Social Media and Emerging Technologies - The Blog (Director's Cut)

Try your hand at my Connections puzzle! I created it based on social media concepts I learned about this year. If you've ever played NYT Connections , you'll understand how to play, but if not, it's very simple:  Each group has a unique theme (e.g., types of fruit, TV shows, slang terms). To play, read all 16 words carefully and look for patterns or connections among them. Click four words you believe are related and hit “Submit.” If you’re correct, the group will be color-coded and removed. You have four incorrect guesses before the game ends. The difficulty ranges from easiest (yellow) to hardest (purple). Use logic and intuition—some connections may be tricky or deceptive. Click HERE  or on the image below to be taken to the game, and let me know how you did!

In a world where the average American consumes over 13 hours of media daily, media literacy is essential. For educators, equipping students with media literacy skills means helping them understand not only what messages they receive, but how and why those messages are constructed, and with so many misinformation on the Internet, its more important than ever. As JCasaTodd notes in Social LEADia , students must learn to discern how a message changes depending on its format—be it a tweet, infographic, or blog post (Casa-Todd). This nuance matters more than ever as young people consume media across multiple platforms, often without questioning its origin or intention. One of the most influential frameworks for understanding this evolving media environment comes from Renee Hobbs, who outlines five core competencies of media literacy: Access, Analyze, Create, Reflect, and Act . While each competency plays a role, I argue that Analyze and Reflect are particularly crucial. In an age of m...

Are CIPA and COPPA Still Protecting Students Online? Source: IStock In modern educational environments, the responsibilities of educators extend far beyond teaching academic content. They also play a critical role in safeguarding students—both in the classroom and online. As internet usage becomes a fundamental part of learning, two federal laws stand out for their focus on protecting children in digital environments: the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). While these laws were foundational when introduced, their ability to keep pace with the rapidly shifting digital landscape is increasingly under scrutiny. CIPA, enacted in 2000 and enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), requires schools receiving E-rate funding to implement internet safety policies. These policies must include technology that blocks or filters access to harmful content and provisions for monitoring students’ online behavior. Schools a...

What a Data Mine Revealed About Me I chose the data mining exercise to see just how unsettled I could make myself. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the information about me was nothing more than I expected, and even redirected from me at some points. Let me be clear: I am not a fan of having a digital tattoo, but at the same time, I can't get off the internet. Therefore it's a necessary evil, but any time that the information actively points away from me, I consider it a victory.  Googling Myself Google.com I kept it very simple to start: I logged out of my usual Chrome profile and started with searching my name: "Isaac Herman." I was happy to see Google's AI Overview get me mixed up with another Isaac Herman due to the points I mentioned above. Still, below that, I found my LinkedIn profile, which confirmed my job and education. It was a reminder that Google's AI platform can give very different results compared to the normal web search. This reinforce...

It seems to me that Acceptable Use Policies seem to be treated with the same attitude as Terms of Service, although an AUG seems more precautionary than exploitative. They make perfect sense for any institution, especially public ones. Since public resources are so unrestricted, it stands to logic that they would be misused more due to the sheer higher numbers of different people using them.  I took a look at Dominican University's Acceptable Use Policy , originally effective on February 22, 2023 but soon will be updated next year on the same date in 2026. I don't know much about AUG's but it seems fairly standard. To be sure, I compared Dominican's AUG to the six key components David Dewirtz listed in his article on Kajeet :  Citation for above screenshot:   Dewhirst, David. "Why Acceptable Use Policies Are Critical for Education." Kajeet, https://www.kajeet.com/en/blog/why-acceptable-use-policies-are-critical-for-education. I don't want to go one by one ...