opportunity for XR education
categories: VR
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more on immersive learning in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=immersive
Belarus KGB
categories: academic library
A leaked audio tape of the then-head of the Belarus KGB planning the murders of three Belarusian dissidents in Germany on the orders of President Alexander Lukashenko, recorded eight years ago, has roiled European diplomats and intelligence agents. from r/worldnews
https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-recording-belarus-plotting-assassinations-in-europe-2021-1
A leaked recording exposed how Belarus’ KGB plans its assassinations in Europe
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more on Belarus in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Belarus
Comast data cap
Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states from r/technology
Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states
Data cap harms poor people and isn’t needed to manage network, Mass. reps say.
Comcast charges an extra $30 per month for unlimited data, or $25 for the “xFi Complete” add-on package that includes the Comcast gateway device and unlimited data. Customers who don’t upgrade to unlimited data and exceed the 1.2TB cap must pay $10 for each additional block of 50GB, up to a maximum of $100 each month. Comcast is phasing in the charges gradually, so customers in newly capped areas could start getting overage charges for their April 2021 usage.
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more on netneutrality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=netneutrality
APA 7th
categories: academic library, information literacy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/734573083840059/
“As I create and modify my course syllabi, I want to make sure my students use APA 7th ed. when writing their formal assignments. For those of you who also use APA, what do you say in your syllabi? What matters to you with your students giving proper credit to sources, images, or videos? I’m trying to do better and expect better”
There’s a new OER that I used with my students in the fall that introduces them to APA and has examples to work through.
http://blog.stcloudstate.edu/oer/2021/01/15/apa-style-citation-tutorial-7th-edition/
In case this is helpful, my university has a video on using APA. (I haven’t watched it yet.)
I never assume the they learned the format, and I build in an APA workshop. I use OWL Purdue and go over a sample paper first, then the APA PowerPoint. Then I give them a low stakes assignment (like a discussion post) to practice.
I talk about documentation more as a convention of their discourse community, not just citations. There is a certain structure and way of writing in APA, that along with citations, represent the values of a particular discourse community. Those are the things that matter to me. (I also get more buy in from students.)
I was happy to discover that APA now has decent examples online, free, at their website. So in my instructions to students, I linked to the main page and also 3 specific pages with commonly used items, such as newspaper articles online, and YouTube videos. So step 1 is providing tools. Step 2 is clearly expressed grade penalties.
I actually don’t say anything my syllabus. What I do is in my LMS: give them a template and links to the Purdue OWL and other relevant websites. I have also written a “Dr. Kaminski’s APA 7th Ed Guide”. It’s more of my pet peeves and what they should be focusing on that students often miss. I give a lot of grace on the first (low stakes) written assignment, with more focus on the APA portion than the actual content. After that, I’m expecting them to have it down.
I say it (and link to resources) in my assignment sheets and have a spot in my rubric to reflect what I am asking of my students.
I post resources to our LMS. Mostly the usual subjects (APA, Purdue OWL, etc). I often add a short video on the bias-free writing chapter because that’s often not covered in their intro to research writing courses. For citations, I’m more a stickler for complete information than semicolons and whatnot. I don’t feel good about deducting points for anything that students were taught with APA 6 that is different in 7 since we changed the rules on them.
I provide a free workshop at the beginning of the semester to explain the ‘why’ and provide practice. It carries a rather high weighting in our rubrics so…some understanding and ‘free points’ if they use it appropriately.
I have a different document I refer to in the syllabus titled “Writing Expectations”. I briefly explain the importance of using APA and the characteristics of academic writing (e.g. paraphrasing, avoiding over usage of direct quotes, and other things I see in student writing). The second page is an APA job aid that shows the basics for citations, reference lists, and leveled headings.
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more on APA 7th edition in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=apa+7
detect deepfake
A teenage student in Ireland has won a national science competition for developing technology that can more easily detect “deepfake” videos online. from r/UpliftingNews
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more on deepfake in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=deepfake
Flat Earth
categories: information technology, media literacy
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more on conspiracy theories in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=conspiracy
why turn off webcams
Why Smart Bosses Let Employees Turn Off Their Cameras During Zoom and MS Teams Meetings
The pressure to perform for the camera is draining–and distracts from pursuing meaningful outcomes.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/738496626781038/
Almost never did everyone feel that everyone else in the meeting was looking at them — or at the very least could be looking at them — at all times.
And then there’s the pressure to respond quickly: A 2014 study showed that delays in replying to a question or prompt as short as 1.2 seconds made other people in a teleconference perceive the responder as less focused.
Great bosses lead and manage by meaningful expectations and meaningful deliverables.
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more on webcam policies in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=webcam+policy
Herd Immunity to Internet Propaganda
Internet propaganda is becoming an industrialized commodity, warns Phil Howard, the director of the Oxford Internet…
Posted by SPIEGEL International on Friday, January 15, 2021
Posted by SPIEGEL International on Friday, January 15, 2021
Can We Develop Herd Immunity to Internet Propaganda?
Internet propaganda is becoming an industrialized commodity, warns Phil Howard, the director of the Oxford Internet Institute and author of many books on disinformation. In an interview, he calls for greater transparency and regulation of the industry.
Platforms like Parler, TheDonald, Breitbart and Anon are like petri dishes for testing out ideas, to see what sticks. If extremist influencers see that something gets traction, they ramp it up. In the language of disease, you would say these platforms act as a vector, like a germ that carries a disease into other, more public forums.
at some point a major influencer takes a new meme from one of these extremist forums and puts it out before a wider audience. It works like a vector-borne disease like malaria, where the mosquitoes do the transmission. So, maybe a Hollywood actor or an influencer who knows nothing about politics will take this idea and post it on the bigger, better known platform. From there, these memes escalate as they move from Parler to maybe Reddit and from there to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. We call this “cascades of misinformation.“
Sometimes the cascades of misinformation bounce from country to country between the U.S., Canada and the UK for example. So, it echoes back and forth.
Within Europe, two reservoirs for disinformation stick out: Poland and Hungary.
Our 2020 report shows that cyber troop activity continues to increase around the world. This year, we found evidence of 81 countries using social media to spread computational propaganda and disinformation about politics. This has increased from last years’ report, where we identified 70 countries with cyber troop activity.
identified 63 new instances of private firms working with governments or political parties to spread disinformation about elections or other important political issues. We identified 21 such cases in 2017-2018, yet only 15 in the period between 2009 and 2016.
Why would well-funded Russian agencies buy disinformation services from a newcomer like Nigeria?
(1) Russian actors have found a lab in Nigeria that can provide services at competitive prices. (2) But countries like China and Russia seem to be developing an interest in political influence in many African countries, so it is possible that there is a service industry for disinformation in Nigeria for that part of the world.
(1) Russian actors have found a lab in Nigeria that can provide services at competitive prices. (2) But countries like China and Russia seem to be developing an interest in political influence in many African countries, so it is possible that there is a service industry for disinformation in Nigeria for that part of the world.
Each social media company should provide some kind of accounting statement about how it deals with misuse, with reporting hate speech, with fact checking and jury systems and so on. This system of transparency and accountability works for the stock markets, why shouldn’t it work in the social media realm?
We clearly need a digital civics curriculum. The 12 to 16 year olds are developing their media attitudes now, they will be voting soon. There is very good media education in Canada or the Netherlands for example, and that is an excellent long-term strategy.
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more on fake news in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=fake+news
Virtual Philosophy Colloquium
categories: announcement
Link to the recorded session here:
https://minnstate.zoom.us/rec/play/dDzr3mHy90XW9iKa45lYVLDcT54D8yBwUoK68DKzywU1m7X58NlkQx3shJhmTTHfFelFGEtfs-TyZhsx.UzwVKo2kkODXf7A-
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Per Susana Nuccetelli, Philosophy Department, St. Cloud State University
snuccetelli@stcloudstate.edu +1 3203085372
Speaker :VicenteMedina,Seton HallUniversity ( NJ) |
Topic : Just War Theory Friday Jan. 22, 3:00 4:30 |
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| https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/93592784390 | Meeting ID: 935 9278 4390 Passcode: philosophy |
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SCSU Philosophy Department invitation to Zoom meeting
Philosophy Colloquium
Jan 22, 2021 03:00 4:30 PM Central Time
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/93592784390
Meeting ID: 935 9278 4390
Passcode: philosophy
By phone: Find your local number:
https://minnstate.zoom.us/u/aeF5xnhLXX
Join by Skype for Business
https://minnstate.zoom.us/skype/93592784390
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link to original flyer: PUBLIC TALK
An XR aficionado on OER
categories: OER
http://blog.stcloudstate.edu/oer/2021/01/14/rob-theriault-xr-presentation-on-oer/
“The alternatives don’t have to be free, but they should be relevant, specific and if they’re cheap or free, great!
FER or free education resources is not “a thing”, at least not in any official way. But tongue-in-cheek aside, there is great value in sharing teacher notes and curating links to articles and other resources for students – either as required or supplemental reading.”
Rob Theriault
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more on Rob Theriault and XR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Rob+Theriault