After watching the video of Howard Rheingold, I was very intrigued by the “Crap Detection” alias he gives to Critical Consumption. So, I decided to do a little research about crap detection and why it is important…
“The first thing we all need to know about information online is how to detect crap, a technical term I use for information tainted by ignorance, inept communication, or deliberate deception” (Rheingold, 2009). My children have had computers in their rooms with uncensored access to the Internet since they were 2 and 3 years old. Crazy? I think not. I have made Disney, GirlSense, and Club Penguin their homepages, and truly we have never had a major issue. However, the beloved pop-ups - just one click and you’re hooked. I have had to teach my daughters crap detection beginning with the 101 Pop-Up course. They learned. Then, along comes needing to use search engines for school assignments. This is where discernment comes in to play. Just because something matches their criteria for word usage, does not mean that that site is a good one to use for gathering information. This has taken a little longer to learn. And, quite curious is the fact that my older daughter is better at filtering out the junk, whereas the younger one has more difficulty. You think this is a normal occurrence, right? Well, I attribute it to the fact that the older daughter is more attune to slight variations and innuendos; the younger daughter is more accepting of people, their views, and what they tell her. I figure that if I see this pattern with my own children, it probably holds true for the greater population. So, I have tried to fine-tune their “crap detection” skills in the last two years…it is a skill, maybe even an art.
After our students have mastered crap detection, they need to implement inventive thinking. According to the American Association of School Librarians (2000), inventive thinking encompasses many “cultures”. These cultures include: creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, risk, wonderment, adaptability, and thinking skills. Students can enhance and develop these skills by using role playing games on the Internet or taking part in virtual worlds such as QuestAtlantis. Even the simple task of taking apart things and putting them back together builds creativity, risk, innovation, wonderment, and adaptability.
When I was a young child, my grandfather was always busy putting together circuit boards for early computers and other machinery. I was allowed to help him solder the circuits in place. He would also “tinker” around with his tools, taking things apart around the house and then putting them back together. I learned from him that I could do almost anything. By investigating how things worked, I was able to fix what could possibly be wrong with them. This little bit of guidance and being allowed to tinker taught me that I could drill holes in walls to hang the heaviest of items, I could open my computer tower and remove a broken fan or add an optical drive, and I could make sense of the immense amount of cables required to wire my family’s entertainment hub. I am forever thankful to my grandfather for making me believe that anything was possible if I put my mind to it. I believe that is what has filled my life with a love of learning – lifelong learning!
http://www.i-learnt.com/Skill_Sets_Inventive_Thinking.html
Rheingold, H. (2009, June 30). Crap detection 101. Message posted to City Brights [San Francisco Chronicle SFGate]: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/blogs/rheingold/detail?entry_id=42805
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