unquestionable. The truth is, many things once accepted as common sense turned out to be flat wrong. Just ask those who said the world was flat. Using this phrase should never protect information from a skeptical examination. We need to teach students to be skeptical, always, when someone employs this phrase in an argument.

2. Be able to employ the scientific method to test information. In an age of misinformation, our students must have the ability to test hypotheses and conclusions they encounter. They need to be able to pose a question, research that question, construct a hypothesis, test that hypothesis, analyze the results, and finally draw conclusions. Their final conclusions should then always be subject to further validation. All of our students need to be able to employ these steps to test information because of the amount of misinformation posing as science all around them in cyberspace.

3. Be able to identify ideological and agenda-driven websites and information. In the age of misinformation, the ease with which individuals can publish information online has created a whole new world where anyone, no matter what their beef, can publish. It is vital that our students maintain a level of skepticism and explore the ideologies and agendas those publishing web sites might have. All information needs to be examined with a skeptical eye toward what that person's beef might be.

4. Be aware of their own confirmation bias and the role it has in being misinformed. We know if we are heavily biased toward confirming our own beliefs, we hinder the ability to dispel ourselves of beliefs that might be false. We, and our students, need to be aware of our tendencies to seek out information that confirms what we believe rather than looking at all the data. With these principles in mind, our students need to be able to detect their own confirmation biases and those of others as they deal with the information torrent.

5. Be aware of those who use anomalies to make their arguments. Individuals who use this tactic, gather up a collection of anomalies and attempt to use the weight of those to argue against a consensus view. This tactic is being heavily used by those spreading misinformation about climate change, and it was also used by those who argued against the ill-effects of smoking. Our students need to be able to recognize when someone is engaged in anomaly hunting as a misinformation tactic and recognize it as a misinformation tactic.

6. Be ware of the use of the logical fallacy of "proof by verbosity." Just because an argument is lengthy and complex does not necessarily mean it is true. Students need to be able to recognize when someone is engaged in this logical fallacy.

7. Be able to notice when someone engages in denialism. Those who engage in this tactic, just deny or reject a widely accepted truth, and they usually offer no solid alternative instead. Those who engage in denialism aren't really interested in determining the truth; they are simply interested in rejecting one. Our students need to recognize denialism as a tactic that tries to deflect away from what has been accepted by consensus.

8. Notice when someone employs fake experts. This is commonly used on the web. Those arguing against climate change or for intelligent design curriculum heavily use this one. In the climate change debate, often those making the arguments are not even qualified as climate scientists. Likewise, organizations like the Discovery Institute employ non-biologists in their arguments against evolutionary theory. Students need the skill of checking the credentials and credibility of the information sources they encounter.


In the 21st century, we as educators have a moral imperative to make sure our students are equipped with proper "baloney-detection tools" so that they can avoid being mislead and misguided in a flood of information.

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3 Reasons to Purchase a Kindle Tablet Rather than a Nook Tablet

Now that I have had the opportunity to test drive a Nook Tablet, I can say, without a doubt, if you’re looking for an e-reader, you may want to consider purchasing a Kindle, rather than a Nook.

First, not all the books I purchase through Barnes and Noble are available across all my devices. For example, I purchased a special edition of a book entitled Crucial Conversations, and I am unable to access that book on my iPad. There are also at least two other titles I am unable to access either on my iPad or through using the Nook desktop app. For someone like myself, who is an avid reader, being able to access books on all my devices is vital. Unlike the Nook and Barnes & Noble e-books, every title I have purchased through Amazon has been available across every device. In the age of e-books and those of us who are avid e-readers, having anytime-anywhere access is key and the Nook fails on that count.

Secondly, the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet e-reader software makes for a “buggy” reading experience. On several occasions my reading has been interrupted with a screen inexplicably going blank, and I usually have to back out of the book I’m reading and reload it to get the text back. Also, on several occasions, the text I highlight either does not highlight, or I am unable to select specific words due to software glitches. In addition, on a few occasions, when I have tried to advance a page, the page simply would not advance. There also have been occasions when the “highlight text selection bar” freezes on my screen and I am unable to clear it. When e-reader software has this many bugs, it can make for quite a miserable reading experience. In contrast, with my Kindle Fire, I have never had any of these experiences. Avid e-readers like myself don’t mind a few bugs and quirks in the software, as long as they don’t unduly affect the reading experience. So far. my experience with the Nook e-reader software on the tablet has been borderline miserable.

Finally, the Nook PC Desktop software has many problems too. It suffers from many performance issues. It runs extremely slow in comparison to the Kindle PC software and takes much longer to load. It also suffers from strange, buggy behavior like the Nook tablet software. On several occasions, titles I have purchased, suddenly ask for credit card numbers to verify I have purchased them, even though I have purchased them. This especially happens after you download and install an update. It can be quite frustrating to have to uninstall and redownload purchased books again and again, but that is what I’ve had to do with the Nook desktop software. There are also titles I’ve purchased that I can read on my Nook tablet, but can’t access through my desktop app. Being able to read all of my purchased books on my desktop is important to me. The Nook desktop software is also prone to freezing on occasion as well, and this shouldn’t happen because I have more than enough memory and processing power. In addition to these issues, there are timee when  I highlight text and make notes on my handheld devices. These do not sync with the desktop app. This is important to me because I often highlight, read text, and make notes while using my tablet, then refer to those on my PC, but with the Nook desktop app, this is impossible. In contrast, any notes I take or textual highlights made using the Kindle handhelds appears in the Kindle Desktop app too. Over all, the Nook PC desktop app suffers from performance issues, buggy behavior, and syncing problems.

Overall, Amazon e-books and the Kindle offer readers a much better reading experience than e-books purchased through Barns & Noble and read on Nook devices. Barnes & Noble e-books and the Nook tablet suffer from performance issues that make for one frustrated reading experience.

Wunderlist: Easy to Use Anytime-Anywhere To-Do List App for Educators

Recently, I installed the Wunderlist app to my desktop and my Android tablet. I have used Evernote for my To-Do Lists for sometime, but after reading this article, I decided to give Wunderlist a try. It is an excellent app educators and anyone who needs a simple tool to track their tasks. Here's some reasons it makes an excellent choice as a task management solution for educators.

• Wunderlist has multiple versions of its app for multiple devices. You can download it to your desktop, Android tablet or phone, iPad or iPhone, or use the web version.
• Anytime---anywhere access. Because Wunderlist has apps for multiple devices, you can get to your To-Do List any time you need to. You can access it on your Android device, Mac or PC, Web, or iPad/iPhone.
• Sharing Task Lists. Wunderlist gives users the ability to create task lists and share them across devices. This means users can create those project worklists and share them with their other team members. You create the list, then send them an email invitation to join you in using that list.
• Easy to use. There are a number of To-Do List apps out there, but Wunderlist is quite easy to use. Adding task lists and tasks are easy. It syncs automatically across devices so you only need add a task once. Sharing a task list with others only takes clicking an icon and typing in an email address.
• It is free. The apps for Wunderlist are all free. Obviously, for many, nothing else need be said. Wunderlist is currently free so that of course makes even more attractive to educators.

Wunderlist Desktop App Screenshot

Wunderlist Android App Screenshot

Finding a To-Do List app has become an ordeal with all the choices available for users. I'll make that choice much simpler for you. Wunderlist is an excellent app for educators and anyone else who need a technological solution for managing their tasks. For more information, check our Wunderlist's web site here.

4 Ways School Administrators Can Use Dropbox

Dropbox is on my short list of must-have school administrator web tools. It offers users and easy-to-use application and any-device access. Dropbox is my virtual file cabinet that follows me around 24 hours a day. But the truth is, this web app can offer school administrators so much more beyond scrapping flash drives and DVDs. With a little thought, it can streamline quite a few things we do. Here's four big ways to use Dropbox as a 21st century administrator.

• Online Faculty/Staff Most-Used-Form Repository:  How many times has a staff member asked for a copy of that time-sheet adjustment form or the parent contact log? If you're like me, you've emailed it out as a attachment over and over again. Why not take advantage of Dropbox's folder sharing capability and create a folder called "Most-Used Forms" and share that folder with the entire staff? Of course they will all have to get Dropbox accounts, but they should have one anyway. A "Most-Used Forms Folder" will allow you to share all those forms and update them with ease by simply adding new files and forms as they become available.
• Bragging Item Collection Folder: Why not create a shared Dropbox folder entitled "Bragging Items"? Then, you can invite staff members to upload files such as news releases, copies of articles, and photos to this folder. Over time, you can use contributions from staff to create a virtual library of items your school can boast about.
• Portable File Cabinet: My 2-drawer file cabinet in the office sits at only 1 drawer half full. In an age of technology, my personal rule of thumb is, "If it can stay electronic, why waste a tree to print it?" I rarely print anything. I simply dump these items into my Dropbox folder. No, I do not create forty folders corresponding to all the areas of administration, such as buses, discipline, or testing. I dump them all in one folder. With computer files being fully searchable, who needs all those folders? You usually spend more time trying to figure out which folder you saved it in than the time it would take to do a Windows search and find it. My file cabinet not longer sits in my office, it is with me 24 hours a day and accessible from any device.
• Staff Document Collection Tool: With Dropbox, there's no longer a need to ask staff to send documents to you. Simply create a folder, share it with them, and tell them to drag the docs in. For example, why take up emergency lesson plans? Create an "Emergency Lesson Plan" folder, share it, and tell staff to put electronic copies in the folder. You can use this method with any document collection task involving staff or even parents.

I know there are many other ways to engage in using Dropbox (and other cloud options) in a manner that make our jobs as administrators easier. The bottom line is, cloud computing has not only made aspects of teaching more efficient and effective, it has also made school administration more efficient and effective too.

Lessons from Our One-Year Experiment with BYOT

Schools can successfully implement the practice of allowing students to use their own technological devices on school networks. Early next month, our school will mark the one-year anniversary of our implementation of a policy that allows our students to use their own laptops, tablets, iPods, and smartphones on our school WiFi. Last February, I posted "Lessons in Providing Students Wireless Access in Our School Building." In that post I described what we learned early in that implementation after three weeks.

Now, after almost a year's implementation, I would still stand by those lessons we learned early in the implementation process. Now, a year later, here's my revised list of suggestions for those considering a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) initiative.

1. Educate your parents on the kind of access you're providing students. During the course of the past year, several times I've had to explain to parents that our school is still providing students with filtered access. Though they are using their own devices, our filter is set up to provide some level of protection. This meant a great deal for those parents who were afraid that students could access anything while at school. When you implement a BYOT initiative, it's important that parents understand what you mean by WiFi access and what actions will be taken should students access unacceptable content.

2. Educate students on responsible use of their WiFi access. Ethics and responsible use of technology should be part of what we teach students anyway. But as you implement a BYOT initiative, teaching ethical use of technology, even with their own devices becomes an integrated part of what the school does. Any new BYOT initiative should include an ongoing focus of ethical use of WiFi access and technology in general.

3. Be prepared for technology glitches, even after a year's implementation. Even though most kinks in the system work themselves out over time, there are going to be issues. For example, when we implemented the use of an iPad lab a couple of months ago, IP address assignments by the hardware and software was suddenly an issue. It's vital that school leadership and teachers work through these problems as they occur. Often all that's needed is a software adjustment, but be prepared for the need for additional hardware. As with any technology implementation program, expect problems and be prepared to deal with them.

4. Make sure students understand teachers control the classroom environment. Students need to know up front that when a teacher asks them to close their laptop or put away their iPod, they are to do so. While you want teachers to engage students in the use of technology, there are certainly times when students need to unplug. On the one hand, you want students engaged in technology use, but on the the other, technology-savvy teachers need to be able to guide that use. School leaders need to make it clear to students that teachers determine when use of their devices happens.

As I indicated a year ago, schools have no choice but become 21st century learning environments. A solid implementation of a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) initiative should not be optional, but standard practice. We have had a year of successful, mostly-trouble-free implementation. Twenty-first school leaders no longer have to ask students to unplug when they walk through the front doors if they effectively implement a BYOT initiative.

“Send to Kindle” Extension: Easy Way to Send Web Content to Your Kindle

Yesterday, I posted my favorite Chrome Apps and Extensions, and there was one of those extensions that I just have to mention again, the “Send to Kindle” Extension. I am a converted Kindle user and anything I can employ to increase its functionality, I will use. The “Send to Kindle” Extension is one of those extensions every Kindle user must have.

The “Send to Kindle” Extension basically allows users to read web content on their Kindle devices. For example, suppose I discover a rather long Web article that I would like more time to peruse later. With the “Send to Kindle” extension, I click the browser button, and immediately the article is transformed into a simple form, without the border ads or graphics. I only then need to click the “Send” button, and the article is on its way to my Kindle. It is that easy to use! Tools like this make me think guiltily about the all paper I used to make copies of articles during my research. Just another way to go paper. "Oh the possibilities!"

Send to Kindle Screen

The “Send to Kindle” Extension is a must for those who always have their Kindles close by. Check it out in the Chrome Web Store.

My 11 Favorite Chrome Browser Apps and Extensions

I have not hid the fact that Chrome is my browser of choice, and from the looks of articles like this one, “Google’s Chrome Browser Surging Past Firefox”, it looks many more are beginning to choose the browser as their favorite. One of the features of Chrome that I like are the extensions and the Apps that can be downloaded and used.

Chrome Apps Page

For those not familiar with Chrome extensions and Chrome apps, the difference between the two is that Chrome Extensions run within the browser window from a button located in the upper right hand corner and a Chrome app is an application that runs in its own browser window, usually accessed through an icon on the apps page within the browser. While Firefox offers its users the same experience, I have grown to appreciate the reliability and functionality of the many apps and extensions within my Chrome browser.

While I have posted my favorite Chrome Extensions and apps before, my list of favorites has changed a bit since then. Here's my latest.

Quick Note: Quick note is another one of those apps that make it possible to be paperless. With Quick Note, users can quickly add and edit notes. Notes that are added are fully searchable, and if you have a Diigo account, you can sync those notes to the cloud. That means you can use Diigo’s Web and sharing capabilities to both access your notes and share them with your Diigo groups. Those developing the app indicate in the Chrome Web Store they may integrate the app with other Web tools like Evernote and Dropbox in the near future. Quick Note is a simple to use note taking tool located right in  your browser.

Quick Note

Kindle Cloud Reader: About eight months ago, I became an avid e-book reader. I own two Kindles, and I have the Kindle app on every PC I use and on my iPad. I even have the Kindle app on my Android phone. With the Kindle Cloud Reader, I can access my growing Kindle e-book library even on machines that do not have the Kindle application installed. In addition, the Kindle Cloud Reader has a sleek interface and is so easy to use, there are times when I simply use it to read my books. Currently there are three things I wish I could do in the Kindle Cloud Reader that I can’t do: 1) Highlight text, 2) Enter reading notes, and 3) Access my newsstand items. I can see text I’ve highlighted in other Kindle Apps, but I can’t highlight. Also, there are times a thought occurs to me while reading, and I love being able to attach it to the text. As far as accessing my Newsstand items? I would love to be able to check out my newspaper and magazines from the Kindle Cloud Reader too. Still, reading from the Cloud Reader is a pleasant and easy experience.

Kindle Cloud Reader

Read Later Fast: I’m just learning about the power of this app. I’m always stumbling across a Web article that I just don’t have time to read. With this app, I can post an article to my Diigo account for future reading. I can even include the graphics. Read Later Fast integrates entirely with my Diigo account and adds another level of flexibility to an already versatile web tool. I can open these Web articles using this app and read according to my schedule.

Read Later Fast

Offline Google Mail: This app basically gives me an interface for my Gmail account and allows me access email offline. You can also compose email which is stored and later synced with the Web. Offline Google Mail is an excellent email client right in your Chrome Browser.

Offline Google Mail

Tweetdeck: Tweetdeck also has a Chrome app as well. This app works pretty much like the separate Tweetdeck app. Twitter recently updated this interface to look exactly like its desktop Tweetdeck app. Twitter users will find this app works as well as the other Tweetdeck products.

Here is a list of my favorite Chrome Extensions.

Evernote Clearly: This extension takes a blog post, article or Web page and transforms it into an easy-to-read format and then places it into your Evernote account. That means you can later access these articles with any device running an Evernote app. This is one of the must-have Chrome extensions. I was even able to convert an article to a PDF and send it to my Kindle to read there.

Evernote Clearly Interface

Diigo Toolbar: This extension is one of my most used. I have posted about it before. It allows users to highlight, bookmark, add a sticky note, or share a web page with basically the click of a button. Diigo users will love adding this tool to their browser. An excellent extension that adds even more functionality to your Diigo account.

Diigo Extension Toolbar

Awesome Screenshot: This tool allows users to take snapshots of Web pages and the screen, annotate them, then save them either on the desktop or into your Diigo account. This is a very useful extension for capturing graphics for later sharing. It is also another extension to add functionality to your Diigo account.

Awesome Screenshot

Evernote Web Clipper: There are many times I stumble across a Web page that I might want to share or use later. The Evernote Web Clipper allows users to clip those pages and place them directly into one of their Evernote notebooks. This extension adds functionality to your Evernote account.

Twitter Share This Page: There are quite a few times I find a Web article that I just have to Tweet out. This extension puts a button in my Chrome browser that allows me to do just that. When I find a page to share with my PLN, I can click on this button, edit the outgoing message and just Tweet it out. URL’s are automatically shortened too. Must have extension for Twitter users who use the Chrome browser.

Send to Kindle: This extension allows users to send any Web content they find to their Kindle for later reading. For example, suppose you stumble on an article of length that you would like to spend some time reading later. You can use the Send to Kindle extension to put it on your Kindle.

As more and more Chrome apps and extensions become available, my favorite list grows. Chrome apps and extensions are ways to get the most out of both the browser and your favorite Web tools.

Administrators: 3 Reasons Your School Needs An Online Gradebook

There is no doubt that true innovation using 21st century tools begins with the teachers, and sometimes the best thing an administrator can do when they want them to use technological innovation, is to remove barriers to implementation and get out of the way.  This fall, my teaching staff decided to use Engrade, an online gradebook, as their gradebook. After setting up a school account, we've had an extremely successful implementation.  If your school is thinking about using Engrade or another online gradebook, here’s 3 good reasons to do that.

• Parents and students have access to their grades at any time. Too often, grades are hidden from view until progress report time or report card time. That's way too late! Students often do not see the immediate effects of not turning in assignments or low test grades with traditional gradebooks. With Engrade, students can check their grades on their own to see how they are doing. In addition,  parents can check their child’s grades each day or as often as they wish. The whole “surprise factor” is taken out of the grading process. Since implementation, our parents have repeatedly expressed their satisfaction of being able to check their child’s grades at any time.
• Engrade is simple to use. Often, my experience is that online gradebooks are ponderous things that try to do too much. One example of this kind of gradebook is the one employed by our state. It is a massive grading program that does lots of things, but it takes a PhD to figure out how to run simple reports. It simply tries to do too much. Engrade is simple by nature and design. Teacher assignments such as adding tasks and grades is a cinch. As administrator, when I want to run a report listing how all students in my school are doing, I don’t have to worry about filters and queries. I click on a button and it happens. Simplicity rules!
• It’s free. Our whole school is currently using the free version of Engrade. Just the free version has been successful. However, we are exploring whether to purchase the premium version because it adds some functionality we would like to have such as custom reports and school-wide grade reports.

When it comes to true innovation, it doesn’t take a complex technological product to make it happen. It also doesn’t take a product that serves every single need we have as educators. Engrade works for us because it fulfills our need for a simple gradebook that provides access to both our parents and students, that's simple to use, and it’s free or low cost.

For information about Engrade, check out their web site, http://www.engrade.com/.

Note: For those wondering, I did not receive anything for endorsing Engrade in this post.  In fact, I would add that any online gradebook that offers all stakeholders access, that is simple to use, and that is low cost or free, is the kind of online gradebook educators want.