Hey class,
Here is my first blog Pro Blog Post. Enjoy! Comment if you feel like it.
Pro Blog Post #1
What experience do you have working with online social media or digital composition as a way to connect with others? As a way to promote social action?
Well, I have been on social media since the year 2011. So that would mean for the better part of the last 10 years I have been ‘involved’ with social media interactions. Through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, I have somewhat grown up trying to understand what these platforms are used for and how they can be best used to represent myself as a person. 
(e.g. blogging, Pinterest, video production, etc.)? Drawing on the readings for this week, describe the potentials and pitfalls you see for digital media in urban, English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms. (REMINDER: Connect to readings and include at least one image and resource link in all blog posts.)
The harm in using digital media in an urban setting, specifically ELA classrooms, are hard to calculate. I see more harm in the potential abuse of what digital media can provide a student. What I mean by this is the instantaneous nature of digital media and how that comes into play with how a student learns critically. If a student can instantly find an article, website, or any online resource that perfectly fits to what they believe in – let’s say Climate Change being real (which it is) – and they use it to only combat those who say Climate Change does not exist, then in an odd way they are only reaffirming their own beliefs and not seeing things from the other side. I guess maybe this becomes an issue of a student developing critical thinking skills. Can a student develop a critical mind when they have instant gratification? Maybe they can and maybe they cannot. There are a lot of factors that come in to play. I suppose the best answer, or the most logical answer would be having specific guidelines as an instructor as to how to use and digest the digital media that you introduce or allow in the classroom. If not monitoring what the students are “digitally digesting”, a teacher should at least instruct on what is good versus what is bad information, source wise. For instance, wikipedia may be helpful for certain things, but it won’t give your argument a substantial amount of weight/credibility if that is the only source you use. My take is, be skeptical of the information you are receiving, using, and interpreting online, because that will develop a critical mind and a critical approach to understanding digital media as a whole.
Links:
Teach Hub Critical Thinking
https://www.teachhub.com/how-improve-students%E2%80%99-critical-thinking-skills
Trust radius on if you can trust social media platforms as information networks
https://www.trustradius.com/buyer-blog/should-you-trust-social-media-trustradius-poll
George Connelly's Professional Blog 
Hi George, you posed a really good question: Can a student develop a critical mind when they have instant gratification? I would say that, yes, they can, but only if they are not instantly gratified on each thing they endeavor to do. There has to be a struggle, an effort made, to solve a problem. I do not think students who are always instantly gratified will become good critical thinkers. But, if students are not instantly gratified at least half of the time I think there is a good chance that they can become critical thinkers. And, in the classroom, they will not be instantly gratified. They will have to work hard to determine the meaning of the text, figure out which poem is using metaphor, and write about how themes are made evident in texts. At least in the classroom there is rarely instant gratification, so I think your students will find a good learning environment there. What do you think? Thanks for sharing! ~Mikayla
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Hey, George.
You bring up a really valid point that with instant gratification comes self-serving research that only affirms their personal belief. I see this all the time on Facebook! People will use every resource they can (whether the resources are credible or not) that proves their point, but won’t take the time to read what people with opposing views have to say. This is something that I think needs to be discussed in classes that use digital tools as a form of communication, research, etc. Students should also be made aware of, and become comfortable with, the idea that there are some very cruel and nasty people on the internet (see your first photo & the reference to Greta). They should then be guided on how to respond to those kinds of people and how to keep their reactions professional.
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Hi George!
Your post was great. I believe that people and students should use discretion when it comes to using social media, especially in the classroom, where instead of trying to prove a point, factual evidence should always take precedent. Discussion in the classroom, even as a lesson, should teach students on what credible and not credible information is. Students should be aware of the harmful repercussions of when misinformation is spread—hence on Climate Change now and its direction on our society.
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